All artists have a story. Some are dazzling from the beginning, others need their time, most are hardly noticed throughout their lives. Cristina Branco's story began with a Dutch TV show in which she appeared as Fadista. She convinced and was a star overnight. The fame spread to the German-speaking countries from the very beginning, but was delayed in their home country Portugal. This only changed in 2016 with the album Menina (o-tone music /edel), in which she immersed herself deeply in Portuguese culture: she had all lyrics and compositions written by Portuguese artists, each song telling a different story of different women. Among them were classical music musicians, jazz musicians, pop musicians, rappers, poets, punks. The Portuguese celebrated them for it. It also attracted a great deal of attention in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Cristina Branco felt that it wasn't enough with Menina. The successor album Branco was again written by Portuguese allstars. Branco (the Portuguese word for white) is a very common name in Portugal - but according to the dictionary it is also the colour that reflects almost all light rays. In times of globalization and digitization, everything seems possible, borders hardly stop you anymore, the things, people and stories that influence our lives come from everywhere. All these advantages of modernity flowed into Branco. Electronic music, which plays an important role in the work of Filipe Sambado, the lyricist and composer of Este Corpo, for example, or rap by Kalaf Epalanga, who contributed two texts at the same time, is not heard. But the fingerprint of the creative minds behind the songs leaves a subtle trace. Branco absorbs all the influences and finds his essence in the interpretations of Cristina Branco, Bernardo Couto (Portuguese guitar), Bernardo Moreiras (bass) and Lu?s Figueiredos (piano). The voice of a fadista who recently stamped the FAZ with bell-clear brilliance, Portuguese guitar, bass and piano tell us in Branco the story of a young Portugal that finds itself and is on the move. In summer 2018 Branco will play at selected festivals. It will be heard several times in Frankfurt in January 2019, including with the hr big band. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
