Queen of Fado Sonia Shirsat is considered one of the best fadistas our
country has seen, and heard. In fact, she has also been interviewed by RTPI,
SIC and TVI in Lisbon, where her live performances were telecast in Portugal
– the land of the Fado. Interestingly, the fadista is now out with her first
Portuguese original single. Café gets talking with Sonia to learn more about
her new musical venture
Herald Café: How did this first Portuguese original single of yours come
to be?
Sonia Shirsat: ‘O Fado Sai Afinado’ is my first original song, written by Alda
Couto, with music by Juca Costa. The song was recorded in Portugal at
a studio in Jorge Quintela. Alda introduced me to Juca three years ago. I
went through various lyrics by Alda, before coming across this one, which I
really liked. A 30-minute meeting with Juca was all it took to make the tune
required for the song. But, due to the distance between the two countries
and scheduling conflicts, the project took time. We worked a little more and
then this song was finalised in 2015.
HC: Tell us more about ‘O Fado Sai Afinado’.
SS: ‘O Fado Sai Afinado’ has beautiful meaning. The song says ‘I wait for you’,
and as the wait is on, the Fado emerges, icing out a beautiful fado. This is
not a traditional fado, of course; the accompaniment is way different. We
could call it a modern fado. We do not have the Portuguese guitar, strings or
tabla in the background; there is a whole different music accompaniment.
Today you find a lot of creations wherein people are breaking norms and
experimenting with orchestral background.
HC: Why did it took you this long to come up with your own song?
SS: I have been singing the Fado since 2003. My first single is traditional as
well as contemporary fado. The main reason for me to take so long to come
up with one, was that first and foremost, Portuguese is my sixth language
and not my first language. I had to learn this language and hence it was very
difficult to come up with lyrics myself. I was like an eight-year-old child,
learning a new language. Although the song was done three years ago, we
didn’t finalise it till now. Now, that the project is formed out well, I thought of
putting it across to the audience.
HC: What can your fans look forward to in this song?
SS: Well, I think it’s a beautiful song; and even after listening to it once,
it has the power to calm you down. I have received compliments from
quite a few people who have listened to it, who have praised it for its
soothing effect. The melody is very sweet and accompaniment is
very clear. The recording is excellent and it has been arranged well
by Jorge. For me, it’s pleasant listening. There is no loud voice. It
has a melodious tune, so the voice is also recorded that way.
HC: Will you be compiling an album anytime soon?
SS: Yes, this is just a teaser of what is coming up. We
already have about eight songs and we are also trying to
incorporate the mando into the album. There are many
ideas and concepts and we hope to complete it sometime
this year. At the moment, the entire team is working to
put things together for me. There is an album coming up
which will be full of really nice songs.
