St. Petersburg-based Brazilian jazz vocalist and songwriter Daniela Soledade switched to French on this new single, a move which she said presented its own certain set of challenges. And while she’s like every musician who can’t tour or play gigs for real people right now, she’s been spending time polishing up her new full-length, which is due in March 2021.
“I don’t think this virus has changed me as a person, but it has certainly made me a better artist,” Soledade told CL.
Read a short Q&A from May and listen to the song below.
You speak Portuguese, correct? How hard was it to do this song in French, considering you'd never spoken a lick of it in your life?
It was definitely a challenge recording in a language in which I’m not fluent. However, there are more similarities in French and Portuguese than one might at first think. There are a lot of sounds in the Portuguese language (especially if you learned Portuguese in Rio) that happen in the French language, so speaking Portuguese gives me a great advantage. I did ask two friends who are fluent in French to coach me on the pronunciation, so I did some homework!
How are you managing the pandemic? What do you days look like? I know you're doing some rooftop streams, but are you creating a lot? How's this coronavirus changed you as a person and/or an artist?
The pandemic affected my life like it has most musicians- I can’t tour or play any gigs, and that’s always something I look forward to. My days consist of two main activities: running after toddlers and working on music! However, I feel that I am mostly managing the “new normal” with optimism. Having to stay home has allowed me to work on new projects, such as our live streams on Fridays, our recording and video for Smile, releasing “Comment Te Dire Adieu,” songwriting collaborations, etc. We’re doing preproduction now for my next full length album which is due out in March 2021. I don’t think this virus has changed me as a person, but it has certainly made me a better artist. Our live streams have allowed me to expand my repertoire and refine my presentation (because now I can watch my performances every week and focus on what I need to improve). I also have been able to stay connected to friends and fans online, and make new ones which has been very nice. I look forward to gathering with friends and family and playing gigs again!
What are you hearing as far as live gigs go?
It really remains to be seen what the public is going to be comfortable with as far as sitting in a club or hall and listening to a concert. And what is the responsible thing to do in terms of asking people to come together in a room to see a show. At this moment I think it’s too soon to tell when gigs are going to start again. In our end of the market, the venues and clubs are mostly remaining closed and being measured about reopening. At the same time, just today we got a call from an arts organization we haven’t worked with before who is looking to include us in their upcoming season programming. I’m guessing it’s going to be August or thereabouts before we are back onstage again, but depending on what happens it could be sooner or certainly later. Regardless of when it is, I can’t wait!
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This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2020.