Artists: José Peixoto & Nuno Cintrão
Album: VISITA: Diálogos com Carlos Paredes (VISITA: Dialogues with Carlos Paredes)
Total playing time: 36:44
Release date: October 10, 2025
Label: Galileo Music
Genre: Instrumental / Classical and electric
Double single: “Verdes Anos” and “Canto de Alcipe” (September 5, 2025)

In the year marking the centenary of acclaimed Portuguese composer Carlos Paredes, guitarists and composers José Peixoto and Nuno Cintrão pay tribute to the immortal legacy of his music. Building on the references, inspirations, and complicity of their work as the duo Combinatorium, with whom they released the album Fragmentos Imaginários (2023), the musicians now set out to explore and reinvent the sound universe of the master of the Portuguese guitar on the album VISITA: Diálogos com Carlos Paredes (VISITA: Dialogues with Carlos Paredes), released today, October 10, by Galileo Music.Divided into two sections: VISITAS (VISITS) and DIÁLOGOS (DIALOGUES) – each with five songs -, this album has a first set of original songs by Carlos Paredes – like “Verdes Anos” and “Canto de Embalar” – with creative arrangements that show off the duo’s identity. The second section features pieces composed based on the music of Carlos Paredes or popularized by the composer, such as the theme “Canto de Alcipe”.

VISITA is an encounter with Carlos Paredes – in all that the very act of visiting holds: to be with someone, and to carry the imprint of that moment as both greeting and rememberance. This VISITA strengthens the desire for tribute through a dialogue that unfolds in new musical readings, born from the fusion of voices brought he classsical and electric guitars. In doing so, it extends the challenge already contained in Paredes’s works – deeply innovative in their tim, and ever open to rediscovery.
“The creative process was quite simple and comes from our routine as a duo. We distributed the pieces and each of us structured our arrangements, leaving free space for each other’s creativity. In rehearsals, we brought all the ideas together and developed them step by step. This allowed us to combine more structured ideas with spontaneous creative processes and improvisation until we reached the final point”, says José Peixoto.

José Peixoto: Classic and electric guitar

Nuno Cintrão: Classic and electric guitar

Recorded at Sons Portáteis Invisible Studios in Monte do Cabeço, Alentejo (Portugal), from June 29 to July 2, 2025

Mixing and mastering by Luís Delgado

Photography: Rafael Gonçalves

Graphic Design: João Nuno Represas

Production: José Peixoto e Nuno Cintrão

ARTISTS: LINA_ & MARCO MEZQUIDA
ALBUM: O FADO
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 59:43
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 26, 2025
RECORD LABEL: GALILEO MUSIC
GENRE: FADO / JAZZ / CLASSICAL
LANGUAGE: PORTUGUESE AND CASTILIAN
SINGLES: NÃO É FÁCIL O AMOR (LOVE IS NOT EASY) – AUGUST 29, 2025

” Marco’s piano makes me float.”
LINA_

” LINA_ has a voice that sings inside me.”
Marco Mezquida

After the homonymous EP that marked the beginning of this remarkable collaboration, LINA_ and Marco Mezquida now present the complete album O Fado, a deeper journey through this emotional geography where tradition and invention embrace each other intimately. It features 12 songs — including originals, revisitations, and discoveries — where fado is heard in new forms, rhythms and profound silences.

This is how this album was born: from an unlikely and inevitable encounter between two artistic languages, two worlds, and two sensibilities that, together, create a new way of expressing fado.
“Marco brought a great lightness to my music”, says LINA_. “The piano is an instrument that has always accompanied me, but in him there is something different — it’s as if it were an extension of his body. And the way he approaches it makes me float. I feel free and deeply heard.”

“I always wanted to be a singer,” says Marco. “I sing with the piano. LINA_ has a voice that touches me deeply, a voice that comes from the ground, that carries truth. Working with her is like being on stage with an artist who is also a poetic instrument — generous, vibrant, and intense. Singing with her, even without words, is a rare privilege.”

