"Motherland". Lina's new album_

Lina_'s new album, “Terra Mãe”, a partnership with Irish musician Jules Maxwell , which seeks to find points of connection between fado and traditional Irish music, is presented this Monday in Malmesbury, England, and hits the market on Friday.

Speaking to Lusa, Lina_, who imagined the new songs being sung “on top of a mountain in Ireland”, said that the aim was not to make a fado album, “but rather to find common points between Irish music — the old style, “sean-nós” — and fado, following on from the album Burn , which Maxwell made with Lisa Gerrard.”

The first track on the new album, “Arde sem se Ver” , is a bridge to Lina_’s previous album, “Fado Camões”, released last year, entirely dedicated to the Portuguese poet.

Lina_ said that this opening theme, “a kind of deconstruction of Camões’ poetry, was an idea from Amélia Muge”, another partner of “Terra Mãe”.

A “deconstruction that creates new spaces and new feelings in this poem and that even guides us through Camões”, said Lina_.

Lina_ wrote the lyrics and music for “Terra Mãe”, which gives the album its title, and also the music for “When are They Coming?”.

According to Lina_, the chosen title, “Terra Mãe”, evokes “the landscapes of Portugal”: “When we listen to this album we can associate it with the landscapes of Ireland, which are beautiful, particularly the coastline.”

At the same time, she added, the song “Terra Mãe”, the fifth on the lineup, is the one she most identifies with: “It’s a song that goes back to my roots, to my childhood, asking me about myself, about what I’m doing here. It explains my roots well .”

This theme, adds Lina_, coincides “with the feeling of Portuguese and Irish cultures”, with “saudade, which is a Portuguese word, but ends up being universal.”

“Terra Mãe” will be presented this Monday, in concert, at the medieval abbey of Malmesbury, “a special and mythical place”, in the region of Wiltshire, England. From Friday, when it hits the market, and throughout the weekend, there will be presentation sessions at the Fnac Chiado and Colombo stores, in Lisbon, and at NorteShopping, in Porto.

The album consists of nine tracks, including “Requiem”, “A Flor da Romã” and “O Falcão na Corda Bamba”. “I didn’t stop being who I am” (“The Person I Always Was”), the first single from “Terra Mãe” is available on YouTube.

“Requiem” came about from the artist’s desire to “make a song that had a spiritual connection.” She decided to create a Latin phrase, “implet animum lumine solis” [“fill the soul with sunlight,” in free translation], which “is a kind of healing, a request, asking the sun to illuminate [her] soul.”

“I imagined this song being sung high up in the mountains of Ireland, by the sea, as if it were a spiritual cleansing ; it’s a mantra for me,” Lina told Lusa.

“This whole album is more spiritual, despite coming out in the summer, when people are asking for happier songs. It ends up being a more spiritual, introspective album,” said the singer, referring to the songs “Milagres” and “Requiem” “they are all songs with a great emotional charge.”

The album “Terra Mãe” was “an opportunity”, said the artist who met Jules Maxwell when she played with Lisa Gerrard, in a past edition of MistyFest.

“Maxwell was curious about fado and found common ground [with “sean-nós”], namely longing, melancholy, and other themes that we are very used to hearing in fado, and that he found very similar to this old style from Ireland. We started working from home, as we were still in the final stages of the pandemic”, he added, remembering that this album was recorded before “Fado Camões”.

For Lina_, “Terra Mãe” is “an affirmation” of her ability to compose. “It was a work in reverse,” composing before choosing the words. Until now, Lina_ said, “I had always made music based on the poem, giving value to the words, taking care to where the melody went.”

The singer and songwriter recognizes, in her compositions, influences from musicians such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Paul McKenna.

Lina_ stated that she doesn’t like to “record songs one at a time”. “I like to make an album that has an identity and a common thread, and that has a reason, not just songs that I like. It’s not just that.”

With a “very busy” international schedule, Lina_ recently performed in Split, Croatia, and has already planned a new album for September, in partnership with Spanish composer and pianist Marco Mezquita, “O Fado”.

“It’s a lot of work, but when there’s a will, anything can be done,” Lina_ acknowledged to Lusa.

The singer and songwriter admitted that she gets “very involved” and enjoys working in partnerships, “getting to know other influences and ways of making music, getting to know the [musical] traditions of other countries, [bringing them] to Portugal, despite having many more concerts abroad than in her home country.”

“There is nothing that requires effort, and when an idea comes up, I like to put it into practice, and that is what has been happening”, concluded the singer who assured that she is already thinking about her next solo album.