Branco to embrace Istanbul audience again

Cenk Erdem - ISTANBUL

Fado singer Cristina Branco, who interprets the Fado tradition of Portugal with an innovative approach and adds romantic depth to the songs on her albums with quotations from world-famous poets, will be back in Istanbul on Oct. 26 after a long break.

Branco is set to perform at the Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall, where she will showcase a repertoire of her most popular songs from her extensive 25-year career and new songs from her latest album, "Mãe." We had a chance to interview Branco, talking about her career, her songs and her upcoming Istanbul concert.

Q: You’ve been described as someone who “lives and breathes Fado.” How do you see Fado shaping your life and music?

A: I've been a singer for 25 years now, and the flame still burns! It would be enough to say this, but I would like to add that everything you do with passion, something that you believe in, must necessarily shape your life. And in my case, Fado was and is where I get my deepest lessons and learning, where I learn how to fly higher! Part of my life is on the road or creating, and of course private life is a refuge from that other part of my life.

Q: You’ve blended Fado with poets like Slauerhoff and Shakespeare throughout your career. How do you select the poems for your songs?

A: I create themes for my albums and from that premise I do my search. Nowadays, I’m more focused on contemporary writing and recent authors. I like observation, field observation as a premise to tell the story.

Q: Fado is often linked to sadness, but your songs celebrate life. Why did you take this different path?

A: Well, I like to sing about life, and describing common feelings, common emotions and I don’t believe that sadness is the whole picture. Eventually, it is the trigger, a start for better things and learning to come.

Q: Your new album “Mãe” brings a modern sound to Fado. What inspired you to move towards contemporary music?

A: Life! If fado describes life, I can’t remain in the past. Fado is an urban song, it evolves, it’s written in our daily lives. We just have to decipher its ways, and make it into sound, into melody.

Q: After 25 years and 18 albums, what keeps you motivated to continue evolving as an artist?

A: I guess it’s simply my nature. You're born with it. It’s not a creation, so, till my last breath it will be that way, continuation and curiosity for new directions, I guess.

Q: In the very beginning of your career, you made an unforgettable album called “Cristina Branco Canta Slauerhoff,” honoring the famous Dutch poet. What drew you to his poetry?

A: That album was the approach of this Dutch poet to my country and language. Slauerhoff was totally passionate about Portuguese, he used words in Portuguese in his poetry, and at the time I had the appeal to try that approach. A Dutch poem with a few Portuguese words in it, how would it work, how would it sound? The truth is that it was a terrific success in Holland and I’m very grateful for it.

Q: You’ve written a book on alkaline nutrition called “RoadCook.” How does wellness impact your music and life?

A: It does have a huge impact on my performance as a singer, directly on my vocal cords. Having bad habits, like no time to eat or sleep properly, ingesting food that is too acidic is of enormous impact on my voice. Throughout the years I learned how to control that and created a variety of simple food that helped me with it.

Q: You’ve collaborated with many musicians. Is there a collaboration that had a strong impact on your music?

A: Not necessarily influenced by a collaboration, but being tamed for listening to a few of the best, yes! Like Amalia or Brel or composers like Jobim or Porter, to name a few.

Q: What are you most excited about for your future, either in music or other areas?

A: To keep doing it with high standards along with brilliant musicians and still evolving, still looking for enlightenment and wonder.

Q: How do you feel about your upcoming concert in Istanbul?

A: I'm really looking forward to it! It has been a long time since the last performance there and I’m quite anxious to show you what I’ve been doing and to tell you this new story, to show you this new performance!