THE DIVAS
MARIZA
// traditional fado
20 years of career, 20 years of music. 20 years of a journey that began discreetly, as an almost hidden local phenomenon, shared only by a small circle of Lisbon admirers. And what made Mariza, and her extraordinary voice, one of the most applauded stars on the World Music circuit. And a true ambassador of Fado who does not hesitate to take it along new and daring paths, without ever losing sight of her soul.
CARMINHO
// traditional fado
Carminho is one of the greatest voices of fado and one of the Portuguese artists with the greatest international projection.
Carminho was born in the midst of guitars and fado voices, daughter of renowned fado singer Teresa Siqueira, and she debuted singing in public at the age of twelve, at the Coliseu. “Fado”, her first album, was released in 2009, which became one of the most acclaimed albums of the year and decade. It reaches platinum - an enviable result for a debut - and sees "Fado" open the hearts of Portugal to his voice, and the doors of the world to her talent: best album of 2011 for the British magazine "Songlines", performances in the main European capitals, at Womex 2011 in Copenhagen and at UNESCO's Parisian headquarters as part of Fado's candidacy for world heritage.
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After visiting the main theaters in Europe and the world, in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, China, India, Latvia, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Poland, France, Austria, Denmark, among many others.
ANA MOURA
// new fado
Ana Moura is not a breaking artist by any stretch, but she continues to break with tradition. She’s one of Portugal’s biggest stars, a fado singer (or fadista) who has sold millions of records and is about to release her seventh album.
She already did for fado what Rosalía did for flamenco as far back as 2012 – without hopping on a motorbike or the dance routines, mind – when she worked with Joni Mitchell producer Larry Klein and Prince on Desfado, thus revitalising fado for her generation.
But now Moura is reinventing again, making alt fado that is intriguing, layered and at home in the global-pop sphere while remaining distinct. CasaGuilhermina, out now, is largely inspired by the Lisbon scene known as novo fado (new fado).
At club nights and parties, local DJs and producers mix up traditional guitarra and samples from old fado classics with the music of the Afro-Lusophone diaspora, such as semba, Cape Verdean morna and the 80s electronic-geared kizomba, finding links with Afrobeats, Brazilian genres such as samba and the contemporary skitter of US trap.
Moura’s mother is Angolan, her father Portuguese, and this album is a bridge.
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CUCA ROSETA
// traditional fado
Cuca Roseta is one of today's most acclaimed fado singers. She began her career in fado at the age of 18 and quickly stood out for her talent and her voice.
With seven albums out, all of them highly acclaimed by the public and widely distinguished by critics, the artist soon gained a prominent place in the fado scene.
Cuca Roseta stands out as one of the most prominent fado singers at national and international level, and is also considered an artistic phenomenon and one of the greatest and most recognised Portuguese interpreters.
Cuca Roseta's success has led her to tour and sing in more than 50 countries around the world, performing on the most prestigious stages on every continent.
THE DIVAS
MARTA PEREIRA
// Portuguese guitar
Historically, the Portuguese Guitar has always been associated with man as a musician, and mostly confined to Fado as a language. Marta Pereira da Costa breaks with this tradition and presents a new Portuguese Guitar as the “voice” of her project.
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She is a pioneer in professionally playing Portuguese Guitar in Fado worldwide, she takes Fado to the World and brings the World to Fado, breaking barriers and uniting borders.
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In 2014 he was distinguished by the Amália Rodrigues Foundation with the “Instrumentalist Award”.
Marta performs in different formations from QUINTETO, composed of Portuguese Guitar, Classical Guitar, Double Bass, Piano (and/or accordion) and Percussion; or in smaller formations such as TRIO (composed of Portuguese Guitar, Classical Guitar and Double Bass); DUO (composed of Piano and Portuguese Guitar), or even SOLO.
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The audience will be taken on a journey through the most traditional sounds such as fado and traditional Portuguese music, which sometimes follows other paths such as Brazilian chorinho, Cape Verdean morna or the same world music. Different sounds and environments, in an interpretation guided by sensitivity and delicacy, but also intense and dynamic, and always with a very Portuguese flavor and identity.
SARA CORREIA
// traditional fado
Ever since she was very young, Sara Correia has been singing regularly at Lisbon's most renowned fado houses. And so she sings with strength and confidence of someone who grew up immersed in fado. In September 2018 she was ready to release her debut album, "Sara Correia". "I relate very strongly with all the songs that make up this record, I see myself in every story they tell and these stories define me as a fadista. So I decided it should be self-titled", the singer explains. She has lived and breathed fado since childhood. Growing up in a family of fadistas she has always been surrounded by music and musicians, and, as such, living the same life came naturally. "Everything happened so fast. I've gone out to listen to fado since I was very little, I have fadistas in the family and I started singing when I was very young", she recalls. Still, in those early stages of the path that would lead her to devote herself entirely to fado, there is a moment she remembers as particularly important: "When I sung and won at the Grande Noite do Fado de Lisboa, I felt like this was what I wanted to do with my life"
GISELA JOAO
// new fado
When Gisela João released her debut album in 2013, it set in motion a rapid rise to the upper echelons of Portuguese music. Her voice, deep, passionate, strong yet touched with a sensitive vulnerability, found instant resonance with public and critics alike.
The sparse instrumental accompaniment – no strings, percussion or overblown arrangements – signalled a return to fado’s roots but in the service of facing the world of today. She even dares to sing a classic Amália Rodrigues song with lyrics updated by Capicua, a rapper from Porto. A moderniser then, but making the statement that fado’s soul lies in its raw nature and that the emotions it articulates are universal.
It is said that ‘a fadista must be born one and not merely wish to be one’. Gisela João is indisputably a natural-born fadista.
FADO
// about
A shawl, a guitar, a voice and a lot of feeling. A recognised symbol of Portugal, this simple image can describe Fado, a music of the world that is Portuguese.
In its essence, it sings the feeling, the heartbreak, the longing for someone who left, the daily life and the conquests. After all, the matches and mismatches of life are an infinite theme for inspiration. A style which values above all the performance of the voice, which gives colour to the repertoire sung, brings the interpreter, the musicians and the listener to the same brilliance.
They say that Fado is Fado, it comes from within the Portuguese soul and there are no divisions to be made. Even so, there are those who risk distinguishing between professional and amateur. The first is sung by those who make their voice their way of life. The second, also known as vadio, has other characteristics, although the nostalgic nature is the same. Once again appearing in the working-class quarters of Lisbon, the Fado singers are never invited... they invite themselves and have no established repertoire.
The song that stubbornly refused to be silenced saw its place in the public arena in the 1980s, as national heritage, at a time when popular interest was being renewed. In 2011, Fado, an identity symbol of the capital and the country, was classified by UNESCO as World Heritage.