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David loves cats. Hes got three at home and they keep him company when hes by himself. He listens to Jeff Buckley, B52s, Pixies, Roy Orbison and Aphex Twin. Actually, the listening list was quite long, but these 5 sum it up quite well.
David is one of the most charismatic Portuguese voices. He is a writer, composer, musician and performer. His first band Silence 4 imposed itself as the biggest and most astonishing phenomenon on the recent years of Portuguese music. Their debut record, entitled “Silence Becomes It” (1998) sold more than 240.000 copies, which represents six platinum records, supported by a long tour that la
David loves cats. Hes got three at home and they keep him company when hes by himself. He listens to Jeff Buckley, B52s, Pixies, Roy Orbison and Aphex Twin. Actually, the listening list was quite long, but these 5 sum it up quite well.
David is one of the most charismatic Portuguese voices. He is a writer, composer, musician and performer. His first band Silence 4 imposed itself as the biggest and most astonishing phenomenon on the recent years of Portuguese music. Their debut record, entitled “Silence Becomes It” (1998) sold more than 240.000 copies, which represents six platinum records, supported by a long tour that lasted for 2 years. “Only Pain Is Real” (2000) was the second record for Silence 4, which sold 100.000 copies. They wrapped up their tour in December 2000, with two memorable sold out concerts at the most famous venue in Lisbon: the Coliseu dos Recreios. During 2001 Silence 4 went on their last tour and, in 2002, they stopped their activities.
“Sing Me Something New” (2003) was the title of David Fonseca’s debut album as a solo artist, playing nearly all instruments and exploring his composer and performer sides more than ever. Produced by David and Mário Barreiros, this record was mastered in New York, at the Sterling Sound Studios, by George Marino, the man responsible for mastering records of artists such as Coldplay, Rollins Band, Marc Ribot, Dandy Warhols or Sepultura. “Someone That Cannot Love”, the first single, was a 1 hit on airplay for several months. The second single, “The 80’s” was chosen by VODAFONE to be the song for their Summer advertising campaign and became an instant hit. A successful tour followed for 2 years and the album reached 2 on the Sales Chart and certified PLATINUM.
David: “I’m a big fan of great songwriters like Jeff Buckley or Tom Waits, but there’s something amazing about those classic bands like The Cars or Roxy Music that still inspire me to do music after all these years. I’m interested in songs, classic and plain songs that you can sing or dance to but, if I can, I’ll try to surprise you along the way. “
In 2004, he joined a Portuguese supergroup called Humanos, giving his voice to never before heard songs from the mythical António Variações, a loved gone composer and singer from the 80’s. This tribute album was multi-platinum (+120.000 units) and stayed in 1 for weeks.
In 2005, David was ready to release his second solo album, “Our Hearts Will Beat As One”. The first single, “Who Are U?”, reached 3 on the airplay charts and confirmed David as one of the greatest Portuguese songwriters. The following single, “Hold Still”, showed the crooner side of David in a duet with Rita Redshoes, becoming a MTV favorite for its ground-breaking video. Directed by David himself, it won several awards, including “Best Video Of The Year” on the Vimus international music video festival. The 3rd single, “Our Hearts Will Beat As One”, became a musical revolution all around and set a different tone for David’s career. The arty and film-like video, one of the most amazing videos ever done in Portugal, went straight to 1 on MTV Hit List and remained in the chart for months. “Our Hearts Will Beat As One” went straight to 1 on Sales Chart and reached Gold Status on the first week of sales. It was critically acclaimed by all media and was considered POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR in Portugal even before the year-end.
David’s new album “Dreams In Colour” was released in October 2007 and went straight to 1 on sale charts, confirming his status as one of the most successful Portuguese artists to date. It went GOLD briefly after its release.
The first single (“Superstars”), an upbeat song with a contagious whistle, became a summer hit and set the tone for the new record, leading the radio charts for weeks. The video was directed by David once again achieving an immediate online success. A strong mixture of melancholic lyrics and joyful sounds, turned David’s indie and 80’s influences into mainstream anthems.
David’s own version of the Elton John 1972 classic “Rocket Man”, the second single, was an unexpected and pleasant surprise for everyone. The stunning one-take video directed (again!) by David was a groundbreaking performance that shocked and appealed everyone who saw it.
On January 2008, MTV chooses David Fonseca for Artist of the Month for the second time in his career.
The third single of “Dreams In Colour”, “Kiss Me, Oh Kiss Me”, reaches the top 10 radio charts one week after it’s release, another instant hit for the record pointed out by the readers of the 1 music magazine in Portugal as “Best Record of The Year”. Critics and media point “Dreams In Colour” as David’s finest moment ever on his fast growing career.
“DREAMS IN COLOUR” is a whole new experience for me, I never thought that my music could sound so optimistic and well lit. Not that I lost the melancholic and lost kid in me, I think he’ll be there for a long time, but I found out that even the darkest moments carry some kind of ironic and hopeful meaning waiting to be untied...and sometimes i’m lucky to pull the right strings.”, says David.
