Nancy Vieira and Fred Martins' new album proposes musical fusion

In statements to the Lusa news agency, Nancy Vieira said that this fusion "happens naturally", like her musical encounter with the Brazilian musician Fred Martins.

"I meet people, I like them, as was the case with Fred. We were introduced by the Azorean musician Paulo Borges, in 2013," said Nancy Vieira, noting that the Azorean musician "is a great connoisseur" of her "musical soul" and always referred to the Brazilian singer and guitarist, and vice versa, until they met.

At the time, Fred Martins was recording an album, and the Cape Verdean singer was invited to participate in a track titled "O Samba Me Diz" (Marcelo Diniz/Fred Martins). "And a friendship grew, and naturally, a desire to make music together."

The album consists of 11 songs, opening with "Não Sou Daqui" and closing with "Trago Risos".

The line-up includes the bolero "Tú me Acostumbraste" (Frank Domínguez), a creation by Chavela Vargas (1919-2012), while another recreation is "Saiko Dayo" (Gregório Gonçalves), by Bana (1932-2013), which mixes the Cape Verdean rhythms of morna and coladeira, with influences from jazz and blues, and features the participation of Jorge Cervantes.

Nancy Vieira stated that the recreation of the bolero "Tú me Acostumbraste" "has a touch of bossa nova, as is the case with the mornas on the album; these Latin American rhythms have, in fact, been a passion of hers for many years."

In this album, a musical triangle is drawn -- Cape Verde, Brazil, Cuba --, with the singer highlighting "the great brotherhood, affinity and familiarity between Cape Verde and Brazil".

Nancy Vieira mentioned the various Cape Verdean performers who have sung Cuban songs, such as Cesária Évora (1941-2011), who recorded with the Cuban composer and singer Compay Segundo (1907-2003) and the "mythical group Voz de Cabo Verde", which sang and recorded cumbias and boleros.

"When I was little, I'm talking about the 1970s/1980s, I listened to those songs by that legendary band Voz de Cabo Verde, as if they were ours too, and they played them and sang them as if they were theirs," said the artist, highlighting: "Those songs blend with our musical heritage and there really is a great brotherhood."

The opening theme, "Não Sou Daqui" (I'm Not From Here), is a song that Amélia Muge composed during a stay in Cape Verde, and which speaks of the current reality, namely the problems of migrants: "Basically, what she tells us is that she is not from Cape Verde, but she really enjoyed being there, understanding how others live and finding her place in Cape Verde."

A topic that means a lot to Nancy Vieira and Fred Martins, "foreigners who live in Portugal, and who in a certain way are well received and find their place, but that has not happened with many foreigners", so the duo wanted to "leave this message, [that it is possible] to find the place, even where it is not the place of birth or family and that family can be those who are not of [the same] blood, that is the message".

"Esperança" is released by a Japanese label, Respect Records, and has already been released in Japan, following the album "Gente" (2024).

Nancy Vieira emigrated to Lisbon at the age of 14 and made her debut in 1995 with the album "Nós Raça".

Throughout her career, she has collaborated with a variety of musicians, including Rui Veloso, Ildo Lobo, Titina Rodrigues, Ala dos Namorados, Rão Kyao, and Dani Silva. In 2008, she participated in the album "Mulher Passa a Palavra," alongside singers such as Ana Moura, Teresa Salgueiro, and Dulce Pontes, among others.

Born in 1970, award-winning Fred Martins began composing in the 1980s, collaborating with Marcelo Diniz and Manoel Gomes. His work has been performed by artists such as Ney Matogrosso, Adriana Calcanhotto, Zélia Duncan, and others, and has also featured on soap opera soundtracks.

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