| A Naifa brought Fado to Maitisong |  |  |  |
| Written by NGOZI CHUKURA |
| WEDNESDAY, 04 MAY 2011 00:00 |
Among the many music genres that hit Maitisong festival this past week was Fado, performed by the Portuguese band A Naifa. The band was brought to this year’s Maitisong festival by the Instituto Camoes. A Naifa, a Lisbon-based band, performs this genre of music that is sensuous and romantic with a contemporary twist. Fado originates in Portugal and is traditionally sung by a woman with a sultry, evocative voice, and it is a very emotional form of music, with stringed instruments carrying most of the sound. “I had the idea to bring A Naifa here because they are a group that represents our traditional Fado in Portugal, because they mix Fado with pop and electronics, and there are not many bands that do this in Portugal. So they are really one of a kind,” explained Sandra Pires, organiser of the event, and representative of the Instituto Camoes in Gaborone. Pires said that the group is “really famous in Portugal; they are cult band and I thought that in Botswana, where a lot of importance is also given to traditional music, and there are people revamping it here, I thought that it would be interesting for them to see another tradition, or another way to revamp it. I also think that here, in Botswana, people are open to new ideas and new traditions so I thought that this could bring something important, here.” A Naifa stays true to the romanticism of Fado, but they have an edgy element, that allows their music to appeal to a wider audience. They incorporate a ‘pop’ sound that immediately ups the appeal of this niche genre. “Because it’s almost virgin territory in Portuguese music, there are lots of experiences you can create to achieve fresh musical results. Secondly we live in this era, we have electric instruments and digital sound, we can sample and transform sounds in a lot of different ways,” said Maria Mendes, speaking from Lisbon before the group’s arrival in Botswana. The band consists of Luis Varatojo (Portuguese guitar), Sandra Baptista (Bass), Samuel Palitos (drums) and Maria Antonia Mendes (voice), (founding member João Aguardela, who played bass, recently passed away). The band was formed in 2004 and released their first studio album to critical acclaim, but it wasn’t until 2006 that they gained international recognition with their second album, Tres Minutos Para a Maré Encher (Three Minutes for Upper Tide). They also enjoyed the success of their third offering, Pequena Inclinação Para o Mal (An Innocent Inclination towards Evil). A Naifa introduced themselves to Botswana’s audience in a special way. On the night of the show, a solitary microphone stood stage front; smoke wafted across the stage. A Naifa entered, clad in black. Their music was simultaneously bass- heavy, and melodic. The electronic tweaks were delightfully haunting. They performed a selection of songs from all three of their albums, and they were at the same time soulful and edgy; the music was evocative, conjuring emotional landscapes that rolled and fell, dramatic hills. Some songs had a more traditional Fado element than others. A Naifa are seasoned performers; on stage, every movement was deliberate- the lights cued to flicker and change, to the last note and movement. “After 24 hours of travel, we came almost straight from the airport to here, so we were a little afraid about the result of the performance. It’s very strong, emotionally, so I was in doubt about whether I would have the energy to deliver the same intensity, but it was okay; it was wonderful, and the audience couldn’t be better. They couldn’t understand the lyrics, but the response was wonderful,” said Mendes after their show. A Naifa’s music has been described as having “taken a... blender to all the sacred potions, fruits and flavours of Portuguese traditional music and poured out a vulgar, shameless, disrespectful and utterly delicious shambles of a Pop cocktail.” It was an entertaining night out for those who attended the show. An audience member who liked traditional Fado enjoyed the performance, explaining that it was refreshing to see it performed live, and so well. http://youtu.be/ETEVBrGZiHg http://gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9497%3Aa-naifa-brought-fado-to-maitisong&catid=20%3Atimeout |
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