Zwischen zwei Welten – Terra Mãe von LINA_ & Jules Maxwell

LINA_ & Maxwell Jules; Fotocredit: Lizzi Kew Ross

Im Zeitalter der Hyperproduktion und algorithmisch berechneten Streaming-Hits fühlt sich Terra Mãe wie ein Gegenentwurf an: ein musikalisches Mosaik, das weit über nationale Grenzen und Genregrenzen hinausreicht – getragen von der portugiesischen Fado-Sängerin LINA_ und dem irischen Komponisten Jules Maxwell. Ihr gemeinsames Album ist eine musikalische Reise zwischen Melancholie, Intuition und innerer Heilung – und ein Beweis dafür, dass musikalische Tiefe und emotionale Wahrhaftigkeit sich auch heute noch entfalten dürfen.

Emotionale Zwillinge: Fado und sean-nós

Die Verbindung zwischen LINA_ und Jules Maxwell ist kein Zufall, sondern ein künstlerisches Aufeinandertreffen zweier verwandter Seelen. Obwohl sie aus völlig unterschiedlichen Musiktraditionen stammen – Fado aus Portugal und das irische sean-nós –, entdeckten beide schnell eine emotionale Schnittmenge. “Sean-nós bedeutet ‘in der alten Weise’ und ist wie Fado oft melancholisch und emotional,” erzählt Maxwell. “Aber das Album, das wir gemacht haben, klingt weder wie das eine noch das andere – und doch trägt es diese Gefühle tief in sich.”

LINA_ formuliert es poetisch: “Fado und irische Musik teilen ein emotionales Zentrum: Sehnsucht, Erinnerung, Verlust. Als wir diese Welten vereinten, sprachen sie plötzlich dieselbe emotionale Sprache.”

Sprache als Brücke – und als Herausforderung

Ein zentrales Element von Terra Mãe ist die Sprache – oder besser: ihre Transformation. Maxwells ursprünglich englische Texte wurden von der portugiesischen Komponistin Amélia Muge einfühlsam und frei in LINA_s Muttersprache übertragen. Dabei ging es nicht um wortwörtliche Übersetzungen, sondern um emotionale Neuinterpretationen.

“Manche Ideen ließen sich nicht direkt übersetzen,” erklärt LINA_. “Aber genau das eröffnete neue Bedeutungsebenen.” Für Maxwell war dieser Prozess faszinierend: “Ich kenne zwar die wörtliche Bedeutung der portugiesischen Versionen, kann aber ihre emotionale Wirkung nicht beurteilen – und das macht es umso spannender.”

Intuition statt Kontrolle: Der kreative Prozess

LINA_ bezeichnet das Komponieren dieses Albums als einen Akt des Loslassens: “Normalerweise beginne ich mit einem Gedicht. Diesmal war es anders – ich musste meine Stimme in Jules’ musikalischen Landschaften finden. Intuitiv, suchend, offen.” Und das merkt man dem Werk an: Die Stücke leben von einem subtilen Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Struktur und Spontaneität.

Besonders spürbar ist das in Songs wie Terra Mãe oder Requiem, die aus freien Improvisationen im Studio hervorgingen. “Am Ende von Terra Mãe geschieht etwas Zartes, Magisches – etwas, das keiner von uns geplant hatte,” erinnert sich Maxwell. Für LINA_ ist Terra Mãe sogar ein spirituelles Lied: “Wie ein Fluss, der Schmerz wegwäscht und unsere Wurzeln offenbart.”

Klang gewordene Transformation

Produziert wurde das Album von James Chapman (aka MAPS), der auch bei Maxwells Kollaboration mit Lisa Gerrard (Burn) die Fäden zog. Chapman übernahm die Songs, sobald sie eingesungen und komponiert waren, und formte sie weiter – fast wie ein Alchemist im Hintergrund. “Was dabei herauskommt, ist transformiert – überraschend und irgendwie abgeschlossen,” sagt Maxwell. Für das Ergebnis gibt es kein klares Genre. Seine eigene Schöpfung: Electronic Melancholic.

Hoffnung auf Resonanz – live, visuell, universell

Mit Blick auf die Veröffentlichung wünschen sich beide vor allem eines: dass das Album live erlebt werden kann – inklusive Visuals von Animationskünstler David Daniels, der bereits Burn begleitet hat. “Die Live-Shows werden magisch – musikalisch und visuell,” so Maxwell. Und LINA_ ergänzt: “Dieses Projekt ist kulturell verwoben, aber emotional universell. Wir hoffen, dass sich Menschen aus aller Welt darin wiederfinden können.”

Hier gehts zum vollständigen Interview:

Your collaboration on Terra Mãe brings together very distinct musical traditions — Fado and Irish folk-inspired composition. What was the most surprising or enriching aspect of working across these cultural and emotional landscapes?

