Rest in Peace Sara Tavares.
The First time I heard Sara Tavares was in 1994, I was 5, she was 15. It was on a TV talent show where she sang Whitney Houston, I remember watching and thinking she was magical. Then on the same year she represented Portugal on Eurovision and she was amazing, "Chamar a música" is still after all these years my go to song when I feel like singing something.
She then went and outdid herself, in 1996, when whe sang (in my opinion) the best version of "God help the outcasts" from the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
I also admired her, when she had the courage to be outspoken about the racism in portuguese society. And she proved herself right, as she slowly became less proeminente on mainstream media when she started showcasing more her cape-verdean culture on her music and appearence.
When she came out as Bissexual, I felt a great admiration yet again for her, as it's still something rare for portuguese public figures to openly talk about their sexuality.
In these last few years she started showing up more on TV and on the radio again, maybe due to a slight improvement in portuguese society.
But I always thought that she deserved more from "us". (Her and a few others great artists hidden in Portugal that don't seem to me like they are given the true attention they deserve).
Sara died yesterday with only 45 years, she was a shooting star and we are all a little more richer for having known her.
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Throwback: Happy 85th Birthday, Fela Kuti!
Throwback: Happy 85th Birthday, Fela Kuti! @felakuti
The godfather of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti was born 85 years ago today. Although we tragically lost Fela 26 years ago from AIDS, since his death, his influence on contemporary global music has managed to grow exponentially with an increasing number of bands and artists across the world creating their own specific take on the genre — and sound — he created over 50 years ago.
Kuti’s work is bold and…
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Ray Ragnhild Adams - Allande - Frederiksberg Records reissue of 1997 tape-only release from Sweden, an adventurous one-woman bedroom pop album that would have been at home on Crammed Discs
Ray Ragnhild Adams wrote and recorded Allande, her only solo album, in 1997. It was conceived while she was living and working in Torna Hällestad, a small town in southern Sweden. It was later recorded in a small studio in Malmö and privately released in a tiny run of cassette tapes.
On the eleven tracks that make up Allande, Ray combines strong vocals, polyrhythmics, sensitive chord progressions and non-Western scales and rhythms to deliver a personal and relevant musical experience. Among the instruments featured are a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, a homemade polymer transverse flute and a full- size Paraguayan harp.
As she recalls, her earliest musical influences include African rhythm and song and early R&B, music that her mother enjoyed, and Ray absorbed it all. She was drawn to music and found solace in it. It became a platform for her own expression, as she would improvise on piano and rhythm instruments at an early age.
Text & musik Ray Ragnhild Adams med röst / synt / harpa / flöjt och rytm
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If you are into mysterious and folky ethereal vibes with a deep voice, listen to this song: an interpretation of Goigs de la Mare de Déu del Claustre de Solsona with a modern arrangement, by Roger Mas.
Roger Mas is a musician and singer-songwriter from Solsona, Central Catalonia. In this album, he included some traditional songs from his city. This one is a goigs (Catalan prayer songs) dedicated to the patron saint of Solsona, the Madonna of the Cloister.
Lyrics in Catalan and translation to English under the cut.
Puix tant amor ens teniu
per ser la nostra Patrona:
de la ciutat de Solsona
els vostres fills protegiu.
Since you love us so much
to be our Patron:
of the city of Solsona
protect your children.
Quan la terra a l'aspre jou
del pecat quedà lligada
per no veure-us profanada
us amaguen dins d'un pou.
Dels claustres on el teniu
tothom el títol us dóna.
De la ciutat de Solsona
els vostres fills protegiu.
When the Earth became linked
to the rough yoke of sin
in order to not see you profaned
you were hidden inside a well.
Everyone gives you the title
of the cloisters where you have it [the well].
Protect your children
of the city of Solsona.
Un dia anant-hi a jugar
un nen en ses aigües queia;
sa mare que mort el creia,
així el va sentir cridar:
mareta, no us afligiu,
que ja tinc qui ajuda em dóna,
de la ciutat de Solsona
els vostres fills protegiu.
One day, going to play there
a child fell in its waters;
his mother, who thought him dead,
heard him shout like this:
"dear mother, don't grieve,
for I already have someone who helps me".
Protect your children
of the city of Solsona.
Els monjos i els habitants,
corrent-hi tots de seguida,
encara el troben amb vida
en vostres sagrades mans.
A la imatge, que els somriu,
claror una llàntia dóna
de la ciutat de Solsona
els vostres fills protegiu.
The monks and inhabitants,
all of them quickly running there,
still found him alive
in your holy hands.
A lamp illuminates
the Image, which smiles at them.
Protect your children
of the city of Solsona.
Sens cap núvol al cel blau
un gran tro causa sorpresa,
i queda la llàntia encesa
per un llamp que del cel cau.
Aquest fet tan expressiu
el vostre poder pregona,
de la ciutat de Solsona
els vostres fills protegiu.
With no cloud in the blue sky
a great thunder causes surprise,
and the lantern remains lit
by a lightning that fell from the sky.
Such an expressive event
proclaims your power.
Protect your children
of the city of Solsona.
Puix tant amor ens teniu
per ser la nostra Patrona:
de la ciutat de Solsona
els vostres fills protegiu.
Since you love us so much
to be our Patron:
Protect your children
of the city of Solsona.
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