Andrea Martins is a singer, songwriter and music producer. She started out in music as a vocalist and songwriter for the rock group Canto dos Malditos na Terra do Nunca, which released its first album on the Warner label, produced by Miranda and Tomás Magna. During that time, CMTN was among MTV’s top 20 most requested and received a VMB nomination. Andrea also participated in “Luau MTV Nando Reis” where she sang the song “Luz dos Olhos”.
In the world of audio, Andrea started working at a production company in São Paulo, where she broadened her horizons with sound design and soundtrack. After returning to Salvador, he participated in the collective “Nosso Baianos” in homage to the Novos Baianos, where he sang with Baby do Brasil, Paulinho Boca, Galvão and Pepeu Gomes, alongside compatriots Kalu, Renata Bastos, Pietro Leal, Lahiri Galvão, Pedro Pondé , between others.
Recently, she has invested in her solo career, releasing singles such as “Asma”, “Bolero” and her most recent EP “Pequenos Grandes Universos”, which spawned the singles “Vignette do Amor”, “Olho do Mar” and “Vida Viagem “. Check out the interview!
Did you have the experience of participating in “Luau MTV Nando Reis” singing the song “Luz dos Olhos”, did this opportunity bring positive aspects and growth to your musical career?
The experience of participating in “Lual Nando Reis” was wonderful. I was already a superfan, I was already a fan of Titãs too, and especially of Nando’s compositions, “Família”, “Os Cegos do Castelo”, in short, they were songs that I listened to in a loop in my adolescence. I couldn’t believe it at the time, and it was something really cool, I was very happy and excited about it, and yes, it was very important, because many know me based on that reference. It was wonderful and I treasure this experience with great affection. I’m so grateful for that connection I had with him in that moment, he was super generous. Anna Butler, who was MTV’s artistic director, who, in addition to inviting me, was a super figure. That moment is super framed in my memory.
As soon as you started in music, you were lead singer of the rock group Canto dos Malditos in Terra do Nunca. How was the experience of going through the group and this transition from rock to exploring lo-fi and R&B?
This thing of exploring different musical styles and stuff, it comes very naturally to me. I always listened to many different things, I listened to rock, MPB, samba, jazz, hip hop, classical music… When I was a teenager in Salvador, I listened to axé, olodum, samba reggae, pagode, practically everything. I never closed myself off to anything, it was always clear, giving preference to that thing at every moment of my life, like when I was a teenager I was very much into rock, grunge and such. Everything was kind of there together, so much so that rock has this heavier thing, there in the clothing, in the composition, however, when you play the guitar, you realize that there is something similar to MPB. This process was very organic, which in a way helped me a lot in terms of building myself as a music producer, as it is very important to have a vast repertoire of references so that I can better develop ideas, arrangements and such. That’s always been great, being able to hear everything and always bring that as I see that I should bring that into my music and feel where it’s going. When you’re in a band, the style is a little more closed there. We were in the mood for heavier rock, it was influenced by grunge and new metal, we’re in that phase. It was a sound that I liked, it was also in that heavy rock vibe, however, I was always listening to these other things. When I start to make music outside the band, it ends up being freer, because then I don’t have to think about making such music dress in such a way. I simply felt what the music asked for and walked away. In my solo career, I have “Asma” which was more intimate and more of a rock thing in a way. I also tried bolero, something totally different, an EP that has this lo-fi thing, something I was listening to a lot, those illustrations you watch on YouTube, that lo-fi girl. I was freaking out about these things, finding it too cool, and then with the idea of a producer, I was thinking about making some songs and experimenting with this approach. Gradually I did this in quarantine, however, as I am always used to making music based on song and composition, with lyrics and melody, it ended up happening, making these experiments become music.
In addition to mic partnerships, you and Rena are also married. How does your relationship affect your career? Does one even inspire the other in their own projects?
I think that both of them having art as something very present in life, we certainly influence each other a lot, one something for the other – “wow, let’s see that movie that has that thing there. Have you read that book? fuck this here…”. We’re always looking for these things, getting inspired and stuff. Her art inspires me and mine inspires hers, anyway. When we live together, it certainly gets even more mixed up. I think that above all we admire each other, this makes our process even better, because we always want someone to participate in the project, not because that person is your relationship, because above all, you admire what the person does and thinks, how she expresses her art, anyway. We have a good artistic marriage, we do a lot of things together, projects and such.
One of the curiosities presented in the promotion of this new launch is precisely its production, which was carried out inside a studio that they have in their apartment. How did the songwriting process go and what are the elements that most often inspire you?
It’s been a while since this music production project started and I’ve been developing it. At first, it just came as an idea to record the songs on Garaju Benji, the first software I started using, recording and such, and then I thought of a few details here and there, and I started to get my hands on it. So that first EP I released, “Sound Of Love” in English, I put it on SoundCloud, recorded everything at home, the beginning of the home studio, still setting up my setup, buying things and everything. Soon after came the “Solares” EP, at the same time I was already working with audio for advertising, then I started working with soundtracks, I developed this thing of music production more and more, and I stayed focused on it. This also becomes the way I end up building the songs, I like to compose and unfold them in the software. In 2021, I had the opportunity to produce my brother’s album, I co-produced it with Lívia Nery, and each one was responsible for four tracks. This was the first time I signed something that wasn’t for me and that wasn’t for a theater soundtrack, and it was something for a musical artist. It was an amazing and super rich experience. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to do BeatQuarentena, which was with those illustrations and turn the EP “Pequenos Grandes Universos”, which was also a super experience to get my hands on the production. I created the whole EP in the home studio, I only went to a studio to record the voices, because I still didn’t have the structure to record voices in mine, from there I sent it to Felipe Rodarte, from “Toca do Bandido”, from the label Toca Disco , of which I am a part and have been releasing my songs there. He took a look, some final touches, finalized with his team, but the production was all raised here. I think this is a strong trend for how I’ve been placing myself as an artist, something that is closely linked with production. My solo singles are also coming with my production, created in the home studio, with the collaboration of Átila Santana and Felipe Rodarte, however, this process of mine is fundamental and I have also enjoyed it a lot, because this thing of producing a track and everything more, it’s part of how I end up developing my ideas.
As with many types of art, they all end up serving as a vehicle of communication, which ends up leading to multiple interpretations. As a musician, what do you believe is the true influencer potential of music in our daily lives?
I think that the role of art is to bring out the sensitive side, the subjectivity, what is not there to instigate reflection, introspection, extroversion, in short, it is meant to cause you something. She has this role of poking you and messing with you somehow. You need to go through the idea that although that was born from a feeling of yours or a set of your sensations, this will unfold in another narrative, in another person’s head, making them reflect such a thing, anyway. I think that’s the role and I’ve already received so many beautiful messages from people who say they’ve seen my music and it was fundamental for me to understand this process in my life, experience grief, understand a passion, philosophize about my existence… I think which is pretty much it. The role is to move inside you, to create discomfort, joy, something like that.
As a more reflective question, have you ever thought about who Andrea Martins would be if she hadn’t found music in her life?
Trying to imagine this hypothesis of her not having connected with me, I find it very difficult, I would certainly be doing everything within art, some artistic expression, cinema or literature perhaps. Who knows something of the mental order, reflection, philosophy, psychology… try something along those lines. I believe that my artistic expression is mixed in all these things, however, my final expression is through music. In the end, I think we could be what we really are.
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* With Regina Soares