Singer, writer, poet, songwriter and cultural producer Mel Duarte, known for her brilliant “spoken word” performances, celebrates the fifth anniversary of her debut album “Mormaço – entre Além forma de calor” with a series of performances in the capital paulista. The shows, free and open to the public, were covered by the São Paulo City Council’s Black Cultures Notice and offer a combination of revamped versions of tracks already released by the artist and new compositions that will be part of her next musical work.
Accompanied by her band, Mel Duarte promises a sensorial show that explores varied rhythms such as MPB, reggae, soul, rap, funk, trap and Bahian pagodão. In addition to the five shows that make up this circulation, the artist invites the public to actively participate in the project “Mormaço – incendiary words”. This project is an experience that mixes music and poetry in meetings full of reflection, with conversation circles and poetic performances dedicated to women’s expression. Artists such as Jéssica Campos, Jô Freitas, Bia Doxum, Indy Naíse, among others, will make special appearances.
Taking advantage of the moment of completion of the next album “Colmeia”, Mel Duarte will present a new track from this work at each show, starting with “Querem nos Calar” and “Fagulha”. This project reaffirms the singer’s commitment to the art of words, now expanded by musicality, addressing themes such as love, passion and affection, combined with a dose of social provocation.
What has the journey been like since the release of your debut album “Mormaço – entre Outubros de calor” until now? What were the high points and challenges over these five years?
It’s been a complex but very beautiful journey, I’m still unsure of which is more difficult, making music or literature in Brazil, but both provide me with unique experiences and learning that has made my work mature.
The highlights are the shows that from 2019 to now have taken on another form, this year I am working with the band format that I always wanted, which allows me to explore my musicality more, as there are many challenges from recording to broadcasting the songs, attracting the virtual audience to the in-person show, closing contracts and in the end making art is the easiest and most pleasurable part, now making it profitable is what is difficult.
What did it mean for you to receive the support of the São Paulo City Hall’s Black Cultures Notice to hold these commemorative shows? How did this influence your artistic trajectory?
The Notice made it possible for me to realize my dream of producing not only a complete show, but an event with an entire program designed to celebrate the voices of women occupying the 5 regions of the city of São Paulo and in this way also providing work opportunities for many artists, mainly peripherals. Through the notice I was able to access tools and services that I had never had the opportunity to before and this reflects on the delivery of the quality of my work.
What can the public expect from your shows in São Paulo, which combine revamped versions of your old songs with new compositions? Are there any surprises prepared for these presentations?
The public can come prepared to be surprised by an intimate and sensorial show, Mormaço’s songs have gained new versions full of swing, in addition to the surprise of presenting an unreleased track from my next album at each show, thus inviting people to enter a universe musical lyrics full of good energy.
Can you tell us a little more about the “Mormaço – incendiary words” project? How was it conceived and what impact do you hope to achieve with these music and poetry encounters?
I wrote this project because I felt the need to promote meetings with women writers, who use their words as a means of survival and my proposal was also to change the perspective of some things a little, so I decided to do a show where I sing my poems and invite women who sing to speak in conversation circles, so the project was organized in 5 editions, all with different guests and each one will take place in a region of SP, in June we held it in the South Zone and this July we will do it in the East Zone and so we continued until October.
What has the process of creating your next album “Colmeia” been like? What are the main inspirations behind this new work?
The title of the album Colmeia comes from my most recent book, which is a celebratory publication where I brought together all my work from 2012 to 2020, it contains my ”hit poems” as we usually call them in slam circles, that is, poems that have gone viral throughout my career and now, I decided to put it to music and present it to the public in a new way. It’s worth remembering that there are 5 tracks and all of them will also have a spoken word version, that is, just recited.
You mentioned exploring new rhythms like funk and Bahian pagode on this new album. How was this experience of experimenting with different musical styles from your previous album?
I was already flirting with these styles when thinking about the rhythm to recite some poems, but adapting them to the musical version is a challenge in itself and I am also very grateful to Felipe Parra, my music producer and director of my show, who has been working with me on new paths and helped me a lot to understand my musicality and the nuances of my voice, it has been an incredible process!
His compositions often address social and personal themes. How do you see the role of art, specifically music and poetry, in social reflection and transformation?
I understand myself as a communicator with purpose, a person who believes in this tool that is the word to expand access and democratize debates. Over the course of my 15-year career I have witnessed the importance of art in the lives of so many people that it is impossible quantifying, it helps us access places in us that are sometimes dormant and being an artist is nothing more than being all the time inviting people to see a little further, to recover their humanity a little more and to be sensitive in the midst of chaos .
How important is it to create spaces of expression dedicated to women, as you are doing in the “Mormaço – incendiaries words” project?
I feel that we women in writing, whether in music or literature, are always producing something, but sometimes we have few spaces (mainly paid) to present our work and this project comes as a small fraction of what I would like to happen on a large scale. which is to promote debate on the importance of words and the recording of them by women, in addition to providing the public with an inspiring meeting.
How does your background in lyrics and music influence your artistic and compositional approach? What have been the main learnings throughout your career so far?
I’ve been writing since I was 8 years old and today, at 35, looking back, I realize how much I’ve matured in the way I communicate. My poems have always carried a rhythm, a flow that I found throughout my training as an artist of words and through living. By doing art on the street I learned to get rid of certain obstacles that help me in an absurd way to deliver the type of work I do today, in this process I learned that more than passing on a message, you need to be responsible for the words that fit into the message. my mouth.
Besides the shows and the new album, what are your future plans in music and other artistic areas? Are there any new projects or collaborations you can share with us?
Look at the shows and the new album, they already take a whole year’s work, it’s a lot to manage and I’m very focused on delivering them, in parallel I continue writing new projects because the ideas are many and I still want to carry out other works, both musical and audiovisual.
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