Rita Redshoes will present this Friday, February 24th, at 21 pm, at the Cine-Teatro Louletano, her new album “Her”. This fourth album has been presented as the most mature of the artist Rita Pereira, in which she sought to create the music that touches her the most.
«I wanted to go back to the first album and assume that classic sound, which, looking at what I listen to at home and that makes me shiver, has to do with the most timeless strings and melodies», explains the artist to Musical|Sul Informação.
With this idea in mind, he headed to Berlin to record with Victor Van Vugt, an Australian producer who has in his background “Murder Ballads”, by Nick Cave, or “Trailer Park”, by Beth Orton, and works with PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode , The Fall, Billy Bragg or Einsturzende Neubauten.
This was the first time that Rita Pereira left Portugal to record her songs and she did so with a specific objective: «going to Berlin and being concentrated and closed for a month and a half on the record brought new things to the songs and the way I interpret them”.
As for the choice of the producer, he recognizes that this is an element that is not always well understood, «sometimes not even by the musicians», but that can influence the entire production process.
«It's like the artist's right arm in the recording process. It is with him that the artist discusses what the album will be, what the sound will be and what concepts, which artists will play, which songs, which path to follow. He is the partner, he has to know how to balance the times of things, when to stop, when to record, manage emotions, he is a kind of coach», says Rita Redshoes.
The artist has sought to explore different environments in her work. On the first album, he bridged the gap between his classical training and a more pop side, on the second he embraced his more folk, more organic side, on the third he decided to venture even further, looking for Brazilian producer/musician Gui Amabis, to deconstruct its most classic aspect, opting for a "breaking sound", using samples instead of the real strings.
In between, he participated in soundtracks where he explored other sounds and other instruments. This is probably one of the lesser-known aspects of the composer, but the one that, she admits, gives her the most enjoyment. “I really enjoy making music for cinema and theatre, if I could, that's just what I would do, because it's a space of great creative freedom and the point where I find all the languages I most admire,” he explains.
Although the music produced has to fit a context and a message already created, the artist believes that this is where she can best explore her musical creativity. «It's where I can explore other melodic, harmonic and instrumental aspects, the choice of instruments and sounds. That's where I have no barriers. Freedom is greater and it is very healthy, because it decenters me from my career and creative personality, as a composer of songs and my records».
In the third work, "Life Is A Second Of Love" (2014), there was talk of a growth in the career of Rita Pereira, where the passage from Rita-girl to Rita-woman was notorious, with "Her" being the affirmation of this woman, accepting maturity, as the ability to assume mistakes, not hiding or camouflaging them.
«I feel calm, at peace with myself, with what I'm doing without fear of showing what I am right now and dealing with it. This calm ends up passing through to what is composed, the way in which one sings, how one plays, what one seeks. I think this record is another step in that direction, on this path», says Rita Redshoes.
A path that takes her to songs such as “Sou Mulher”, an overview of the record, very feminine, “but where the masculine is not forgotten” or “Desire but no Fire”, which gained a new direction when it was shared in the studio with the musicians and producer, making his "message go better". “Bird Hunter”, one of the artist's favorites, has a classic melody and lyrics that were finished as soon as they were written, without the need for further retouching.
The confidence that comes with age and stage experience is also reflected in the lyrics of “Her”, resulting in a more direct album, but with subtle messages. If, in the previous albums, the writing was more metaphorical, in this one, there are songs that, although they can have several interpretations, are more direct, maybe even harder.
«Right now, I felt the need to write things like that and I think that before I would have been able to do it and that has to do with greater self-knowledge», explains the artist.
The security she felt at this time led Rita Pereira to dare to write in Portuguese. This is new on a Rita Redshoes original record, but not on her career.
In 2012, in the show The Other Women she sang a song written by Xana (Rádio Macau) and the connection that was created with those who watched made her want to do more, which she worked on.
«Throughout this time, I was experimenting at home and also had some invitations to sing in Portuguese, live, and record with GNR. It was a challenge, I won't deny it, because the language has many edges, there are things that, sometimes written, are very beautiful, but sung don't work», he considers.
There are three songs he sings in his mother tongue – woman, faith in life e Dress – songs that were born naturally. «I didn't sit at my desk for hours writing in Portuguese, I think this comes from having already had a previous work, which was not so exposed, but which brought me to this place that is comfortable for me».
For the most attentive fans, there was the opportunity to follow, almost step by step, the production and recording process, something that started as a personal record for posterity, but which took on another dimension. «I didn't want to lose, in time and memory, what was living there with those fantastic musicians and with that producer. Then it made sense to share that with the rest of the people».
Although the videos contain some more intimate moments, they decided to share them, taking the opportunity to tell the story of the album, who are the people who recorded it, and what the public could expect from it. The feedback he got from those who watched the websodes reinforced this option, as it allowed them to make a path to the final product and had rare access to studio moments.
«They created images and sounds in their heads, before listening to the entire record, and this ended up bringing them closer to the themes and me as a studio musician, because they usually have contact with the more side of the stage and concerts and lose that the other side is a lot of work, a lot of hours and a lot of repetition», explains Rita Redshoes.
In sharing moments with his audience, the concert in Loulé is mostly for the presentation of the new album. The big news is the realization of an old ambition of Rita Pereira to be accompanied on stage by a string quartet, which will give a new sound to the artist's classics, which could not be missing, creating «new interpretations and new spaces and environments in the old songs».
In addition to the two violins, viola and cello, Rita Pereira has Nuno Lucas, on bass, and Rui Freire, on drums, two musicians who usually accompany her live.
This is the third concert included in the musical cycle “Femina”, which will lead to the Cine-Teatro Louletano, throughout 2017, with great female voices. This is followed by Luísa Sobral, on the 18th of March, and Áurea, on the 22nd and 23rd of April.
The concert lasts 75 minutes and prices vary between 10 euros – for those over 65 and under 30 – and 12 euros. The Friend Card is applicable at this event.
Listen and see "Life is Huge":
The full interview:
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