“Both advocates of absolute artistic freedom, the two artists have created, with perfect harmony, a work of singular beauty that brings out the depth of the soul of fado, carried by LINA_’s deep and moving vocals and Marco Mezquida’s piano playing.”
Guillaume Schnee (Radio France)

“Given that fado is generally such a dramatic genre, “O Fado” transcends and goes beyond this through the depth, luminosity, and boundless imagination of Mezquida’s piano, and the exultant, perfect, polished, and mannerism-free voice of LINA_. ”
Carlos Pérez Cruz (Club de Jazz)

About the LP O Fado

O Fado brings together compositions by LINA_, who thus affirms another side of her versatile artistic personality, poems by Florbela Espanca and Miguel Torga, but also by Álvaro Duarte Simões, Vitorino Salomé, Sueli Costa, and Luís de Andrade. Among the themes that reflect this present, and a new way of feeling is, for example, “Não é Fácil o Amor”, a heartfelt poem by Luís de Andrade with music by João Vieira (a pseudonym of Janita Salomé) that finds a deep and breathtaking emotional resonance in LINA_’s voice. There are, of course, revisited classics such as “Fado da Defesa”, a true classic that gained immortality in a historic interpretation by Maria Teresa de Noronha and in which LINA_ now discovers, in Marco Mezquida’s surprising arrangement, a new light.

There are more timeless classics on this album, such as “Senhora do Almortão” and even “Lisboa dos Manjericos”, a march in its original version sung by the acclaimed Portuguese fado singer Amália Rodrigues. The repertoire also includes songs in Spanish, such as “No volveré” and “El Rosario de mi Madre”, showing that fado is, after all, a universal emotion that transcends the language of Camões and goes as far as the artists’ will dictates.

In this album, the piano and the voice do not compete – they listen to each other, creating complicity. They seek each other and complement each other. And, in the end, they create a place where fado breathes with other colors, other words, other pauses. A place that could only exist from this encounter, as unique as its protagonists are.
Recorded on 15th January, 8th and 9th May 2025 at Moraleda Studios in La Garriga, Barcelona

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Albert Moraleda

Arrangements by LINA_ and Marco Mezquida

Photographs, art design and illustration by Mireia Miralles
In 2025, this project will be brought to life on stage in a highly anticipated international tour. Following a sold-out concert at the renowned Mercat de Música Viva in Vic, Spain, the upcoming dates are:
November 14
Casa da Música, Porto (Misty Fest) | PT

November 21
Barcelona Jazz Festival | ES

November 22
Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon (Misty Fest) | PT

MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES
 
About LINA_

LINA_, with roots in opera and a classical training, fell in love early on with fado houses — a place of belonging and risk, where her voice found freedom. She recorded for Sony under the name Carolina, and later, as LINA_, she established herself internationally with the LINA_Raül Refree project, unanimously acclaimed by national and international critics. With Fado Camões, released in 2024, she reached No. 1 on the main European world music charts and was distinguished by German critics as the author of the Best Album of the Year in the World Music category. She is, without a doubt, one of the great interpreters of our time. But LINA_ refuses to stand still. And it is from this creative impulse, which is genuine and urgent, that this new album is born.

About Marco Mezquida

Marco Mezquida, born in Menorca in 1987, is today one of the most versatile figures in contemporary Iberian music. A graduate of ESMUC in Barcelona, he is a composer, improviser, prolific collaborator, and regular presence on the world’s most demanding stages. With over 60 albums recorded (20 as leader), an impressive capacity for improvisation, and total dedication to music, Mezquida is a pianist who breathes through his fingers. Among his many accolades are the Jury and Audience Awards at the BMW Welt Jazz Awards (Munich) and three Premis Alícia from the Catalan Academy, including the International Career Award in 2023.

“I always wanted to be a singer,” says Marco. “I sing with the piano. LINA_ has a voice that touches me deeply, a voice that comes from the ground, that carries truth. Working with her is like being on stage with an artist who is also a poetic instrument — generous, vibrant, and intense. Singing with her, even without words, is a rare privilege.”

