18 Oct Luca Argel releases new album ‘Visita’
Today, October 18, the new album Visita by Luca Argel is released. In this new work, the Luso-Brazilian singer-songwriter revisits, in new versions, a series of songs from previous albums, as well as some collaborations that had never been recorded in his voice and are released for the first time in Visita.
“Lampedusa,” “Anos Doze,” and “Acanalhado,” singles released in recent months, paved the way for the full album, which is now available on all digital platforms and on vinyl (LP).
Visita consists of 10 songs in which Luca Argel lends his voice to his own compositions and those of other authors, always accompanied by the piano of Pri Azevedo, who provides unique arrangements for this celebratory album, marking a long artistic journey between Brazil and Portugal.
“Visit” and “See” are words that share the same origin in Latin, where they meant almost the same thing. The difference is this: while to see is merely to see, to visit is “to go see.” And this small detail changes everything. We can even see while standing still, but to visit, one must move. It requires going from here to there and then coming back.
I have found the beginning of my music journey increasingly distant. Soon it will be 10 years since I released my first album. And as I watch that moment fade into the past, I felt the urge to go back. To make a visit. To reconnect with moments and people through the music. After all, Visita is not just the act of visiting but also the person who does it. It can be both the action and the subject. I find myself questioning who is the visitor and who is the visited in this album.
Is Pri Azevedo, who wrote and recorded the keyboard arrangements, the visitor I invited into the repertoire? Or is she, as the owner of the language that dresses the themes, the host who welcomed me into her sound universe? And what about my co-writers? Practically all the songs on this album had already been recorded by me or by them. By returning to those songs, did I go to rescue memories from the past? Or has recreating them in voice and piano simply meant calling friends back into my life?
I don’t know. Probably both. Because in this album, we sing both about the owner who loses the cat and the cat that loses its owner. In fact, that cat on the cover resembles the cat from the house where I first lived when I arrived in Portugal, which brings back many memories. Not so much of the cat, with whom I wasn’t close, but of my time in Porto. It’s no coincidence that the photographer of this cover, Bernardino Pires, dedicated his life to portraying Porto as it was in the early 20th century. I discovered his photos by chance and found myself delighted to recognize some buildings, corners, and an atmosphere that remains intact despite the many years that have passed. That’s more or less what I feel when I listen to Visita.
Luca Argel
The new album Visita will be presented live in November in Porto, the city that welcomed Luca Argel when he moved to Portugal over 10 years ago, and in Lisbon.
On November 3, Luca Argel and Pri Azevedo will take the stage at Ático – Coliseu Porto Ageas, and a few days later, on November 7, they will perform at the Auditório Nova Cultura UNL (Campolide Campus) in a concert as part of the Ciclo Liberdade na NOVA, which, over four months from September to December, is dedicated to exploring the legacy of April 25 in Portuguese music and the dialogues between music and freedom in the work of younger Portuguese, Brazilian, and African artists with a strong connection to protest songs. Tickets for both performances are already available.
This creative process of reinterpretation and (re)discovery of his repertoire has led Luca Argel to develop a MiniDoc divided into 5 parts that has been released on digital platforms. Filmed during the recording sessions of the album, this MiniDoc reveals to the public a glimpse of the stories behind the songs and the artists Luca Argel and Pri Azevedo. No visit would be complete without the human side.
CREDITS “VISITA”
Voice: Luca Argel / @lucargel
Piano e arrangements: Pri Azevedo / @priazevedooficial
Mix and master: Hugo Valverde
Recorded at Timbuktu Studios (Lisboa) and Black Sheep (Sintra)
TRACKLISTING “VISITA”
1) Parece Pouco
2) Anos Doze
3) Peito Banguela
4) Acanalhado
5) Apartado
6) Não se faz a um Gato
7) Rua da Consolação
8) Lampedusa
9) Diz
10) 2:55
LUCA ARGEL – “VISITA” CONCERTS
NOV 3RD PORTO
Salão Ático – Coliseu Porto Ageas
06:00PM
NOV 7TH LISBON
Auditório Nova Cultura UNL (Campolide Campus)
09:30PM
Tickets and more information: https://lucaargel.com/
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