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With regard to the life and music of Cristina Branco (b. 1972, Almeirim, Portugal), one could say – as in the lyric by Amália Rodrigues – that she lives and breathes fado.
“Idealist” by Cristina Branco Seventeen years, thirteen albums and many exhilarating concerts on since her 1996 debut in Amsterdam, Cristina Branco will now summarize in a three CD set a musical universe encompassing hundreds of great songs. It is a difficult task, the singer maintains, because it is hard leaving behind some of the great tracks that became the cornerstones of a brilliant musical legacy. For Cristina Branco it is not easy to evaluate seventeen years of work, made of learning, joy, memories, gratitude and respect for all those who helped, supported and believed in her. And the three new tracks included in this CD set are enough reasons to continue believing in a bright future, filled with songs, concerts and sublime moments.
The new tracks join this “ideal list” of songs collected from the deep chest of thirteen recorded albums which along with her aesthetic vision, interpretation and values result in this… “Idealist”. Cristina Branco’s career did not follow the traditional melancholic characteristics of fado, her approach is a different one, autonomous, singular and many times ebrious with joy. Without seeking a naïve breach with tradition, but precisely searching the best tradition can bring, she revives it, bringing new life with her originality and truly authentic interpretation.
In all her albums she seeks the demanding dialogue between words and fado’s innate musicality. As other young musicians who found in Fado their own way of expression, Cristina Branco started to define her path with respect for tradition but always combining it with her will to innovate. If nothing in Cristina’s life pointed out that her destiny would be fado, today we have to grant she’s creating a style that if not “rare” it is certainly “inedited”.