Due to her adventurous spirit she decided to leave her comfortable life to begin a new reality together with her French soul twin when she was 21. Due to health problems that have completely changed her life, she now lives on the border of Spain in the last town of Andalusia before arriving in Portugal.

She chose to move to Ayamonte for the climate and surroundings such as the nature, the light and the tranquil way of life, which I think we can all relate to in the Algarve. Silvana also told me that because she can sing in five different languages, along with different styles of repertoire, it allows her to work between both Spain and Portugal.

We delved deeper into her career as a musician and her hopes and dreams for the future. I first asked her what inspired her to become a musician and she told me: “music has always been inside me but it was actually my brother Marcello, who really piqued my interest because he bought so many different records.

“I also grew up in a musical environment through school life and I listened to many different genres including Rock and British and American Pop groups”.
From a young age, Silvana went to work as a dancer and singer for a fashion show agency and she had a representative that really started her career in singing professionally in Italian.
I then went on to ask her what kind of an artist would she classify herself as and she told me a “Jazz artist as it’s what comes most naturally to me”, she followed this by saying that “this genre gives me the freedom to improvise and have deep emotion which is inexplicable but in my opinion, this feeling is fundamental in being able to perform.” She is really inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Tina Turner, James Brown, Riccardo Cocciante, Queen, Michael Jackson, Georges Brassens and Tom Jobim because they are all artists that have a very unique style that sets them apart from other artists. Despite loving Jazz, her favourite type of music is classical as she finds it soothing and a remedy to the soul as it helps her to concentrate.

In terms of performing, she told me about when she lived in Barcelona “I have been lucky that several agencies have given me the opportunity to sing at different luxury hotels, tourist point resorts, cruises and exclusive passenger boats, with an audience of all nationalities and with a contract between 3 to 4 months”. Silvana has also entertained at cocktail galas, aperitifs, openings, congresses, conferences, private parties, village party and senior centres. “While in recent years, I have acted in various parts of the provinces of Huelva and Portugal (Monte Gordo, Vila Real, Altura, Cabaña de Tavira, Tavira and Albufeira) for hotels, restaurants, beach bars, pubs and cultural events.” I asked her out of all the places you have sung at what has been a true highlight in your career and she told me that “for New Year’s Eve I was contacted to sing at a private event for an hour and an agency told me later if I could bring a few musicians. I did not find anyone willing, although there were all expenses paid. So that night I arrived there with my backing track and the agency were annoyed because it didn’t make sense that no one would naccept the proposal. By chance there was an older man who was listening to our discussion and he told us that he would accompany me on the keyboard of the other band that was next to me. With the approval of the agency, when we went there, just to play the first notes, I cried because of how skilled that mysterious man was. When we finished, he told me that it had been an honour and I said the same and the agency told me that the old man in his time had been a great and important teacher.”

I asked this enthusiastic musician what she is currently working on and she told me that she has just finished an Electronic music track, providing voice and lyrics in collaboration with Bravísima Social Radio in Spain. While through social networks, (YouTube) with my friend Emanuele Di Bella, we will do covers to revive the true jewels of the Italian song. I think that now we artists are reinventing ourselves and thanks to technology it brings us closer than ever to all types of audiences, in these difficult times that we have to live. In conclusion, I hope that people do not get used to streaming all their lives”.

We talked a bit about the pandemic and how it has affected so many jobs, including hers as a musician, because her work has decreased significantly since September and consequently a lot has been cancelled or postponed. The cultural sector and more specifically the music sector has been hit very hard as events are what artists would use to make money.

In terms of her hopes for the future she told me she has projects that she hopes will be fulfilled although she is convinced that due to the pandemic the cultural industry sector will need years to recover but she is trying to be optimistic. I asked her on that note of being optimistic what would she would say to aspiring singers who want to have a career in music and she told me “a singer is not built overnight, you will need to study and listen to all kinds of music styles as it will make you more knowledgeable of what is out there but also to be original and to try and have a repertoire that is different to others so that you have a choice to where you can go to work. Finally remember that you will have to work hard as this profession is a real lottery.”

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes