| |
|
She could have been a dancer, if the dancing school would not have thought when she was fourteen that it was already late to start a career. She could also have only been a nice voice in the ads if someone had not discovered very soon that that voice should better sin music than advertisements.
Dulce Pontes, born in Montijo (Portugal) in 1969, won the National Song Festival of her country in 1991. That same year she represented Portugal in the Eurovision Son Contest, where she came up eight and was given the prize of the best performer. It was the first time Europe heard the voice of Dulce Pontes.
That was a turning point in her life. She started looking for her own identity. She immersed herself into the roots of Portuguese music, including the traditional fado, that was then considered a bit old fashioned. She managed to reinvent what seemed dead. As years and records have proved after, Dulce does something more that repeat something that had been done. Her voice can not be limited to any style , her voice knows no borders. This voice and the way she sings are now a kind of music on their own. So, even if she sings rock, fado or a song from Angola, her style is unique and unmistakable.
In 1992 she edited her album "Lusitana" and from the following year, with her second work, "Lágrimas", she becomes a citizen of the world. Then came "A Brisa do Coraçao" (1995), a double album life, "Caminhos" in 1996 After collaborations with Bocelli or the brazilians Simone and Caetano Veloso, she publishes "O Primeiro Canto". In this record, produced by Antonio Pinheiro Da Silva, there are very important musicians such as the hindi percussionist Trilok Gurtu, the saxophonist Wayne Shorter, the voices of Maria Joao and Waldemar Bastos and the trikitixa of Kepa Junkera.
Now, in 2003, she will surprise us with her new album, where together with the studio work, she searches new experiences with different sounds, forms and instruments.
In her permanent search for an universe of her own, in October 2003 she published "FOCUS Morricone & Dulce Pontes" (Universal), her new album, in which she sings compositions by the great Ennio Morricone who, captivated by the huge talent of the portuguese, also took part in the recording.
Now, Dulce Pontes is ready to give us a new surprise with a turning point in her career: her return to FADO. The most universal sounds of portuguese tradition from the point of view of a artist that has found her place and knows well what she wants. Her new show “Por dentro do fado”, with audiences standing up in all theatres visited, is a thrilling advance of what´s coming up in her next album, due to be released in 2005.
|
|
|
