EVA by Cristina Branco

The world of the Portuguese fadista Cristina Branco seemed rosy, she recorded album after album for Universal, the world music community was at her feet - a dazzling figure with a bell-bright voice who fulfilled all expectations. But there was more to the woman than fado romance, concert gowns and a diva image. 2006 was the birth year of her alter ego "EVA". Eva saw the light of day because Cristina was struggling with the question of all questions. "What is freedom?"

All desires, thoughts, dreams were projected into EVA and the projection helped the artist to break away from the perfectionism of the music industry and go her own way. With the first two albums "Menina" (o-tone/Edel) and "Branco" (o-tone/Edel), she said goodbye to the major label, the musical expectations of Central European Portugal lovers, excessive Photoshop from 2016 after a long struggle. She had all the songs on the albums, which were planned as a trilogy, written and composed by Lusophone artists. Indie, pop, punk, rap, jazz musicians, a literature Nobel Prize winner, stars and starlets: The range of people she has brought on board alone testifies to immense courage to let go.

The potpourri is held together by her and her trio, consisting of Portuguese guitar, piano and double bass, which has accompanied her ever since. Cristina Branco, Bernardo Couto, Luís Figueiredo and Bernardo Moreira have grown close together on their common path: similar to EVA, the gentlemen at Branco's side were given more leeway. Figueiredo is responsible for several of their joint songs, all songs are arranged together in the rehearsal room. Electronic and percussive elements, polyphonic background vocals, the fun of improvisation of the jazz musicians gained space and made the music more unique, while the art figure Cristina Branco faded into the background. EVA conquered her space - in the process, the protagonist gained more and more integrity. The songs on the album of the same name, which concludes the trilogy, consequently deal with the themes, Who am I, Who do I want to be. How can I be free. Eva is brought to life, expectations are stripped away. The inner is turned inside out, vulnerability is allowed in the process - integrity sometimes hurts. But it is first and foremost liberating and you can hear all this in Cristina Branco, alias EVA.

As far as the life and music of Cristina Branco are concerned, one could say that she lives and breathes fado, because she creates all the emotions that this musical style, with its intimate relationship between voice, poetry and music, has to offer. Cristina Branco began to find her own way, where respect for tradition goes hand in hand with a desire for innovation.