 Artists: LINA_ & Marco Mezquida
Single: Não é Fácil o Amor (Love is not Easy)
Lyrics: Luís de Andrade
Music: João Vieira (pseudonym: Janita Salomé)
Arrangements: Marco Mezquida
Track running time: 04:31
Single Release Date: 29 August 2025
Releasing ahead of album: O Fado – 26 September 2025
Label: Galileo Music
Genres: Fado
Language: Portuguese

After the homonymous EP, released in March of this year, which marked the beginning of this unique collaboration, the Portuguese multi-award-winning singer LINA_ and the spanish pianist and composer Marco Mezquida are now releasing “Não é Fácil o Amor” (Love is not Easy), a song that is part of the full-length album O Fado, a deeper journey through this emotional geography where tradition and invention are intimately embraced.
“Não é Fácil o Amor” is a heartfelt poem by Luís de Andrade with music by João Vieira (a pseudonym of Janita Salomé) that finds a deep and breathtaking emotional resonance in LINA_’s voice and Marco’s arrangements.

This song will be included on O Fado, an album that will be released on September 26 and will be presented live at the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic (September 19), Misty Fest – November 14 at Casa da Música (Porto) and November 22 at Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon) – and at the Barcelona Jazz Festival (November 21).

LINA_
LINA_, with roots in opera and a classical training, fell in love early on with fado houses — a place of belonging and risk, where her voice found freedom. She recorded for Sony under the name Carolina, and later, as LINA_, she established herself internationally with the LINA_Raül Refree project, unanimously acclaimed by national and international critics. With Fado Camões, released in 2024, she reached No. 1 on the main European world music charts and was distinguished by German critics as the author of the Best Album of the Year in the World Music category. She is, without a doubt, one of the great interpreters of our time.

But LINA_ refuses to stand still. And it is from this creative impulse, which is genuine and urgent, that this new album is born. “Marco brought a great lightness to my music”, she says. “The piano is an instrument that has always accompanied me, but in him there is something different — it’s as if it were an extension of his body. And the way he approaches it makes me float. I feel free and deeply heard.”

ABOUT MARCO MEZQUIDA
Marco Mezquida, born in Menorca in 1987, is today one of the most versatile figures in contemporary Iberian music. A graduate of ESMUC in Barcelona, he is a composer, improviser, prolific collaborator, and regular presence on the world’s most demanding stages. With over 60 albums recorded (20 as leader), an impressive capacity for improvisation, and total dedication to music, Mezquida is a pianist who breathes through his fingers. Among his many accolades are the Jury and Audience Awards at the BMW Welt Jazz Awards (Munich) and three Premis Alícia from the Catalan Academy, including the International Career Award in 2023.

“I always wanted to be a singer,” says Marco. “I sing with the piano. LINA_ has a voice that touches me deeply, a voice that comes from the ground, that carries truth. Working with her is like being on stage with an artist who is also a poetic instrument — generous, vibrant, and intense. Singing with her, even without words, is a rare privilege.”

 
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).

After the acclaimed Gente, an album released in March 2024, Nancy Vieira is back with Esperança (Hope) in a partnership with Brazilian composer and guitarist Fred Martins. Esperança, made up of 11 tracks, was released on April 23rd by Japanese label Respect Record and reached No. 1 on Amazon’s World Music Chart (Japan).

The sway of the water, which travels on the waves, easily crosses the ocean and goes from Brazil to Cape Verde and vice versa. Nancy Vieira and Fred Martins know this well. The first is a real living treasure from the islands that gave us morna and funaná, the coladera and so much more, the voice of a Creole as universal as it is sweet, as sensual as it is modern, which in recent years has recorded some of the most important records of the culture that Unesco now recognizes as Intangible Heritage of Humanity. She has combined Cape Verdean music with other music such Brazilian, Caribbean, and has collaborated with other Cape Verde artists such as Dany Silva and Sara Tavares. Fred Martins is another treasure, this one from across the ocean. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he is a composer, singer and guitarist, influenced by bossa nova, samba and MPB. Living in Lisbon, Martins has collaborated with artists from Spain, UK, Italy and elsewhere.

Fred and Nancy met in 2013 and have been collaborating ever since, although this is their first album recorded together. Recorded by Jorge Cervantes – who plays a special participation in the song “Saiko Dayo” – at CervanteStudio in Lisbon, the album features mostly Nancy’s vocals, together with Fred’s guitar and vocals. The music of Cape Verde and Brazil share equalities apart from a common language, At the heart of morna is the feeling of ‘sodade’ a nostalgic feeling of longing, comparable to the Brazilian feeling of ‘saudade’ found in bossa nova, themselves also related to Portuguese fado, echoes of which can also be found on this album. Esperança is an evocative mix of the music of Cape Verde and Brazil, with songs of peace and love, originals plus standard songs from Cape Verde ending with a Cuban bolero “Trago Risos”.