David is permanently touring and has played all the major Portuguese festivals and events. He shared the stage with international names like PJ Harvey, Portishead, Placebo, Tindersticks, Rufus Wainwright, Fatboy Slim, Beth Orton, N.E.R.D, Prodigy and many others.
“I play a lot of different venues, from small places where I can hear the audience breathe to open air festivals with thousands of people, so these songs have to survive all the different moods that are set in each place I go. I love playing live, it’s great to see these songs transform itself according to different audiences and venues, it’s always different every time I play it.” David Fonseca
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O David adora gatos. Tem 3 em casa e eles fazem-lhe companhia quando está sozinho. Gosta de ouvir Jeff Buckley, B’52s, Pixies, Roy Orbison e Aphex Twin, isto para mencionar alguns, a lista é gigante. No entanto, estes 5 nomes são bastante representativos...
O David é um músico, embora sempre tenha sonhado em ser um fotógrafo. “Acho que foi o destino”, diz ele num suspiro enquanto olha para o chão, “embora não acredite em nada disso”.
Independentemente da força do destino, o David é um dos mais carismáticos e bem sucedidos artistas portugueses até aos dias de hoje. Fundou a sua primeira banda em meados dos anos noventa e foi com ela que apresentou as suas canções e voz a um público mais vasto. O grupo acabaria por impor-se como um dos maiores fenómenos nos anos recentes da música portuguesa, com o seu álbum de estreia “Silence Becomes It” a atingir as 240.000 cópias vendidas.
Dificilmente David Fonseca esquecerá o ano de 1998...os Silence 4 tocaram nos mais importantes festivais de verão desse ano e fecharam a Expo 98, onde tocaram para 50.000 pessoas. Em Dezembro de 98, fecharam o ano com uma actuação no Pavilhão Atlântico para 18.000 pessoas, tornando-se assim na primeira banda portuguesa a esgotar esta sala de espectáculos.
“Tinha encontrado finalmente uma cura para as minhas insónias...quem é que queria dormir com toda aquela agitação à nossa volta?”, diz-nos David com um sorriso na cara.
“Only Pain Is Real” (2000) foi o 2º álbum dos Silence 4, tendo vendido 100.000 cópias até á data. Seguiu-se uma tournée que culminou em Dezembro de 2000 com dois concertos memoráveis no Coliseu de Lisboa. Estes concertos foram editados posteriormente em forma de DVD e CD com o título “Silence 4 ao vivo no Coliseu”.
Em 2001 os Silence 4 fizeram a sua última digressão e terminaram as suas actividades. Era altura para o David experimentar um novo rumo a solo, algo de diferente...
“Foi como a canção...”First I was afraid, I was petrified”...mas acabou por ser uma experiência libertadora, uma daquelas que aqueles pavorosos livros new age falam. De repente percebi que esta era a única maneira de continuar...”
Em 2003, David Fonseca lança o seu primeiro disco a solo, “Sing Me Something New”, onde explora novas facetas de compositor e intérprete. Toca praticamente todos os instrumentos do disco, que estreia simultaneamente em mais de 150 rádios por todo o país. “Someone That Cannot Love” atinge o #1 do Airplay Nacional e “The 80’s” é escolhido como tema de campanha da Vodafone, catapultando uma digressão de grande sucesso por todo o país. O álbum atinge o #2 da tabela de vendas e atinge o galardão de disco de ouro.
Em 2004 participa no projecto Humanos, dando voz a temas inéditos de António Variações ao lado de Manuela Azevedo e Camané. O sucesso do disco culmina em 3 espectáculos memoráveis nos Coliseus de Lisboa e Porto e uma actuação para 40.000 pessoas no festival Sudoeste.
Em 2005 chega a vez do seu segundo álbum a solo, “Our Hearts Will Beat As One”. Fruto de uma longa temporada de composição, 11 temas são escolhidos entre as dezenas de canções que rodearam a feitura deste disco. O primeiro single do álbum, “Who Are U?”, é o tema descrito por David Fonseca como “aquele que sempre quis escrever” e atinge o #3 na tabela de airplay nacional.
“Our Hearts Will Beat As One” foi aclamado pelos media e foi considerado por muitos o álbum pop do ano mesmo antes do fim de 2005. O disco estreou em #1 na tabela de vendas nacional e chegou ao galardão de ouro na primeira semana de vendas. Foi considerado pelos leitores do Diário de Notícias como o melhor disco de 2005.
“Depois de alguns anos de procura, sinto que encontrei o que queria. As coisas que quero dizer, os sons que quero ouvir, está tudo aqui. E, no entanto, sinto que este é só o princípio, que este disco marca um novo ponto de partida para mim e para a minha música.”
“É verdade que sempre sonhei ser fotógrafo, mas estou feliz por ter seguido este caminho. Mas não tem nada a ver com o destino...Como eu vos disse, não acredito em nada disso.”
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