Sê

It’s never easy when someone, unable to fight destiny picks up on the same craft their parents excelled in. In Gil do Carmo’s case, it is a bit more complicated than that: not only is he son to Carlos do Carmo, one of the greatest fado singers of all time, but also grandson to Lucília do Carmo, a legend of her own when it comes to fado history. So, it comes as little surprise that, while celebrating a 25-year career with the release of Sê, Gil do Carmo maintains his ever-discreet profile, keeping his distance and never fully plunging into fado in its more traditional sense.

Sê is a fine portrait of that stance. Even if Gil do Carmo ventures into a virtual duet with his late grandmother in ‘Mundo Inteiro’, he is actually broadening his personal definition of fado, tuning into Lisbon’s multiculturalism, making his music a place where Cape Verde’s morna, Brazil’s bossa nova or the city’s Moorish heritage are truly welcome. The opening track, ‘Pessoas’, an inspired nod to Fernando Pessoa’s heteronymic poetry, tinged with Arabic influences, makes an immediate statement. But what is more captivating about Carmo, at times closer to Portuguese pop-rock singer Rui Veloso (as in ‘Fandanguista’ or ‘Sê’), but also picking up on a more modern production (as in ‘Alentejo’ or ‘Guarda Rios’), is the sheer subtlety he sheds on each track. Still carving his own path, he never lets the aesthetic choices overshadow his delicate songs.