About this album, the artists say:
 
“We chose the songs with our hearts alert to what is happening in our world, in our time. Too much power in too few hands, huge inequality, too many lives being lost in vain. So, we would like to remind you with these songs that compassion, empathy, a collective sense of life, solidarity and respect can exist in this world, because at the basis of everything is love. These are songs by colleagues and friends who share the same spiritual space, an attitude of seeking growth. They are verses that vibrate for the good of each other and also for the common good.”
 
 
Together, they will present this new album live, in which you can expect music of extreme quality, of total sincerity, capable of holding bodies and hearts, performed by two artists who are as genuine as they are universal. It couldn’t be better.

Following the release of the album, Nancy Vieira and Fred Martins will perform in Japan on the following dates:

July 19 – Kobe
July 20 – Tokyo
July 21 -Tokyo
O pão que se divide vira canção (The bread that is divided becomes a song)
A mão que se decide vence o canhão (The hand that decides beats the cannon)
Pegando na mão (Taking the hand)
De uma multidão (Of a multitude)
De gente que ama (Of people who love)

Rezei pra ver mais uma rosa nascer (I prayed for another rose to bloom)
Eu já roguei pra margarida florir (I’ve prayed for daisies to flourish)
Também já pedi pra chover (I’ve also asked for rain)
Assim como pra despertar (As well as to awaken)
Bem cedo que é pra ver o sol raiar (Very early to see the sun rise)

A compositora e saxofonista Nubya Garcia anuncia a sua próxima digressão pela Europa e Reino Unido, com estreia em Portugal, e inicio no Porto, na Casa da Música, no próximo dia 9 de Fevereiro.

A digressão Odyssey de Nubya Garcia abrange oito países e inclui os seus maiores espetáculos a solo até ao momento, e decorrerá entre fevereiro e março de 2025, com arranque e estreia em Portugal. Nubya Garcia será acompanhada em palco pela sua banda, que conta com Lyle Barton nos teclados, Daniel Casimir no contrabaixo e Sam Jones na bateria.

Foi lançado na passada semana o seu novo álbum Odyssey, já amplamente elogiado, e que como o nome sugere é uma viagem ambiciosa e épica, onde Garcia assegura a orquestração de cordas pela primeira vez. O resultado é uma paisagem sonora que atravessa o jazz, a música clássica, o R&B e o dub.

Odyssey, segue-se à estreia do londrino nomeado para o Mercury em 2020, Source.
Para o lançamento de Odyssey, Nubya Garcia concretiza a visão de longa data de envolver experiências coletivas e eventos de escuta comunitária, e celebra o lançamento com uma exposição única e uma série de experiências imersivas auditivas no centro de Londres. Até sábado (28 de setembro), a exposição gratuita – KEF & Nubya Garcia apresentam: The Making Of Odyssey – para assinalar a luz do dia deste novo álbum, que poderemos vir a escutar ao vivo já em Fevereiro de 2025.

Os bilhetes estarão à venda a partir desta sexta-feira (27 de setembro).

“Odyssey atravessa o jazz, o R&B e os sons orquestrais” – Elle

“Odisseia tem tudo a ver com crescimento e disciplina. Parece mais melancólico e espiritual, tocando as cordas do coração com grandes batidas e composições orquestrais” – Financial Times

“um salto sonoro inspirador” – Jazzwise

“Odyssey leva o ouvinte numa viagem genuinamente épica e emocionante” – The Line of Best Fit

“Odyssey aprofunda o seu ofício como compositora e líder de banda, sendo pioneira num som difícil de definir…. será necessário algum tempo” – MOJO

“brilhante” – Music Week

“majestoso, emocionante” – Rolling Stone UK

“um conjunto deslumbrante que supera até o Source de 2020, com o porte de um clássico moderno” – Uncut

“Grandes acordes de piano, cordas vibrantes e uma batida de fundo esmagadora combinam-se para criar um destaque perfeito para os solos de Garcia” – The Wire

Click to see the new video “Friend of a Friend”

Rodrigo Leão’s new single Friend of a Friend, featuring vocals and lyrics by the Canadian singer-songwriter Michelle Gurevich, was released on Friday, June the 18th.
It’s the first single from the new album A Estranha Beleza da Vida, scheduled for release in October through BMG and available for presales from June18 as well. The new album will also mark Rodigo’s return to the world’s concert stage.

