They debuted in October 2023 with “Corridinho Português” and “Político Antropógão”, a double single that presented the unique sound of Cara de Espelho, the new Portuguese popular music project, which brings together Pedro da Silva Martins, Carlos Guerreiro, Nuno Prata, Luís J Martins, Sérgio Nascimento and Maria Antónia Mendes.
The long-awaited debut album Cara de Espelho is released today, January 26th, and will be available on CD, Vinyl and all digital platforms, anticipating a tour that will tour the country throughout 2024 and whose first dates have already been announced.
Exploring the richness of Portuguese popular music, the album follows a journey that is also a tribute to its diversity, its origins and its history. A story made up of intersections, meetings and dialogues between so many people, peoples and cultures that in the past, as in the present, build the community and country that we are. A country that is narrated here both in its lightness and festivity, as well as in its shadows and questions.
Nothing is left unsung, in twelve songs that cover different sounds, both acoustic and electric, sombre or celebratory, also highlighting sound textures with Arabic and African influences. Nothing is left unsaid, in twelve themes that go to the bones and bowels of who we are, in these times of conflict and polarization, but also of questioning and commitment to a future that remains open.
Each song is a reflection of virtues or defects, weaknesses, small or great powers, tics, vices, what it means to be a citizen or, in the broadest sense, what it means to be human.
Populated by various concerns, Cara de Espelho faces, without fear, the myths of a supposed “Portuguese genuineness”, so committed to demonstrating its purity that it sometimes forgets that “the guitar is Portuguese / made of rosewood from Bahia”, which “the cod is so sovereign / after all it comes from Norway” or that “not even Afonso Henriques / was pure Portuguese” (in “Genuinamente”). Being Portuguese, in this album’s view, means being richer, plural and diverse, both in its history and in its future. A vision that may not please someone called “Dr Coisinho”, “le pequenino”, who “comes out from under the rock” to “objectify fear” (in “Dr Coisinho”). And it probably won’t please a certain scavenging creature that “sticks its nail, flesh, skin and bone / sinks its thirsty tooth into its neck” (in “Político Antropófago”); or even those hungry bluebottles that “crave poverty”, “foster disgust, nausea and disgust”, turning misery into opulence (in “Varejeiras”).
The critical sharpness of popular music is always present throughout the album, which is also lavish in its satirical and provocative vein, whether to parody the insatiable political inclination for pots, lights, opulence and distinction (in “Testa de Ferro”) or to ironize the Kafkaesque labyrinths of the Tax Authority and holy financial religiosity, adorned by its sacred tax havens (in “Paraíso Fiscal”).
But this work is not just about criticism and satire, it is also a celebration of freedom and common existence. It is in this way that, faced with a world of polarization, it becomes necessary to denounce violence and the spoils of war (in “Tratado de Paz”), as well as to celebrate this great Fadistan, a place graced by all the voices of cultures that sing together (in “Fadistão”), or the possibility of “getting the guys together in a good way / for a little Corridinho de Lisboa / back and forth and a couple” (in “Corridinho Português”). It is about singing an idea of freedom that does not allow itself to be imprisoned by fatalism – whether in life (in “Livres Criaturas”) or at the time of departure, which will be light and danced to the sound of “tubas and bass drums, mortars and bangs” (in “Morte do Artista”).
Cara de Espelho is based on the words and compositions of Pedro da Silva Martins, to which the instrument constructions of Carlos Guerreiro, the bass of Nuno Prata, the guitars of Luís J Martins and the percussions of Sérgio Nascimento are associated, to serve the deep voice, engaging and unmistakable by Maria Antónia Mendes. A collective of musicians who in recent years have animated some of the most relevant and inventive projects in Portuguese music and whose debut album did not leave one of the heroes of our popular music indifferent.
This is how Sérgio Godinho referred to the band’s debut album:
The face of our mirrors
“From such an excellent group, with proven evidence on several fronts, one can only expect the best. The bar is set high, without fear of failing, of being just a speck in time. And if it is, it won’t be worth it in itself, for the common pleasure of creating something perennial in a moment, of sharing and among us the simple pleasure of music, the enthusiasm of music, the cadence, the inventiveness, another form of energy?
So how do you meet expectations? Precisely fulfilling. It seems like a redundancy, but it is just putting into practice a modern and already ancient reality.
Seeing our private faces in the common mirror. Mission well executed, I say. And I agree with myself on that, as certainly many people will.”
Sergio Godinho
With the release of the album, Cara de Espelho begins a national tour that begins on February 24th at Theatro Circo, in Braga, followed by concerts at Cineteatro Louletano, in Loulé, on March 2nd, at Teatro Maria Matos, in Lisbon, on March 5th, and at Casa da Música, in Porto on March 16th.
Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the conditions of access, confirmation of the date or time, ticket place of sale, price, and availability.
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