Marta Dias is a São Toméan Portuguese singer of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

who has recorded several solo albums and has additionally recorded and toured extensively with guitarist

António Chainho António Chainho (born 1938) is a Portuguese fado guitarist. He has worked with many of the great names in fado music, like Hermínia Silva, Carlos do Carmo and José Afonso, and world music, like Paco de Lucía. He has also recorded and to ...

. She has also appeared on several

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

releases, including the Ithaka song, ''Escape From The City Of Angels'', which appeared in

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

's feature film release,

The Replacement Killers ''The Replacement Killers'' is a 1998 American action film directed by Antoine Fuqua in his feature film directorial debut, and written by Ken Sanzel. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, and Kenneth Tsang. The film was re ...

in 1998.

Early life

Marta Dias was born in

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...

, the capital city of the Central African island nation of

São Tomé and Principe SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

, to a Portuguese mother and a São Toméan father. Her paternal grandmother was from

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, India (which along with São Tomé is a former Portuguese colony). Her father, Nuno Xavier Dias, is credited as the person who proclaimed the liberation of São Tomé from colonial rule. The family relocated to the Lisbon area of Portugal when Marta was a young girl. She sang for the first time as a teenager at the Teatro de Animação de Setúbal in

Setúbal Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...

, Portugal. Later, while briefly living in Germany, she studied vocals in Cologne with the Brazilian singer Marta Laurito.

Early career

Marta Dias' first professional recordings were with the pioneering, Lisbon-based

Hip hop tuga Portuguese hip hop (''Hip hop português''), more commonly called hip hop tuga ("tuga" here being a slang for "Portuguese"), is the Portugal, Portuguese variety of hip hop music. It differs from mainstream hip hop because it has strong influenc ...

artist General D, (originally from Mozambique). She was featured on his songs "Amigo Prekavido" and "Raiz Desenraizadao" for the album ''Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu'' (EMI-1995), one of the first hip hop releases in Portugal. The recording (and concerts) with General D led to more acquaintances within the Lisbon music community. She soon recorded the song, "Bairro De Lata" with the jazzy hip hop band,

Cool Hipnoise Cool Hipnoise is a Portuguese musical group. The band was formed in Lisbon in 1994 by Tiago Santos (guitar), João Gomes ( keyboards), Paulo Muiños (saxophones), Nuno Reis (trumpet), Francisco Rebelo (bass) and Melo D (voice). Initially an acid j ...

and also recorded the songs "Goodcookies" and "Escape From The City Of Angeles} with Ithaka Darin Pappas, a Greek-American artist residing in Portugal, for his album Flowers And The Color Of Paint. In 1996, Marta recorded her first solo album, "Y.U.É" produced and composed by UK musician Jonathan Miller for the Portuguese label, União Lisboa. Californian songwriter, Ithaka provided lyrics for two of the tracks, "Learn To Fly" and "Look To The Blue", (on ''Look to the Blue'', Ithaka also appeared as a guest vocalist). The album earned Marta the "Best Female Vocalist" award at Channel

SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...

TV's annual televised Premios Blitz, (the Portuguese "

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

". António Chainho and Marta Dias performed together for the first time in November 1998, at a concert in honor of the celebrated guitarist's 30-year career. Marta Dia sang "Barco Negro" and "Nemes Paredes I confess". It was the beginning of a very fruitful musical association that would last almost a decade. Through the years that she continued to collaborate with other artists on both recordings and live performances. In 1997, she appeared on Ithaka's track "Ursula Of Ithaka" for the album, Stellafly. In 1998, she performed with singing star Kika Santos at the

Expo '98 Expo '98 (1998 Lisbon Specialised Expo) was an official specialised World's Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal from Friday, 22 May to Wednesday, 30 September 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to c ...

((1998 Lisbon World Exposition). The song, "Amazing Grace" by African Voices. "Invisivel" by Fernando Cunha for his album Só Há Tempo P´ra Viver Agora. The song and "Nada Mudou" by Santos e Pecadores. In 1999 she also participated on TV personality

Herman José Hermann José von Krippahl , known as Herman José (born 19 March 1954), is a Portuguese-born German comedian, television host, actor and musician. He is best known for his numerous TV shows and comedy sketches. Starting his career in the mid-1 ...

