Search - Pura Fe :: Follow Your Heart's Desire

Indigenous and Free People of Color Made the Blues!

Rob Robinson | Washington, D.C. | 01/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
Pura Fe's artistry is multidimensional, kaleidoscoping into shifting visual geometries of light and color and sound and movement, like a jewel.



Her mother sang jazz with Duke Ellington and opera for the Met, her father, who named her was Puerto Riqueno. Grounded in the folkways of First Nations people (a smoke dance champion and fabric artist), including her own Tuscarora, most know Pura Fe as a singer and songwriter who co-founded Ulali with the incomparable Soni Moreno and cousin Jennifer. So, here's the revelation: Pura Fe is a blues guitarrista, who plays dark, slithery lap-style slide guitar.



Pura Fe gives indigenous people pride of place in the roots of the blues. Her liner notes reveal her fierce concern for the truth and her tenderness and humor, "African and Indian slaves were harbored, escorted and smuggled across the Canadian border through Indian country. This union gave birth to a rich new culture blending religion, dance, and food, good looking people and the Blues!"



The composition Della Blackman/Pick and Choose delivers a new chapter in the history of murder ballads from the color line; its "pick and choose" chorus is a mantra we should all memorize. Her slide guitar lends a dark glory to the Ulali standard "You Still Take"; the voices of the Deer Clan Singers are beaded into the blues framework of the song in a way that conjures visions --I imagined these indigenous and African sounds rising starward on campfire smoke at a nightwatch on the Underground Railroad. Cool John Ferguson's lickety-split, jazzy licks on the title track make you wish he'd sat in for the whole session. And every now and then, as in the denouement to Rise Up Tuscarora Nation, Pura Fe's voice leaps off a cliff -- where it soars on ravenswings, sending chills down your spine and leaving every hair on the back of your neck standing straight up.



It is rare to find any performer with such depth of artistry. Kudos to the Music Maker Foundation for making this possible. You know the ancestors, and Ingrid Washinawatook in particular, are smiling and laughing and clapping and singing along with Pura Fe to beat the band.



Please purchase this CD right away.



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Tuscaroan Voice

Joseph | NC | 01/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Native American activist, singer-songwriter Pura Fe, is internationally known as a founding member of the acapella trio, Ulali. Her latest musical contribution is a solo effort that incorporates contemporary blues and traditional native american songs.



The album, "Follow your Heart's Desire," is a spiritual journey that opens with the title track, an uplifting piano ballad in which she sings lyrics that all can relate to: "Not knowing when and where to go, your heart will take you there...you hope for no despair." Other songs are political, highlighting the struggles of indigenous people around the world. "Rise up Tuscarora Nation" becomes an anthem for the Tuscarora who didn't migrate to upstate New York; while "You Still Take" creates a perfect blend of bluesy slide-guitar with the voices of the Deer Clan Singers, a trio of performers from North Carolina.



Pura Fe's voice is beautiful. At times in songs such as "Whole World is Down on Me," she channels Janis Joplin, her powerfully charged voice soars to dizzying heights. Fans of Ulali will recognize a shorter, guitar version of "Going Home", one of thier signature songs. The song conjures images of North Carolina history: "Tobacco fields, trail of tears, stolen people on stolen land...I'm going home..." and ends with a Stomp Dance song. Pura Fe has created a great work of art that strikes deep: full of history, blues and traditional native music of the southeast."

Heartfelt and real... full of tradition and style!

Nikya Kuan | Gainesville, FL | 12/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Ulali for quite some time now, and I just had to pick up this album when I heard about it. While the style is slightly different than the Ulali a cappella trio, I've found it no more difficult to absolutely fall in love with this disc. Pura Fe herself plays guitar and piano to complement her masterful vocals, and unmatched writing skills. Her English lyrics range from the emotionally charged track "You Still Take", to the aptly named, dulcet track "Sweet Willie". She has also done an amazing job of combining the traditional music of her native North Carolina roots with the blues culture which grew around the area. She has in effect, painted a portrait of her ancestral home using masterful lyrics, a sharp sense of melody and harmony, and a heart full of passion and emotion.



Look for the title track and how it ropes you in with pervasive four part harmonies and powerful piano chords to set the tone. This is really and truly a momentous and lovely album."