Jules Maxwell: “There is a tradition of Irish singing called “sean-nós” which came to mind when I first heard Lina singing fado. Sean-nós literally means “in the old way” and, like fado, is often really melancholic and emotional in spirit. I don’t speak Irish myself, coming as I did from the northern part of Ireland where the language wasn’t spoken or taught, but I was greatly inspired by this type of folk singing and thought that Lina and I could make something interesting together. What has surprised and delighted me is that the album we have created doesn’t really sound like fado or sean-nós at all, but deep down carries those sensibilities at its heart. That’s what I love about collaboration. When it works best, you end up with something which none of the collaborators could have designed on their own.”

Lina: “The most striking part of this collaboration was realizing how Fado and Irish music, though so different in origin, share a very similar emotional core. A place of longing, memory and loss. When we brought these two worlds together, there was a natural connection — as if they were speaking the same emotional language, each in its own way. The emotional state is very similar, which led to a strong connection between creativity and musical expression.”

Language plays a central role in this album — with Portuguese lyrics adapted from your original English compositions. How did the process of translation and reinterpretation shape the emotional tone of the songs?

Jules Maxwell: “When I hear the finished songs in Portuguese I know literally what they mean, but I can’t really judge how they come across emotionally. What became really obvious early on was that my original English versions couldn’t just be translated. Because of the shape and rhythm of the Portuguese language, the songs needed to be adapted freely and sometimes musically too. Amelia Muge was a huge help in this process and was a wonderful encouragement throughout.”

Lina: “I had the valuable support from the portuguese composer Amélia Muge, with whom I had already worked on previous projects, and who was part of the entire process of adapting Jules’s lyrics into Portuguese. Some ideas couldn’t be translated directly, so we had to reinterpret them, often uncovering new meanings in the process. That gave the songs a different emotional texture. Working on the translation and adaptation of lyrics also helped me grow through a process that was entirely new to me.”

LINA_, you’ve mentioned that composing melodies for Jules’ foundations strengthened your confidence as a songwriter. Can you tell us more about how this partnership challenged or expanded your creative voice?

Lina: “Initially, Jules Maxwell challenged me with the translations and the composition of the songs, bringing them closer to the language of fado. Normally, when I compose, I start from an existing poem, placing the focus on the importance of the words. Here, the process was the opposite. Exploring this approach was a major challenge for me. I make music by intuition, and the goal was to have my vocal lines engage in a dialogue with Jules’s musical landscapes and I was in the right mood.”

Jules, you’ve described Terra Mãe as being “forged in fire” through the production of James Chapman. How did the sonic aesthetic evolve during your sessions, and how does it compare to your earlier work with Lisa Gerrard on Burn?

Jules Maxwell: “What I love about working with James is that we do very little talking. We wanted to replicate the process we used on the Burn album with this one. So, as soon as we had the songs composed and the vocals and different elements recorded, I sent them off to James to reshape. It does feel like a forging process to me. What comes out the other side of the fire is utterly transformed and feels finished in a very surprising way. James has nothing to do with the first part of the process and we have very little to do with the second part of the process. The album has an electronic feel but a melancholic song based heart. I’m not sure there’s a genre which it fits neatly into. Maybe we need to invent a new one, ELECTRONIC MELANCHOLIC.”

Several tracks on the album emerged from studio improvisation, such as Terra Mãe and Requiem. What role did spontaneity play in shaping the emotional truth of these pieces?

Jules Maxwell: “Those two songs are the most special for me. Especially Terra Mãe. Lina is absolutely amazing to improvise with and there is a moment at the end of that song where something very tender and magical happens between us. Something which neither of us planned or expected but which both of us recognised when it happened. Those moments are rare and beautiful and make the whole thing worthwhile.”

Lina: “These songs were two pieces that only had the musical bases – the melodic landscapes – where there was space to create a melody and lyrics that would harmonize seamlessly with that foundation. In “Terra Mãe” I felt this song as a spiritual healing, showing us where we come from and what our roots are, while, at the same time, evoking the presence of a river that washes away pain and heals scars. It’s a very personal song. “Requiem” is a mantra Implet animum lumine solis, a Latin phrase I created that expresses the rebirth of a body made of light renewed with each repetition of the phrase embracing who we are and what the universe offers us. Both were created in my home and then recorded freely in the studio with plenty of space and creativity which you can really feel when listening to them. They are very visual and even transcendental.”

As the release date approaches, what are your hopes or expectations for how listeners — whether in Portugal, Ireland or beyond — will connect with the themes and atmosphere of Terra Mãe?

Jules Maxwell: “Like the Burn album before it, I expect this album will be a very slow burner. I’m hoping that English speaking audiences can find meaning in it and I’m hoping that portuguese audiences enjoy the journey it takes from start to finish. What I’m hoping for more than anything is that we get a chance to perform it as much as possible. We have been working with a wonderful animator called David Daniels who also worked on the Burn project with Lisa Gerrard and me. The live performances of this album will be magical visual (as well as musical) experiences for audiences.”

Lina: “This project blends two musical traditions, but at its core, it speaks to something universal. We hope listeners will not only hear the cultural textures but also connect with the intimacy and honesty in the music — and perhaps find parts of their own story reflected in it.”

Mit dem Laden des Videos akzeptieren Sie die Datenschutzerklärung von YouTube.
Mehr erfahren

Video laden

YouTube immer entsperren