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MARIA RITA - London will welcome the most critically-acclaimed female singer in Brazil

Daughter of the most famous singer in the history of Brasilian pop music is coming to London to promote her last album "Samba Meu"(she`ll performe the Barbican Sat 28th June). In 2003, Warner Music organized a major marketing campaign to promote the launch of her debut album in Brasil. Expectations surrounding “the daughter of Elis Regina” were enormous, and the album ‘Maria Rita’ was a great success.

The Brasilian singer’s third album had only just been released in the UK when it was already nominated in the ‘Africa’ and ‘Americas’ category of the 2008 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music. The album ‘Samba Meu’, as the name suggests, is a journey
through the world of Brasilian samba. “I enjoy singing samba”, reveals the artist.

The daughter of acclaimed chanteuse Elis Regina says that she doesn’t cave under pressure and follows her instincts. “I want to make music for the masses”, reveals the 30 year old Paulista. On her two previous albums, the singer’s repertoire consisted of jazz and MPB (Popular Brasilian Music) and focussed on her vocal prowess.

“I think that MPB is very elitist, it’s still made for a select few”, she explains. The changes don’t stop there. She’s cast aside her discrete image; blonder and sexier, the extroverted, chatty singer told JungleDrums about ‘Samba Meu’ and her falling in love with drumming.

This is your first album to be released by a record label in the UK. Do you think you can win over the British public? Isn’t it difficult to break through abroad singing Portuguese?

It’s tough. Portuguese is practically a dead language, spoken in a handful of countries. The other day I gave an interview on an American radio station and I had to explain the meaning of the lyrics on each track. But there’s a positive side to it all: Brasilian music is always well-received across the world.

What’s it like establishing yourself in countries where your mother isn’t as famous as she is in Brasil?

Her reputation is incredible. Whenever people speak about my mother I always feel extremely proud. Seeing how much love and respect people from across the world have for her work is really moving. In places where Elis isn’t well known, the work is painstaking - a fresh start on every album.

Do you feel pressurised by the fact that, because you’re Elis Regina’s daughter, you’re always going to be compared to her every time you release a new album?

On my first album, I gave interviews saying that I didn’t feel pressurised at all and that the comparisons didn’t bother me. But now, on my third album, I can see how much pressure there really is. Today, I’m more relaxed about my work. I’m not like Britney Spears - the critics don’t want me to fail. I don’t worry about how everything’s going. I don’t even get hit up about sales. I just try and follow my instincts. I hope that whoever listens to the album likes what they hear.