Mísia

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Mísia is a Portuguese fado singer, born in Oporto, Portugal. Mísia's mother is catalan, and used to be a cabaret dancer, which explains many of the influences that shape her music: tango, bolero, the fusion of the Portuguese guitar with the accordion, violin and piano. Mísia developed, throughout her career, a new style of fado: she strips off the shawl of the "amalian" fado, shocks the orthodox listeners by adding to the traditional instruments (bass guitar, classical guitar and Portuguese guitar) the sensuality of the accordion and the violin, and borrows from the best Portuguese poets their finest verses.

Her 2003 album "Canto" may be considered her masterpiece. Mixing pieces of the best works of the Portuguese guitarist Carlos Paredes with poems of Vasco Graça Moura (and some of Sérgio Godinho and Pedro Tamen), Mísia has built a piece of music that she would describe as belonging to her "gallery of impossible things". Mísia is also known for covering other artists' songs in a very "fadoish" way. The classic "As time goes by", and some of the songs of Luis Eduardo Aute ("De Alguna Manera", for instance) are some of the examples.

Mísia is a polyglot. Despite from singing mostly fado (which is not fado if not sung in Portuguese), she sings some of her themes in Spanish, French, Catalan or even English. One of the examples is her last album "Drama Box", a collection of tangos, boleros and fados, sung in Portuguese and Spanish. In "Drama Box", Mísia depicts herself as a cabaret dancer living in the "Drama Box Hotel" with her musicians. It's a very personal album, simultaneously a tribute to her mother and a real description of her life: travelling through the world, taking fado everywhere.

In spite of being famous in Portugal, her music is mostly appreciated in foreign countries: Spain and France are the greatest examples.

[edit] Discography

2005. Drama Box
2003. Canto sur des musiques de Carlos Paredes
2001. Ritual
1999. Paixões Diagonais
1998. Garras dos Sentidos
1995. Tanto menos, tanto mais
1993. Fado
1991. Mísia