SPOTLIGHT: Tuscarora Blues Artist Pura Fe'

Pura Fe’ and the Pura Fe’ Trio are taking on the Blues world with a new LIVE double-CD and an ambitious international travel schedule that’ll be remembered in the annals of Blues music history.

Consisting of Cary Morin on lead guitar, Pete Knudsen on percussion and Pura Fe’ on vocals and slide guitar, the Pura Fe’ Trio is a collective that can roll with the best of the Blues music world and still bring you a pure Indigenous sound that will shake your spiritual core. On her fifth solo album project, Pura Fe’ shares with us a live performance from Spring of 2011 in the form of a double-CD album - A Blues Night in North Carolina.

Born in New York City and raised within a family of talented traditional Tuscarora singers Pure Fe’ has been groomed into musical mastery since a young age. Her mother, Nanice Lund, was a classically trained opera singer who toured with Duke Ellington and his Sacred Concert Series. With her traditional roots stemming from the Tuscarora Nation in North Carolina in addition to the history of integration between Indigenous peoples and the slave trade, Blues music has become a large part of who Pura Fe’ is to this day

As the founder of the world famous female drum group, Ulali, Pura Fe’ was afforded the chances to travel the world and be a part of a greater musical movement while playing to crowds around the globe. During this time of Ulali’s world travels, the group went on to work with people such as Robbie Robertson on the song Mahk Jchi which was featured on the Jay Leno show and also reached platinum status in Italy. She has performed in huge showcases such as the World Festival For Sacred Music for the Dalai Lama, was featured on the soundtrack for the Miramax film Smoke Signals and has opened for artists like Neil Young, Taj Mahal and George Duke to name a couple.

After pursuing a solo career, she learned to play the acoustic lap slide guitar, which is an instrument identified with a large part of the native music culture in North Carolina. Teaching herself to play songs on the slide guitar, she proceeded to record the album Follow Your Heart’s Desire on the Music Maker label. From there she has gone on to win a Nammy in 2006 and a L’Académie Charles Cros Award (France’s version of the Grammy) for “Best World Album”.

Now touring with her group the Pura Fe’ Trio, she brings to the musical universe her live performance album that features Justin Robinson of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the Deer Clan Singers, mixing Blues and traditional sounds along with her vocals to create this double-CD masterpiece. Released in February 2011, this album is sure to be part of music history for both the Indigenous music community and the Blues circuits worldwide.

Pura Fe’ says she is now splitting her time between sun dances, community work with women and families and canoeing the rivers of her traditional territories. Starting this September, she will be teaching at the University of Toronto and then will begin touring with her trio in the upcoming spring into the summer.

Now working on stage with her pedal looper, she is creating innovative sounds using percussion and traditional vocals, proving that new techniques can be employed into traditional styles and evolved into something that is both beautiful and inspiring.

In today’s climate of commercially marketed music, Pura Fe’ shows us that raw heart and soul can create the most amazing music. As an Indigenous woman in the arts, she proves herself to be of ultimate talent while maintaining her self-determined identity within both the Native and non-native music community.

To learn more about the Pura Fe’ Trio, check out her website Purefe.com

To purchase A Blues Night in North Carolina, visit her page on iTunes.