Rita Braga’s unique talent manifests itself once again in an unexpected way. She has built a career on reimagining songbooks—perhaps “reimagining” isn’t quite the right term—but rather on finding a new home for songs that are now forgotten or belong to very specific worlds, songs that are brought back to life through a voice and arrangements that justify a new setting. Music that leaves its original/natural setting and finds, with Rita, a fictional world that is very much her own. And one that knows how to coexist with the original material.
It is called unexpected because she has now sought out songs in fado that would suit her. Fado Tropical is the result of a search for forgotten themes from the early days of fado, which are now reborn with colors that suit them for the present. Put another way, if someone were to say these songs were Rita Braga’s originals, we would believe it. Partly due to the cohesion of her selection; partly due to the way she makes everything sound cohesive, without thinking about its origin. The songs Rita chose to set to music form a consistent whole; they seem part of the same pot, not elements of a foundational concept.
In the studio, she was joined by Tó Trips, JP Simões, and Paulo Furtado, partners in this vision of looking to the past and inviting it to rediscover the present. They’re all playing on home turf. The songs are imbued with everyday existentialism—simple and effective—where basic emotions are complemented by vague hints that leave room for the imagination. The arrangements featuring ukulele, marimba, vibraphone, cello, saxophone, and the use of concrete sounds transform this fado into an enchanting place. Fado, a music of deep roots, takes on a burlesque, theatrical side here, where nothing seems out of place, only reintegrated into the here and now.
AS