In an interview with Açoriano Oriental, Sara Miguel, singer and mentor of the band formed in 2019, explains what is behind this project, which features eight Azorean artists, among them Sara Cruz, Zeca Medeiros, João da Ilha, Urbano Bettencourt, António Bulcão, Isabel Mesquita, Rafael Carvalho and Aníbal Raposo.“When we got together and started showing what we were doing in this specific Mar&Ilha project, it was easier to get the attention of all these authors. We thought that, since we were looking for a world music sound that came from an Azorean matrix, which we consider to be ours, it made perfect sense to invite these authors we admire”.The participation of each author is particular and unique: with the aim of making them part of the project through “their own voice”, Sara Miguel points out that “some wrote the lyrics, others the compositions. Even though there were other artists who could have participated, this selection of eight people is a representation of what has been done in these last 40 years of original music in the Azores. Of what has been done and of what is still being done”. Departing from an Azorean matrix, Mar&Ilha wants to mix "açorianidade" with world music. The fact that the quartet, formed by a Galician (Marcos Fernandes), a Beira native (Rui Silva), a Porto native (Sara Miguel) and a Pico Island native (Jorge 'Canarinho' Silva), resides in Lajes do Pico helps them all feel like islanders.“In truth, a message can be conveyed in many ways and, as we know, Azoreans are a people of diaspora, movement, expansion. And we wanted to bring this expansion to music. We asked the authors to write lyrics or a theme that would translate what they understand as the feeling of being Azorean. Some take it to travel, some take it to music, some to love. We wanted that to be the starting point, and then we complete this message of Azoreanity with sounds of the world. We take a song and play it like a bossa nova or a Middle Eastern tune”.Delay in public funding led the group to crowdfundDelay in public funding and the required bureaucracy “forced” Mar&Ilha to turn to crowdfund as a way of financially supporting the release of their first record. “We decided to bet in crowdfunding because it is the simplest, fastest and most direct platform for us to be able to finance a project. Public funding takes longer, the funds are subject to applications and approvals, and support is not even guaranteed”, states Sara Miguel.The singer highlights that, through crowdfunding, “if the public wants to be part of our work, it helps to finance it. People will then get their reward in a very direct way”.The crowdfunding campaign is running until March 2. The goal is to reach €6,000. Funding can range from 15 euros (the reward is the album in CD format) to 1000 euros - which guarantees not only the CD, but also a t-shirt, an autographed postcard, an acknowledgment and a complete acoustic concert at the supporter's house (for supporters residing on the island of Pico) or live online (for those who live in other places).If the band achieves the necessary support, recordings will start in March, at Lava Homes, on the island of Pico, with two producers coming from Casa da Música, in Porto.