10 Questions For: Deolinda

INTERVIEW

Our section for interviews has given us several amazing talks with some of our favorite artists in the continent. Today, we had the pleasure of talking with a member of one of the most distinguished groups to ever emerge from the Portuguese music scene. These are our 10 questions for Luís José Martins, of Deolinda:

Sounds European!: Let's start from the beginning. You are a family which ended up becoming a music group. Tell us about how that happened: what is the family relation among you, and how did you gather to make music? How is the experience of working in family? Are there more pros or more cons?

Luís José Martins (Deolinda): It is true, the project of Deolinda is also a family. There are two brothers who are guitarists (Pedro da Silva Martins and Luís José Martins), who accompany a cousin, who is our lead singer (Ana Bacalhau), along with her husband who plays the contrabass (Zé Pedro Leitão).

There was always a will to make music together. We all had previous experience with projects of Portuguese music. The opportunity of launching a project together appeared after three songs which Pedro wrote thinking about Ana's voice, and then on the first rehearsal we felt there was a strong identity in the songs and in the personality of the group.

SE!: Let’s talk about the name Deolinda. Many people get confused, thinking Deolinda is the lead singer of the group (whose real name is Ana Bacalhau). But Deolinda is a character. How was Deolinda created? And how would you describe her? Is she the only character the group has created? If not, what others? And where did the idea of working with characters come from?

LJM: The character Deolinda was created because the common point of the universe of our music was the feminine point of view - which described, by means of the songs, stories of her neighborhood. This is why it was more natural to name the project after this character.

Throughout our four albums, there are dozens of characters – Toninho, the waitress of the house of fado, the old lady, a DJ, the young lady of "parva que sou" ["how silly I am", in Portuguese], among others.

The use of characters on Deolinda's songs comes from the perspective of the chronicle eye of the character.

SE!: We perceive your music as popular Portuguese music with a plus. Instead of the traditional (at least, this is how the world sees it) melancholy of the genre, your melodies are usually livelier, more upbeat. And there is also the presence of pop, folk and blues. How would you define your own music, in style and genre? What would you like your fans to feel with your music?

LJM: Our music is a giant melting pot of influences, and this is why it is very hard to define a genre or style. The starting point is always the heritage of Portuguese music, from fado to singer-songwriter music, going through folk and pop.

In parallel, each of us tries to bring our own musical personality and our deepest personal influences, and this is why there are pinches of diverse genres - such as jazz, contemporary music and rock in our work.

SE!: A fact which calls our attention is that you depict Portugal in everything which surrounds your work. It is not only your music which has Portuguese characteristics: your lyrics, clothes, the visual work on your shows and video clips... everything has a very distinct local touch. Is highlighting this national identity an objective of yours? Especially when you have shows in other countries, how is the reception of the foreign audience to this identity?

LJM: On a first phase of our project, and for the understanding of the concept, we wanted to focus all our artistic language on the character Deolinda, on her insertion in the local culture. Nowadays, we feel we can free ourselves a bit from that more typical image of the character and take on our personalities more clearly.

SE!: We already talked about our impression of your producing popular Portuguese music with a plus. This is also perceivable on your lyrics. They go beyond what can be usually seen on local traditional music, embracing social interactions, human frailties – many times with irony and humor. What are the topics you like writing about the most? And how does the process of composing your songs work?

LJM: Who composes and writes all lyrics of Deolinda is Pedro da Silva Martins. The inspirations for the songs are varied, but they mainly start with day-to-day observation. The process of building the songs starts with Pedro introducing them to us, still on a simple voice-and-guitar version. Afterwards, we as a group create the arrangements, always with the objective of respecting the song and its subtleties.

"Our music is a giant melting pot of influences, and this is why it is very hard to define a genre or style" (Picture: official Facebook page)

SE!: You have already had shows in many countries in the world. Can you name some of them for us? How is the experience of having to transmit a work which has such an important focus on the lyrics of the songs for audiences that do not understand Portuguese?

LJM: Our international route has been wonderful, both regarding the experience of knowing new cultures and the magnificent reception we have had. We have had the chance of playing all around the world (New York, Goa, Macau, Berlin, Paris, Sofia, Stockholm, Rabat, Istanbul, Thessaloniki, São Tomé, Maputo, Chicago, São Paulo, Guanajuato, Johannesburg, among many other cities).

SE!: Going further on the international matter, you have had extremely positive reviews in different countries – such as Brazil and the United Kingdom, for example. How is it to receive this kind of positive reaction from such different places? And what do you want to achieve with your career, beyond what you have already?

LJM: We have had the joy of our work being well received, and of having a loyal audience which praises our work. That is the biggest happiness we can aspire. What we long for is to continue having the privilege of having an attentive audience, and to have them curious and satisfied with our work.

SE!: What are your professional projects for the near future? What are Deolinda's next steps the fans can expect?

LJM: At the moment, we are with an intense tour which will take our following months, specially in Portugal. Summer is filled with open-air concerts, and during autumn we will go back to concert halls around the country. At the same time, we have some international dates, with concerts in Brazil, Belgium and Spain.

SE!: If you could choose anyone, who would be some Portuguese and international artists you'd like to collaborate with?

LJM: The list of artists would be endless, but we have had the chance of playing with some colleagues whose work we admire: Gaiteiros de Lisboa, Xutos e Pontapés, António Zambujo, Ana Moura and Cristina Branco.

SE!: We would like to post a song of yours to close this interview. What is your favorite song of yourselves, and why?

LJM: It is hard to highlight one song among so many that are special to us, but as a representation of our latest album, "Outras histórias", we'd suggest the single "Corzinha de verão".