Throughout his career Rodrigo has composed and conceived some of his records as if they were films or a story to be told. Like in a film, it all comes down to the casting of the voices that will bring to life each character of the narrative. Rodrigo then adds in the sounds and moods to create the final cut that gives each record its own diversity and identity, dictated by each of its stories. This is what happened in albums such as Alma Mater, Cinema or A Mãe, where the story is told through the guest singers that embody these characters. In common all these records share more than a music style or genre, but the idea of an album as a film, and of cinema as its world.

Friend of a Friend returns to this concept by casting Michelle Gurevich as a character. Rodrigo says it’s one of his favorite tracks on the new album: “this song was born from my search for a happy rhythm, influenced by the music of rhe 1950s, and gave me the enthusiasm I needed to seek new ideas. It reminds us of a completely different world than the one we live in today.” This festive song has a video made in Copenhagen and Lisbon, without the two artists ever having met for its filming.

Michelle and Rodrigo played their characters in the cities they live in and filmed independently of each other, with Michelle also directing the whole production.

The single’s artwork is by renowned writer and illustrator Afonso Cruz and it can be played on all leading digital streaming platforms (Apple Music, Spotify and Deezer) from June 18.

At the same time the new album A Estranha Beleza da Vida will also be available for presales. It will be released globally by BMG in October 2021, continuing the partnership started with the album O Método.

GANDHI Gandhi is released worldwide on May 14 by the German label Galileo Music.

Rão Kyao – Bamboo Flutes | |Renato Silva Júnior – Harmonium and Keyboards | Ruca Rebordão – Percussion | Toni Lago Pinto – Classical Guitar and Braguesa Viola | Bernardo Couto – Portuguese Guitar | Carlos Lopes – Accordion.

RÃO KYAO HAS A NEW ALBUM AND GANDHI’S ON IT

The same, yet different. That’s Rão Kyao in 2021. Unalterable, due to the identity matrix of his singular art, perennial, as he is. Renewed, due to the existence of new elements adding to his unwavering sound. “Respeito Pela Natureza” (Respect for Nature) was released as a single. Now, the entire album is available, entitled Gandhi, that manifests a man connected to the environment, spiritually connected, and a humanist able to recognize a futuristic legacy, global and pacifistic, of the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi (1986-1948). There is also the man behind the music, the composer and flute player, using all his resources, offering music with a sense of duality as a whole, that is not only universal but also Portuguese.

It’s a thematic album, organic, made to be experienced at home or live, that can not only envelope and delight faithful admirers, but can also open doors to a new generation that identifies with the music and the values it radiates. In “Respeito Pela Natureza” (Respect for Nature) there is an environmental appeal from Gandhi, whilst “Deus É Amor” (God is Love), is a mystical reflection that culminates with said phrase that unifies us. In “Regresso às Origens” (Return to Roots), self-sufficiency and spiritual independence, and in “Paz é o Caminho” (Peace is the way), we are recall Gandhi himself, as he once said “There are no paths to peace, peace is the path”.

The theme “Misericórdia” (Mercy) alludes to the fundamental point of his religious wisdom, while “Satyagraha” underlines the philosophy of love and non-violence that always guided Gandhi, and that would result in the withdrawal of the British. Martin Luther King Jr, would one day rephrase it to “Christ is the message, Gandhi is the method”.

In “Marcha do Sal” (The Salt March), we recall the march to the salt pans, organized by Gandhi, who was joined by the masses, in favour of the right to salt by the natives, whilst “Independência” (Independence), refers to 1947, the year of India’s independence. “Vaishnav jan to tene Kahiye je” is one of Gandhi’s personal favourite pieces of music, about the choices of humanity, having become one of India’s favourite hymns over the years.

The final theme, “Mahatma”, in its literal translation means Large Soul, name given to him by the Indian people.

