At a very early age, he began to perform alongside his father, Nho Raul Andrade, a highly popular violinist at the island?s village dances and festivities. At 15 Tcheka began to develop a more personal style, based on batuque, one of Santiago Island?s more popular beats, which was originally played by women.

One of the first pieces he wrote, ?Man?ba des bes kumida d??, gave a clear idea of the musical path he wished to follow. Hisaim was to widen the appeal of batuque, turning it into a beat that everyone would love. 

In the meantime, a man must earn his living. Tcheka left his rural home and went to live in Praia, where he became a cameraman for national television, a job that involved travel and broadened his horizons. In Praia, Tcheka met journalist Julio Rodrigues and wrote a number of songs with him. The two played informally in the bars of the Cape Verdean capital.

Today, Tcheka is well known in Praia for his work in modernizing batuque, in much the same way as Catchas updated funana, the other great Santiago beat, in the seventies.

Providing a new reading of batuque while conserving its traditional structures was the message of Tcheka?s first album, entitled Argui (?rise / stand up? in Creole), released in 2003 (Lusafrica,/Harmonia Mundi.).

He also demonstrated his songwriting skills on his compatriot Lura?s last album, penning the bright opening track and the lively ?Man?ba des bes kumida da?, which closes the record and features as one of the star tracks in her show.

On Tcheka?s followup album, Nu Monda (2005, Lusafrica/Harmonia Mundi), Tcheka returned to batuque. He also explored other styles, such as tabanka, a carnival beat, and talulu, which is played on All Saint?s Day on the island of Fogo. At times, morna chords blend, while at other times the style seems to lean towards funk influences, without ever ceasing to be purely Cape Verdean.

Tcheka is backed by Kizo Oliveira (bass guitar), Paul Ribeiro (percussion) and Hernani Almeida, a young guitar prodigy who has helped to shape Cape Verdean artist Bau?s latest recordings. The album includes a DVD of a live concert in Lisbon.

In early 2006 Tcheka toured major African cities. Traditionally, batuque would be played after work in the fields. Sitting in a circle, the women tapped on a tchabeta, a bundle of cloth, normally made of piled loincloths that they rolled up and held between their legs. Depending on the thickness and compression of the fabric used, these cloth drums produced a variety of sounds.

Batuque provided an accompaniment for fina?on, a vocal style that the women improvised to suit their audience and the occasion. The singers would comment on village events ?farming festivals, births, marriages and deaths. Sometimes one of them would enter the terrero (the inside of the circle) and dance.

Today, these inflexible traditions have been radically updated. Firstly, the women ? who hardly ever wear loincloths now ? make their drums from plastic bags. Stacked and folded in the customary way, they produce a wide range of sounds. Secondly, young men (Tcheka is not alone) are adopting these traditional styles, batuque and fina?on, their childhood lullaby, to assert their African identity more actively.

Nu Monda (Lusafrica/Harmonia Mundi)

Argui! (Lusafrica/Harmonia Mundi)