Rita Vian: The organic fusion between fado and eletronic music

In Rita Vian's work, fado and electronic music take on a new shape with each other, innovating tradition with urban sounds.

Driving has become somewhat of a ritual for Rita Vian's lyrical writing process, frequently taking the path along the river in Campo das Cebolas. There, we sat down with the artist to discuss the inspiration behind her debut EP, “CAOS'A”.

Mirrowing many Portuguese households, growing up fado was constantly playing around the house. This influence her family brought upon her later led to Rita enjoying listening to the traditional music genre on her own. Fado started being present on her day-to-day. “It turned into a ritual for me and my friends, at the end of the night, for me to sing a fado”, tells Rita.

Rita Vian posing in Campo das Cebolas // MARIANA SERRANO

Having grown up in Lisbon, throughout her adolescence, there were several other musical sounds Rita came across, such as hip-hop and electronic music. This diverse portfolio of musical influences led her to imagine her music with all these different elements, combining these contemporary sounds with the traditional fado – a fusion that the artist believes to be organic. “All of this ended up making a mix that I think is natural to happen later with time and with all the influences you end up having around you”, reveals Rita.

Rita Vian is not the first to combine the traditional with the modern; in fact, this has become a new phenomenon in Portuguese music. The singer elaborates: “It’s an open path, where new sounds are explored and new experiences are made that represent all these mixtures that are Lisbon and that end up representing it in a way, I think, more total”.

Rita Vian posing in Campo das Cebolas // MARIANA SERRANO

For Rita, the lyrical composition matters the most in her creative process. Before the melody, the artist truly believes in a song when it has a message in the lyrics – an “existential” message of “inner search”, having the goal “to be as authentic as possible, to feel good in our skin and in our body”.

On October 26th, Rita Vian will perform on stage at the Tivoli BBVA.

Written by Rita Silva

Reporters: Mariana Serrano and Rita Silva