Vida are a four part women's group from Bloomington, Indiana. They perform many self-written originals and some traditional songs, combining elements of folk, gospel and world music. Several Croatian folk songs are included, as well as two from Bulgaria and one from South Africa. Vida's own material is not celebratory in nature, but gives voice to the lives and struggle of simple people, their sorrow and their pain. 'The Famine Song' is drone-like, employing suddenly choked notes for effect. Utilizing simple repeating hypnotic figures as accompaniment, often staggered as in a round-'Mother of the Child' evokes the emotion of an African spiritual-their sound is honest and forthright, but never maudlin, as the beauty and strength of Vida's four voices conquers all.