's Christmas album. In 1999, Marta Dias release her second solo effort entitled "Aqui"(Here), which included several cover versions by known Portuguese language artist such as; "Dream" originally by

Madredeus Madredeus () are a Portuguese musical ensemble formed in 1985, in Lisbon. Their music combines traditional Portuguese music, fado and folk music. Madredeus are one of the most successful music groups from Portugal, having sold over 3 million al ...

, Madresongs such as "Fado Morno", the traditional Galician "En el Sagrado en Vigo", from the songbook of Martim Codax, "Toxicity" of the GNR, Madredeus "Dream", "Eu Contigo "by Sérgio Godinho," Ossobô ", by the Brazilian Marcelo da Veiga," Grão de Arroz "," Senhora "by João Roiz de Castel-Branco," Sou Tua "or" Ahora Baixou o Sol ", this collection Giacometti. This album was nominated for the José Afonso Awards. Until the end of 2001, Marta Dias toured nationally with the songs from Aqui, also performing concerts in Spain and special a concert in São Paulo, Brazil with

Ney Matogrosso Ney de Souza Pereira (born 1 August 1941), known professionally as Ney Matogrosso (), is a Brazilian singer who is distinguished for his uncommon countertenor voice. He was ranked by ''Rolling Stone'' as the third greatest Latin American singer ...

, in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil. In 2003, António Chaínho and Marta Dias, after years of touring internationally together since 1998 released the album "Ao Vivo no CCB" (Live at the Centre Cultural de Bélem, Lisbon), recorded January 28 and 29 of 2003. The record includes seven original tracks, four of which having never been recorded before. The two have continued to collaborate on recordings and live concerts until today.

Recent career

Marta Dias released the album "Quantas Tribos" in 2016. The album is a tribute to five of the greatest poets from São Tomé and Príncipe; Maria Manuela Margarido,

Alda Neves da Graça do Espírito Santo Alda may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places United States * Alda, Nebraska, a village * Alda Township, Hall County, Nebraska Spain * Alda, Álava, a hamlet in Harana/Valle de Arana People * Alda (name), a given name and surname * Alda (singer) (born 1966) ...

Francisco José Tenreiro Francisco José Tenreiro (20 January 1921 – 1963) was a São Toméan geographer and poet who lived during the colonial era. He was taught at the Overseas Political and Social Sciences Institute, now known as the Instituto Superior de Ciência ...

, Fernando de Macedo and

Conceição Lima Maria da Conceição de Deus Lima (born December 8, 1961), is a São Tomé and Príncipe, Santomean poet. Biography Lima was born on December 8, 1961 in Santana, São Tomé and Príncipe, Santana, São Tomé Island, São Tomé, one of two islands ...

. The album uses these classic poems as lyrical content, intertwining Marta's vocals over instrumental compositions provided by the classical guitarist, Oswaldo Santos. Vocalist Carmen Souza participates on the song in "Os Rios Da Tribo" and Angolan poet/vocalist appears Kalaf on the song, "Humanidade". In 2018, Marta Dias and Goan pianist Carlos Barreto Xavier collaborated on the album, "Bandida", consisting of twelve tracks, using both traditional Portuguese music blending with more modern urbans sounds. The album also features percussionist Ruca Rebordão and Yuri Daniel on electric bass.

