FRED MARTINS brings the release concert for the album ULTRAMARINO to Niterói, São Paulo and Ride Janeiro
After 12 years living in Europe (seven of them in Spain and five in Portugal), and 4 years after his last show in Brazil, Fred Martins arrives in his homeland for a performance in São Paulo, on the 24th of June, at the SESC Pompeia theatre. The mini-tour also includes shows in Niterói (the city where he was born), on June 7th, and in Rio de Janeiro, on July 8th.
In these concerts, Fred Martins will perform live to the Brazilian public the repertoire of Ultramarino, his most recent album, which received excellent reviews from the press: “Returning to Brazil to play after so long living in Europe is a great emotion. I will be accompanied by Lui Coimbra on cello and Marcelo Costa on drums, two musicians with an incredible trajectory and whom I greatly admire. It will be an opportunity to see dear friends, exchange experiences and recharge the batteries of my Brazilianness. I have great expectations (and some anxiety), because performing for this audience is something special, as is the feeling of returning to the places that formed me. This land that made me an artist and that has been so mistreated in recent years”, says Fred Martins.
Released in 2021, simultaneously in Brazil by the label Biscoito Fino and in Europe by the label Alfa Music, Ultramarino was recorded in 2019 in Lisbon and had a good portion of the songs composed in recent years between Portugal and Spain. The album was born from the meeting with award-winning music producer and sound engineer Hector Castillo (winner of four Latin Grammys and collaborator with David Bowie, Björk, Lou Reed and Philip Glass, among other artists).
The album’s repertoire, which is based on the artist’s Bossanova musical lineage from Rio de Janeiro, also transits through blues and Moorish (Arabic)-influenced sounds, reaffirming the musical connection between Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and Brazil. “For me, this album reflects and feeds on the musical and poetic familiarity that, as a Brazilian, I experience here in Portugal, in contact with old and new friends from here and/or from Africa”, comments Fred, who is also responsible for the arrangements for Ultramarino.
Among the thirteen tracks on the album, eleven are new releases, such as the two composed in partnership with Alexandre Lemos: A Filha da Porta-bandeira, in homage to the samba universe, more specifically to the Estação Primeira da Mangueira samba school, and Fado Crioulo, inspired by the fado universe, here somewhat “transfigured” by the Brazilian melodic/harmonic baggage. Another partnership with a strong presence on this new album is with Marcelo Diniz: among the songs they composed together are Zona Sul, which is part of the group of more “carioca” songs on the album and refers directly to the bossa Jobiniana or the samba-canção, musical base of Fred Martins; Aragem, of minimalist construction on African rhythm; Colibri, which evokes lightness; and Aderaldo, recorded in the “repentista” style, with a lot of improvisation, a theme dedicated to Cego Aderaldo, famous singer and master of the genre.
The album features a number of great musicians, such as Lui Coimbra (cello), Glenn Patscha (keyboards), Walter Areia (double bass), Chris Wells (percussion), Jed Barahal (cello), Rolando Semedo (bass), Mili Vizcaíno (vocals), Luis Coelho (Portuguese guitar), Jaques Morelenbaum (cello) and Marcio Dhiniz (drums).