Afield

It may come as a surprise to many to know that the psychedelic rock and folk movement of the late 60s and early70s was not confined to the USA and Europe. In fact, the massive cultural upheavals of the 1960s had spread far and wide and by 1967-68, musicians, artists and writers across the world were exploring new ways to express themselves. This was no less the case in South America and it was during the late 60s and early 70s that an explosion of psych rock and folk produced amazing music that still inspires half a century later.

Gifted with an expressive and powerful soprano, charting and platinum-selling fado singer Mariza is a superstar of the fado movement with a global following. Though she always works within fado's traditional boundaries, she takes chances by engaging elements of folk traditions from her native Mozambique, the southern reaches of her home in Portugal, Brazil, and even further afield: Her repertoire, while firmly rooted in classical and contemporary fado, has grown to include occasional Cape Verdean mornas, R&B and Motown classics, and any other music she holds dear at any given time. With the release of her debut album Fado Em Mim in 2001, her reputation in Portugal was equaled internationally.

Where do we come from? How did our ancestors settle this planet? How did the great historic civilizations of the world develop? How does a past so shadowy that it has to be painstakingly reconstructed from fragmentary, largely unwritten records nonetheless make us who and what we are?