Autor: Carolina Moreira
Four years after his last work, musician Luís Alberto Bettencourt released, on April 9th, a new album, entitled “Em Busca do Sol”, made up of “faithful portraits” of his conscience.
In a conversation with Açoriano Oriental, the artist confesses that the nine tracks on his new album are “photographs of his soul, under the guise of melody and some harmonies”, being the result of “a time of captivity, in which I had more time to write and to portray those feelings”.
“There are various themes to this album. There's an approach to Rock and Roll in the first track ("Não leves a mal"), in which I portray a certain tiredness and anguish for having spent so much time in captivity. This is expressed in the lyrics when I say that "the world is turning in reverse, it is putting an end to me". In other tracks, I speak of love, the topic with which I feel most comfortable; there's also a small tribute to some Brazilian composers, because I like them very much, through the theme 'Jobim'”, Bettencourt says.
For Luís Alberto Bettencourt, this is a “multicolored” record, "without great sound fidelity” taking into account that “there is no melodic line; I go through different influences, from Pop to Bossa Nova. This is my way of composing, it is my way of feeling and portraying myself”, he explains.
The musician and composer, with a 40-year career, says that he still does not feel stuck or even "forced” to follow a certain musical trend, stating that “I can and must vary my music as my soul asks me to”.
“This is how I make music and build my songs”, he explains.
According to Luís Alberto Bettencourt, the inspiration for this new album came from “feelings that I keep inside and that I transposed onto paper”, touching such themes as “universal love” or even “a place or a city that left deep roots”.
The name of the album, “Em Busca do Sol”, refers to the “need to find an internal light that can lead us to a more optimistic scenario”. “We live in a time of worry and bitterness. In addition to needing the star sun, we also need a spiritual sun. Therefore, I figured that this title would easily identify the content of the work itself”, stresses the musician.
Like other albums, Luís Alberto Bettencourt's new album counts on several collaborations that, according to the artist, add “more color” to his work.
“As usual, there are collaborations in different tracks. I invited Cacau Cruz, a Brazilian singer who lives on the island of Terceira, to work with me on the theme 'Labirinto' and Marisa Oliveira from The Code to participate in the song that inspired the album's title".
Comparing his last work - “Coletânea” - to this one, the artist points out that there is an evolution. “We are always learning, both from mistakes and from time itself. I was much more careful with the compositions so as not to fall into past mistakes. Time is a good companion”, he says.
Musician and composer from São Miguel has a 40-year career and had several bands
Luís Alberto Bettencourt was born in Ponta Delgada and, from an early age, showed talent for writing songs and creating melodies.
As a youngster, he went to music school in Ponta Delgada; later he took part in several projects, such as “Os Académicos”, “Turma5”, “Phoenix” and “Construção”.
Military life led him to live in the Bijagós archipelago in Guinea-Bissau, where he met African musicians who still influence his music today.
He composed several references of Azorean music, such as "Chamateia", and has been the recipient of several awards, namely the Autonomic Insignia of Recognition, awarded by the Regional Assembly of the Azores.