A Cantadeira

(PT)

After almost two decades exploring Portugal's musical heritage in projects such as Dazkarieh and Seiva, Joana Negrão now presents herself as A Cantadeira, a new solo work in which the oral tradition takes centre stage and gains depth through vocal experimentation. A singer, lyricist and instrumentalist from Setúbal, Joana has developed a career that combines research and artistic creation. With a degree in History and Archaeology, she has dedicated herself to the study of Portugal's intangible heritage, with a particular focus on traditional oral music, which is often invisible. This research has fuelled her musical projects, in which the ritual, feminine and collective dimension of popular songs takes centre stage.

In A Cantadeira, the artist takes a new step, building sound pieces based exclusively on her voice, recorded in real time and layered on top of each other. The result is an organic, dense body of music in which the voice is transformed into rhythm, harmony and texture. The debut album,'Tecelã', released in May 2024, was well received by critics - honoured as an Antena 1 Disc and featured in international world music rankings rankings internacionais de World Music. A Cantadeira marks an aesthetic and symbolic turning point by refocusing the voice as the primary element of creation and transmission. With this project, Joana performed at the Festival da Canção 2025, bringing to the stage a proposal rooted in tradition, but with contemporary language - a synthesis that has guided her entire career.