Hailing from Lisbon, Ana Lua Caiano is the latest signing to Glitterbeat, through whom she will release her debut album, Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado (15 March – digital/ 5 April – physical).
Her musical journey is an interesting one. From classical piano lessons as a child to four years of jazz school, neither field seemed to offer her the musical freedom she desired; that breakthrough came during the pandemic when she began experimenting at home in isolation, fusing electronic music with traditional Portuguese music. When talking of the latter, she makes the point: “when I talk about traditional Portuguese music, I’m not talking about Fado, I’m talking about a type of sonority sung in the countryside using canons, harmonies, and chorus. It was mostly transmitted orally.”
Among the traditional resources she values is “Música Portuguesa A Gostar Dela Própria”, a project that features videos of orally transmitted songs. Videos of Ana also feature, although not in the more experimental form you’ll see in her music videos.
Those oral transmissions she talks of include Portuguese revolutionary songs from the 70s – interestingly, the coup that started The Carnation Revolution in Portugal began with a song by Jose Afonso. His song, Grândola, Vila Morena, was broadcast on the radio by the Portuguese Armed Forces Movement on 25 April 1974.
By 2022, Ana Lua Caiano had released her first single and submitted material to WOMEX that led to a showcase and exposure to an international audience.
In the supporting press for her album Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado, they touch on Ana’s lyrics, which she says sometimes come from casual observations and other people’s conversations. The title track (I will stay in this square) is about how people are happy to spend their days stuck in a square…a safe place they are afraid to leave.
The music of Ana Lua Caiano is fearless and certainly doesn’t belong in any square; her ideas are liberating in concept, and this is reflected in her surreal videos, which play an essential role in presenting her music. In those videos, traditional visual elements appear alongside more contemporary influences and reflect a strong sense of empowerment that is both inspirational and confrontational.
Bandcamp: https://analuacaiano.bandcamp.com/album/vou-ficar-neste-quadrado