If on the thematic side of this project it breathes globality, from a musical perspective it makes one travel to the Orient, without ever removing ourselves from the textures and identity of the Portuguese rhythms, with such diverse influence, from popular folklore to fado, on a trip, that is in fact, within ourselves. Peaceful music, but active and charming as only Gandhi knew how to be. 

“He created a new mentality for the natives of India, a benign pride in relation to their origins”, says Rão Kyao, “that prepared them to respect and understand the richness of their traditions. Not only was this successful in relation to their heritage, but also in recovering their economic independence, and consequently political independence in relation to the British. Therefore, a theme like “Regresso às Origens” (Return to Roots), is worth note, as it sums up the sequence of sowing peace, in the midst of a conflict, giving no quarter to aggression, but in an active way whilst always, promoting equality between all human beings. His creed was (and is still!) so current, that two of his greatest followers were Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

In Gandhi, there is also the message of Rão Kyao himself, framing himself within the Gandhi philosophy:

“We need to return to our roots, looking to what is universal, not forgetting our own peculiarities and differences. This illustrates my posture in relation to music”. 

Music, that on stage, requires participation of five gifted performers, to be rendered in its best form.

“The album was recorded in its entirety without ‘added sonic quality’, so as to best be performed and enjoyed in a live setting. It’s a record about the story of a man who won a war whilst using peace as a weapon. As such, this story needs to be told, live, musically to people.” Let it be said that the project began as a challenge. Indian official entities pitched an invitation to 124 countries, so that each one would recreate/rearrange the track “Vaishnav Jan to Tene Kahiye”. “It was then that the Indian Embassy in Portugal, invited me to create my own version of the track, knowing my link to Indian music” says Rão Kyao, that once finished, drew an immediate, and surprising, reaction from Narendra Modi (India’s Prime Minister) who commended him on all of his personal social media.

From then on, Kyao was able to dive deeper into the contemporariness of the Gandhi thinking, conceiving an album almost instantly.

Hence, here we are, before one more album, from someone who started in the jazz spectrum of music, and from then on enthusiastically flung his musical identity from the Orient to Africa, from Europe to the Americas, equipped with bamboo flutes. An Indian ambassador with a Portuguese soul. A long career, filled with records, loads of features and collaborations, filled with teachings and inspiration, that made him the most universal of Portuguese musicians. Last but not least, Rão Kyao, never stopped collecting positive reviews from the critics, not ovations from the audience, with records like Fado Virado a Nascente, 2001 (Fado turned to the East), Porto Alto, 2004 (High Port), or Coisas que a gente sente, 2012 (Things that we feel), and Aventuras da Alma, 2017 (Adventures of the soul), always moving around the world. Now he’s back, with some great music inspired by the life and work of Gandhi.

Uguru is proud to inform you that the album  Lina_ Raül Refree,  released internationally in January 2020 by Glitterbeat Records, won the first edition of the Carlos do Carmo Award. This award adds to a huge list of international distinctions that the duo has been collecting since the release of the first album in January 2020.

_Winner of the Carlos do Carmo Award
_ # 1 in the World Music Charts Europe, “Disc of the year 2020
_Voted one of the 5 best records of 2020, Le Monde (Patrick Labesse)
_#1 “Best Portuguese albums 2020”, No Sólo Fado
_Winner of the Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik – German Critics Award
_Winner of Prix de L’Académie Charles Cros (France) – Coup de Coeur 2020
_Nominated for Les Victoires du Jazz 2020 (France)
_#TOP10 Transglobal Music Charts for 4 consecutive months (Feb-May 2020)
_Videoclip “Cuidei que Tinha Morrido” finalist for One Screen Short Film Festival – New York 2020

The Carlos do Carmo Award was instituted by SPA as a way of honouring the interpreter who died in January this year, a member of this institution since 1997. The jury responsible for the evaluation of the works in the area of Fado for 2020, presided by António Vitorino D’Almeida and formed by Rui Vieira Nery, Paulo de Carvalho, Tozé Brito and Tiago Torres da Silva, attributed the first edition of the Prize to the project of Lina, exceptional singer, resident fadista of Clube de Fado and author of two albums, and of the Catalan Raül Refree, one of the most renowned producers of today.

The award ceremony will take place on 25 May during the celebrations of the Portuguese Author’s Day.