French singer-songwriter Oscar Anton releases the video for “saudade”, in partnership with singer-songwriter Ana Gabriela. This bossa poetic has excerpts in Portuguese, French and English and is part of the double single “postcard from Rio”, the new chapter of a special project by Anton that has been built around the world.
Leaving his room after two years in pandemic isolation with an album called “Home of Sanity” and traveling the world in this “postcards” project, he has been making songs with local artists, always looking for a sound that conveys the city where he is. After Milan, Berlin, Madrid, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Paris, Los Angeles and New York, he arrives in Brazil in partnership with Ana Gabriela. The single made in Germany (“grapejuice ft FIL BO RIVA”) has more than 3 million streams; that of Italy (“Cheerios ft VV”), more than 1 million. The complete series has over 7.7 million listens. Check out the interview!
“Saudade”, a partnership with the singer Ana Gabriela, is a bossa song with passages in Portuguese, French and English. Including 3 languages in a composition was a challenging job?
It was enough! And before that it was a challenge to communicate with Ana, as she doesn’t speak much English. We ended up communicating in a mixture of mime and music! (Laughs) There were times when we just played something for each other and it was already understandable. And we used that for music. I did the part in French, she in Portuguese and we joined in English. It turned out to be fun the whole process.
You release singles that reach millions of views, like “Grapejuice” with more than 3 million and “Cheerios” with more than 1 million. Your musical rhythm and great partnership choices are some of the reasons that helped you grow, what else do you think were essential for your success?
I think they bring a very unique personality to each one of them and that comes, curiously, from my own taste in music, which is very plural. I focus on melody, if it’s something that makes me feel something, it doesn’t matter if it’s electronic, folk or rock. I seek to connect with people through melodies.
During your career, you’ve been to different places, including Milan, Madrid, Los Angeles and Brazil. Which country did you feel the greatest reception and what was the culture that most marked you?
Wow, this is difficult because they are very different. For example, Istanbul, Turkey was something different. I played a sold-out show there and I didn’t even know that people knew me there. I feel like a lot of the good surprises came from not having high expectations. It was hard not to go to Brazil since it was one of the places I wanted to visit the most. I’m always very happy when I see people’s feedback on my music.
We had a pandemic period and after returning to safety, you started the tour. Could this long period have served to better mature the idea for recent projects?
This project was really a response to the pandemic. I wanted to do something challenging, like working on the songs on “Home of Sanity”. The idea of trying to do the opposite, and going to different places came easily, what took me a while was thinking of a way to finance it all! (laughter)
Music is an art that is usually received with different interpretations and different looks. What does music mean in your life and how do you see its importance in everyday life?
I feel that music is everything. It’s the air I breathe. Every day I feel more like I’m just not listening to music when I’m making it. And the focus is not necessarily a type or genre of music, but what makes me feel something, as strange as many things may sound.
During the production process of “Home of Sanity” and “Postcards”, what were the biggest changes both professionally and personally and do you see today as a great maturation?
I guess I hadn’t thought of something like that. I learned so much, you know? The first thing was that I learned to focus and plan and be more organized at “Home of Sanity”. And that he could do the things he wanted on his own. And soon after I learned that being alone sucked! (Laughter) And that I didn’t want to do it all alone. I learned that being independent is not synonymous with loneliness. The challenges are big, but I think now I want to rest a little and think about the next step.
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*With Regina Soares