Albums

*1996 Marta Dias – "Y.U.É" – Label: União Lisboa Label: União Lisboa *1999 Marta Dias – "Aqui" – Label: Farol Música *2003 António Chainho & Marta Dias "Ao Vivo No CCB" (Live at the Centro Cultural de Bélem) Label: Movieplay *2016 Marta Dias "Quantas Tribos" (With guests: Costa Neto, Carmen Souza) Label: Bigbit *2018 Marta Dias and Barreto Xavier "Bandida"

Singles

*1996 Marta Dias "Gritar" – Label: União Lisboa *1996 Marta Dias "Mouraria" – Label: União Lisboa *2006 Marta Dias & António Chainho "Fado Tão Bom" – Label: Movieplay

Appearances on compilations

*2005 LJS & Marta Dias "Barca Bela" Album: Composto De Mudança (Música Para Se Deixar Levar)Label: Som Livre *2006 Marta Dias & António Chainho "Fado Tão Bom" – Label: Movieplay

Guest appearances

*1995 "Amigo Prekavido" General D feat. Marta Dias – Album: Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu – Label: EMI *1995 "Raiz Desenraizadao "General D feat. Marta Dias – Album: Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu – Label: EMI *1995 "Escape From The City Of Angels" Ithaka feat. Marta Dias – Album: Flowers And The Color Of Paint *1995 "Goodcookies" Ithaka feat' Marta Dias – Album: Flowers And The Color Of Paint *1995 "The Umbilibus"Ithaka feat. Lince & Marta Dias – Album: Flowers And The Color Of Paint *1995 Ithaka feat. Marta Dias "Escape From The City Of Angels" Album: Flowers And The Color Of Paint *1995 "Bairro de Lata –

feat. Marta Dias – Album: Nascer Do Soul – Label:NorteSul/

Valentim de Carvalho Valentim de Carvalho () is a Portuguese record label founded in 1914. History The company started selling phonograph, musical instruments and music since its 1914 foundation at the Rua da Assunção, Lisbon. It distributes EMI in Portugal ...

*1997 "Ekos Do Passado" General D feat. Marta Dias & Ithaka – ALbum: Kanimambo – Label: EMI *1997 "Ursula Of Ithaka" Ithaka feat. Marta Dias – Album: Stellafly – Label: Nortesul/Valentim de Carvalho *1997 "Nobody Knows" Marta Dias and African Voices *1997 "Nada Mudou" – Santos e Pecadores *1998 "Fadinho Simples" – António Chainho *1998 "Só Há Tempo P´ra Viver Agora" Fernando Cunha feat. Marta Dias – Label: BMG *1999 "Silent Night" – Herman José

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Media Books * 999 (anthology), ''99 ...

*2011 "Luminoso" Fernando Alvim – Album: Fados & Canções – Label: Universal Music Group *2012 "Fadinho Simples" António Chainho feat. Marta Dias – Album: Entre Amigos – Label: Movieplay *2017 O Homem do Fraque" Dizzy – Album: O Homem Invisível

''The Replacement Killers''

In 1998, three years after its release, the Ithaka song "Escape From The City Of Angels" (that featured Marta Dias in the infectious choruses) was used in the soundtrack of director

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (; born May 30, 1965) is an American film director known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with '' The Replacement Killers''. His ...

's feature film debut

Replacement Killers ''The Replacement Killers'' is a 1998 American action film directed by Antoine Fuqua in his feature film directorial debut, and written by Ken Sanzel. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, and Kenneth Tsang. The film was rel ...

released by

. The song played during a critical getaway scene that involved the actors; Chinese superstar

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility, encompassing action to melodrama and comedy and historical drama, his accolades include three Hong Kong Film Awar ...

, Oscar-winner

Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born ) is an American actress. She rose to stardom with her performance as a prostitute in the comedy film ''Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995), which won her both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Academy Award for Best S ...

and

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

"Best Actor" winner

Clifton Collins Jr. Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American film and television actor. He is a Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award, and four-time ALMA Award nominee, and a Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Prior t ...

Other musical artists on the soundtrack included;

The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, v ...

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is a British musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music with drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica ...

, Tricky,

Death in Vegas Death in Vegas is an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...

Hed PE Hed PE (standing for ''Higher Education Planet Earth/Planetary Evolution'', typeset as (həd)p.e., (hed) Planet Earth, (Hed)pe or (Hed)PE) is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1994, the band is known for its ecle ...

, and

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Marta Living people 20th-century Portuguese women singers Portuguese fado singers Singers from Lisbon Portuguese hip-hop musicians 1964 births 21st-century Portuguese women singers São Tomé and Príncipe emigrants to Portugal