ARTISTS: LINA_ & JULES MAXWELL
ALBUM: TERRA MÃE (Mother Earth)
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 38:50
RELEASE DATE: 27 JUNE 2025
RECORD LABEL: ATLANTIC CURVE | SCHUBERT MUSIC EUROPE
GENRE: GLOBAL ELECTRONICA
LANGUAGE: PORTUGUESE/ENGLISH
After the two singles “Não Deixei de Ser Quem Sou” (The Person I Always Was) and “Arde Sem Se Ver” (Follow The Dove), LINA_ & Jules Maxwell have just released Terra Mãe (Mother Earth), a 9-track album, internationally through Atlantic Curve / Schubert Music Europe. Today, the duo is also releasing the video for the song “Terra Mãe”, made by animator/videographer David Daniels.The partnership between the multi-award-winning Portuguese artist and the Irish composer/keyboardist from Dead Can Dance results in an album that celebrates the poetic connections between Portugal and Ireland, and aims to succeed the acclaimed Burn, an album by Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell, released in 2021.his album features original songs by Jules Maxwell, LINA_ and Portuguese composer, poet and singer Amélia Muge. This new collaboration reunites the artistic team which brought “Burn” to fruition, producer James Chapman (using multi-layered electronica, Mercury Prize nominee Maps is in high demand, with official remixes in use by The Killers, Depeche Mode, Moby and 83, et al.), designer Giovanni Rodriguez and animator/videographer David Daniels.
Named after the Portuguese for “Mother Earth”, Terra Mãe features emotive melismatic vocals from LINA_ combined with new avenues of global electronica synths and grooves. The album features nine original songs that explore the poetic connections between Ireland and Portugal, a journey that started with a word used in both languages, “fado”. Portuguese for folk songs typically of doleful or fatalistic character, the word “fadó” (pronounced “f’doe”) is also used in the Irish language, Gaelic, for “long ago”, commonly used to start a story, similar to “once upon a time.”
Both countries stand at the edge of Europe, looking west to the Atlantic Ocean and all that lies beyond. The folk songs of these two countries are dominated by a sense of love, longing and leaving which has in turn bound LINA_ and Jules Maxwell together in this collaboration, resulting in new narratives, melodies, rhythms and compositions.
Terra Mãe features adaptations by Portuguese composer, poet and singer, Amélia Muge on “Arde Sem Se Ver” (Follow The Dove) “A Flor Da Romã” (Cherry Blossom) and “Entre o Ser e o Estar” (Wishful Thinking). Highly regarded as a curator of eclectic music, Amélia Muge’s poetic lyrics provide a perfect complement for LINA_’s emotive vocals.
The emotive melisma of Portuguese poetry and traditional Irish folk music are a natural point of connectivity between the two cultures, as explored in Terra Mãe. The album features songs that arose through the creative spaces of improvisation as on the title track “Terra Mãe” and “Requiem”, while the closing track “When Are They Coming?” was penned by both collaborators.
“Terra Mãe has been a joy to create. The songs are original compositions born of Ireland, beautifully adapted by LINA_ and Amélia Muge into Portuguese, with a sound forged in the fire of English electronic producer James Chapman, who I previously worked with on the ‘Burn’ album with Lisa Gerrard.”, says Jules Maxwell.Part of the creative process for Terra Mãe took place during an artistic residency between Jules Maxwell and LINA_ in the inspirational setting of Wiltshire’s 12th century Malmesbury Abbey. Not only a historical place of battle and burial, Malmesbury Abbey is also a centre for education, creativity, prayer and healing.About the process of collaborating with Jules Maxwell, LINA_ says: “Terra Mãe unites two distinct musical genres that, despite their differences, share a deep sense of identity and emotion. Adapting lyrics and composing melodies based on the foundations laid by Jules Maxwell was a challenging yet rewarding experience that significantly boosted my confidence as a songwriter. For me, the album embodies a profound spiritual and ethereal connection, intertwining themes of the immaterial, nature, and religion.”
Crossroads and encounters result in new findings and unusual paths, especially when it comes to artists who are open to collaboration and creative stimulus from others. And this is certainly the case with LINA_ and Jules Maxwell on Terra Mãe.
Two singles from Terra Mãe are “Não Deixei de Ser Quem Sou” (The Person I Always Was , May 2) and “Arde Sem Se Ver” (Follow The Dove, June 6).