The world before we knew it. The immense pre-historical era is for the Scot a deep sea of curiosities whose trail she has been analysing and filtering as an artist. A task still and always in progress of searching for and reconciling those forgotten times – and these urgent times. Based in Denmark since childhood, she remembers Celtic folklore, intertwining it with the whole Nordic ancestral universe. In form, she weaves timeless songs, with a quality akin to Kate Bush or Jenny Hval. Having studied with Meredith Monk, it’s not surprising the hypnotism she creates – levitating dust on a full moon night. From the complex subtlety of her vocals, she evokes myths and projects visions. She draws the moss of her music from instrumental acoustics while using electronic expression to emphasise the textural signs she explores in a work in movement.

The Voyager emerged in the midst of pandemic surrealism, in a vital and telluric burst for those who came across it. A celebrated record, endowed with a notion of pop composition that was somewhat insular in its time. Exploring harmonic tensions, with intense imagery, she seems to invariably rescue an infinite beauty in the details; the kind of sensitivity capable of transforming a simple particle of an idea into a vast fountain of transformations. This boldness and charm was recognised by the Nordic Prize Music when Connelly developed an app called Vandrigen. Allowing remote ancestral locations to be mapped, well beyond the massive information of the GPS system, each of these places was visited by Connelly herself, in an exercise of sonic portraiture of these landscapes. Having recently joined the Warp label, World of Work takes inspiration from the spheres of progressive rock and minimalism, as well as more esoteric folk. Throughout the twelve pieces there are bells, melodies in half-light and the sensation of a sea breeze that soothes the emotional storm and existentialist questioning of the lyrics. An unusual songbook, attracted by the path towards the unknown – and with a soul open to revelatory matter.

Connecting similar dots to other fabulous musicians such as Astrid Sonne, ML Buch or Julia Holter, it’s time for World of Work to leap from the limits of listening to a sensory experience only possible in this live format. Without futurism or other isms, we can intuitively realise that we are following a talent that will continue to fascinate us exponentially. NA

Vitoria Vermelho is Francisca Oliveira’s stage name and is the result of the fusion of her favourite name and a surname left behind by her grandmother. This gives rise to an intense musical character, full of emotion. Just what you’d want from a debut album that has just been released.

Before she got there, Francisca gave her first performances with the Porto Jazz School and found herself on television stages in 2021/2022 on the programme The Voice. In 2023, she emerged on the Porto music scene as Vitoria Vermelho, having already played concerts in Paris, Porto and Lisbon, where she has already performed songs from her debut album.

‘Homonymous’ is the result of songs written throughout the artist’s formative years, which began as a form of therapy. From 2019 when she wrote ‘Always’ to 2024 with the theme ‘Visão’, several years have passed between which Vitoria has painted several intersecting lines, all full of strong emotions. Bright colours in a song that can enter your ears as if by surprise: from the delicate ‘Beijo’ to the uncontrollable ‘Hallway’ and the ear-catching ‘Não me o dês’, here we find themes by an artist exploring herself while riding pop and rock territories without fear of being heard in both Portuguese and English. After all, the disc is called ‘Homonymous’, to free her from a unique language. Without irony, here’s a glimpse of what ‘Vitoria Vermelho’ is and will be.

The album was produced by Vitoria Vermelho, João Freitas and Gabriel Valente at Estúdio Cedofeita in Porto and has now been released by Biruta Records. It is already available to listen to on all digital platforms and on the label’s bandcamp. The physical edition of ‘Homonymous’ will be announced soon.