Aline Frazão - Lugar Vazio (Empty Space)

Описание: Check out Aline Frazão on iTunes - itunes.apple.com/us/artist/aline-frazao/id485298663

It was a sweaty Saturday night in February as soft-spoken, Angolan singer/songwriter Aline Frazão was nervously preparing to take the stage in Stone Town’s Old Fort at the Sauti za Busara music festival in Zanzibar.

Having played at sunset the evening before, Frazão’s second performance came with a set of new nerves, fair, considering she’d have to follow an energetic Dar es Salaam-based jazzy afro-fusion act — featuring not only a full band, but a few dynamic dancers as well — with nothing more than her own vocal chords and an acoustic guitar.

“It usually doesn’t work,” she said.“A festival audience gets used to this growing energy, so I was very conscious that I had to conquer people with these quiet and mellow sounds — sounds that aren’t necessarily what the crowd wants to be listening to during a festival of African music.”

Frazão is aware that her sound is different. “It was a challenge because it is not traditional Angolan music that I do — it’s a different Angola, actually,” she said, “But, people were interested in that.”

Worries aside — Frazão got up that Saturday night and quietly captured and kept the crowd’s attention. “I always enter the stage self conscious about me, about the show, about the moment and the audience. I really wanted to make the most of it and come on passionate about the songs,” she said. “And, at Sauti za Busara it worked.”

Frazão debuted her first record Clave Bantu in 2011, a compilation of songs composed over four years of travelling and eventually recorded in Santiago del Compostela, Spain. Her second album, Movimento is self-produced and was released in 2013, featuring contributions from several guest collaborators and poets.

Sauti za Busara marked Frazão’s first time in Zanzibar. “Stone Town is impressive,” she said. “With the very narrow streets, lots of curves, lots of people, lots of stores — it was very interesting.” She was also struck by the friendliness of people, the safety of the town and with the rich blend of cultures it had to offer.

For Frazão, moving on from Stone Town and the festival marked a bit of a turning point — leaving behind her second album and diving into working on her third. Now, she’s deep in the middle of the process.

Frazão says that with her next record she plans to experiment with some new aesthetics and veer towards slightly more electronic sounds, an evolution from her usual acoustic.

In terms of content, she expects to take things into nostalgic territory — hoping to present a dialogue between Angola’s past and present musicians and their respective sounds. “Two different times will meet,” Frazão said, referencing popular Angolan music of the 60s and 70s and new Angolan music from today. “That will probably be the thing in this album.”

The record is expected to be ready sometime in autumn of next year — Frazão has her fingers crossed for an October release.

But, before leaving Movimento behind, Frazão took advantage of the Stone Town Sessions as an opportunity to showcase Lugar Vazio, one of her favourite songs on the record.

“I thought about what I would like to record, and that song is one of my favourites on the album. So, we decided it was perfect,” she said. “And, I think that it was.”

Article by Megan Dolski

Album: Movimento (2013)
From: Luanda, Angola
Vocals/lyrics/music: Aline Frazão
Guitar: Toty Sa’Med
Filmed: Way too early down an alleyway in Malindi, Stone Town