Album: Sara Tavares, Xinti, (World connection)

At last something different from Cape Verde, via Lisbon. Sara Tavares sings in a kittenish, almost conspiratorial manner: hers is not an art which demands attention to every note, but it's lovely to spend time with.

Accompanied by guitars, flute, and vibraphone, creating a soft halo of ambient sound, her self-scripted songs are bursting with warmth, evoking her island roots and nature, "Voz di vento" – "Voice of the Wind" – being a lovely example. Listen to them, she says, "as though they are an inner prayer".