Dulce Pontes

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Dulce Pontes is a Portuguese musician, songwriter and singer who writes and performs in many music styles, including pop, folk and classical music. She usually defines herself as a world music artist. Her songs contributed to the 1990s revival of Portuguese urban folk music called fado. Blessed with a powerful and dramatic voice, she is one of the most famous and respected Portuguese artists.

[edit] Discography

Lusitana (1992)
Lágrimas (1993)
Brisa do Coração (1995) - album live recorded during a concert held May 6th, 1995 in Porto
Caminhos (1996)
Primeiro Canto (1999)
Best Of (2002)
Focus (2003)
A Coração Tem Três Portas (in preparation - to be issued in 2006)

[edit] Biography

Dulce was born in 1969 in Montijo, which is a small town in the surroundings of Lisbon. Trained as a pianist, she became a singer after entering a competition in her home town at the age of 18. She soon became an actress in Portuguese television and theater. In 1991 she won the national song festival with her song "Lusitana Paixão" (known in English as "Tell Me"), which allowed her to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest (she was 8th, which has been up till now the 4th best position of a singer representing Portugal in this contest).

Over the years Dulce has evolved to become a renowned star of world music. She easily blends traditional fado with contemporary styles and eagerly searches out new forms of musical expression. She gave new life to outmoded musical traditions of the Iberian Peninsula, rediscovered many long forgotten popular tunes and found use for allegedly obsolete musical instruments. Her artistic explorations know no geographical or cultural borders. Her work is inspired and influenced not only by Iberian musical tradition, but also Arabic, African, Brazilian and Bulgarian. She sings mostly in her native Portuguese, but also in Spanish, Galician, Mirandese, Italian, English and Greek.

Dulce Pontes has collaborated with many international music stars, like Cesária Évora, Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, Carlos Nuñez, the Chieftains, Kepa Junkera, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Andrea Bocelli, George Dalaras and others. Her song "A Canção do Mar" appeared on the soundtrack of Hollywood film Primal Fear. Her latest album, intitled "Focus", is a fruit of collaboration with Italian composer Ennio Morricone.

As of June 2006, Dulce is preparing her new double LP. Its title will be "O Coração Tem Três Portas (The Heart Has Three Doors)". It was recorded live (without audience) in Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar and St Mary Church in Óbidos. According to the artist, it will be "her most personal and intimate album. It will include Portuguese folk music, mostly fado".