On Friday, July 28, Day 2 of Festival Med unfolded with an impressive lineup that drew a significantly larger crowd. The increased attendance created a vibrant atmosphere but also necessitated strategic planning to navigate between stages. The influx of festival-goers meant that moving from one concert to another required more time and patience, emphasizing the festival’s ongoing popularity.
Acácia Maior
The first concert on Friday was by an engaging Cape Verdean band called Acácia Maior. Band leaders Henrique Silva and Luís Firmino, both born in São Vicente, met in Portugal in 2018 during the launch of Tabanka Records. Their friendship sparked instantly, fueled by the sounds of the guitar and cavaquinho.
Without any premeditated plan, Acácia Maio began experimenting and creating together, choosing to embrace their shared experiences and feelings. From these encounters emerged Cimbron Celeste, an inventive album shaped by their collaboration with other artists, including João Gomes of Fogo Fogo, Cachupa Psicadélica, and legends like Paulino Vieira. Their latest release is Fort d’cmê Bolacha.
Oum
The Oum concert attracted quite a bit of attention. She is an elegant and charismatic Moroccan singer backed by a fantastic band that includes Moroccan and Cuban musicians. Her fabulous set included jazz and soul infused Moroccan-rooted songs performed in Arabic along with classic Cuban songs delivered in Spanish.
Oum is an emblematic figure in Morocco’s music scene. In 2024, celebrating a decade of international success, Oum released a live album titled Dakchi (those things), recorded in the heart of Marrakech. The album’s thirteen compositions intricately combined melodies and polyrhythms, capturing the essence of Marrakech’s rich musical heritage. Her discography includes her groundbreaking albums Soul of Morocco (2013) and Zarabi (2015).
Oum’s third release, Daba Now, elevated her to new artistic heights. This project, conceived in Berlin with her band and under the artistic direction of Palestinian poet, singer, and oud player Kamilya Jubran, is both atmospheric and danceable. Oum describes this duality as a dynamic state of urgency: the need to unite and savor joyful moments in a world where modern communication and transportation are reshaping our interactions.
Daba Now maintained primarily acoustic orchestration but introduced electronic elements for the first time, reflecting contemporary themes such as environmental threats, migration, and women’s rights.
Teresinha Landeiro
Festival MED continues to support emerging Portuguese talent. This time it was rising fado singer Teresinha Landeiro, accompanied by a tradiitional group of guitarists. Landeiro initially aspired to become a medical doctor but ended up studying management. However, she has persistently built her career in fado music. She debuted in 2018 with the album Namoro, produced by Pedro de Castro, a prominent figure in the fado scene and a significant influence on her musical education. This education was shaped by nights at the renowned Mesa de Frades, a key venue in Lisbon’s fado circuit, where Teresinha frequently performed over the years.
In 2021, she released Agora, again produced by Castro. This album presented a more confident Teresinha, not only in her singing but also in her songwriting. She explains, “Singing fado is about telling stories that people will interpret in their own way. The magic of fado is conveying a message through emotion, which everyone receives uniquely. You don’t even need to understand the language to feel its impact.“
In 2024, she released a new work, Para Dançar e Para Chorar.
Delfina Cheb
The cozy Haman stage featured captivating Argentine singer Delfina Cheb. At the age of 18, her talent earned a scholarship to pursue dual degrees in Jazz Composition and Vocal Performance at Berklee College of Music in the United States. Immersed in Berklee’s vibrant musical ecosystem, Cheb immersed herself in jazz and the folk traditions of South America, North America, and the Balkans
Following her undergraduate studies, Cheb continued her academic pursuits at the New England Conservatory, earning a master’s degree in Contemporary Music Performance. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the conservatory, focusing her research on Tango and South American music.
She has recorded two tango albums, Doce milongas de amor y un tango desesperado and Buenos Aires with renowned Spanish producer Javier Limón and has performed these works in Europe and Argentina over the past four years.
Roberto Fonseca
One of the headliners in 2024 was Cuban pianist and composer Roberto Fonseca accompanied by a sizeable Cuban orchestra. He performed at the large Matriz stage to an enormous crowd. Fonseca played material from his superb album La Gran Diversión. Read more about the concert in this review by our colleague Rafael Mieses: Roberto Fonseca, an unforgettable experience.
Al-Qasar
I stayed for the Fonseca concert and missed the concert by France-based transnational group Al-Qasar, who define their musical style as Arabian fuzz. The band was formed in the Barbès neighborhood of Paris in 2015 by American-French producer Thomas Attar Bellier. It brings together musicians from France, Armenia, Turkey, and the United States.
Key members of Al-Qasar include Turkish psychedelic rock singer Sibel Durgut, Franco-Armenian drummer Sacha Viken, and French bassist Guillaume Theoden. Their debut album was released by Glitterbeat Records. Their second album, Who Are We, released in 2022, features notable collaborators such as Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, New York-based Sudanese innovator Alsarah, Algerian oud virtuoso Mehdi Haddab (Speed Caravan), and acclaimed Egyptian singer Hend Elrawy (Orange Blossom).
Al-Qasar’s music combines the hypnotic trance roots of North Africa, the intricate beauty of Arabic scales, and the visceral excitement of rock.
The Hip Horns Brass Collective
Next, at the Cerca stage, came a concert by Spain’s Hip Horns Brass Collective. This band from Barcelona, composed of musicians from three different generations, are all veterans from the jazz and modern music scenes. They mix jazz, funk, and hip-hop.
Antti Paalanen
Finnish virtuoso accordionist Antti Paalanen, born in 1977, is a pioneering figure in contemporary Finnish folk music. Paalanen intertwines tradition and innovation through the use of the bisonoric (diatonic) accordion. This instrument, a long-standing element of Finnish folk music, is revitalized by Paalanen, who pushes its boundaries across various genres with innovative techniques and a dynamic, electrifying performance style.
Originally from Southern Ostrobothnia, a region known for its rich pelimanni (traditional music) heritage, Paalanen’s talent emerged early. Between 1989 and 1996, he won the Finnish pelimanni championship for diatonic accordion four times and placed second in the world diatonic accordion championship in Austria in 1999. His developed his career at the prestigious Sibelius Academy, where he earned a master’s degree in 2006 and a doctorate in 2015.
Paalanen’s discography includes four solo albums: Äärelä (2007), Breathbox (2010), Meluta (2014), and Rujo (2019). Several of these works have received Finnish industry awards. Paalanen’s music boldly fuses traditional Finnish melodies with Electronic Dance Music (EDM), combining the familiar warmth of the accordion with pulsating electronic beats. His performances are electrifying, often featuring Siberian-inspired shamanic guttural vocals, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a modern Viking festival.
Tito Paris
A leading figure in Cape Verdean and Portuguese music, Tito Paris, performed right after midnight. Tito Paris is an essential artist in terms of Cape Verdean music. Paris recalls hearing his first morna at the age of six, played by his sister, marking the beginning of his fascination with music. Born into a family of musicians, he arrived in Lisbon on July 12, 1982, to join the historic group Voz de Cabo Verde.
By 1983, Tito Paris was featured on Bana’s iconic recording Dor Di Nha Dor, the beginning of a prolific discography that includes collaborations with artists such as Frank De Pina, Dionísio Maio, Silvino Vieira, and Pedro Martins. In 1987, he played on Cesária Évora’s self-titled album. That same year, he debuted as a solo artist with Fidjo Maguado, followed by a celebrated discography that includes classics like Dança Ma Mi Criola, Graça De Tchega, and Guilhermina.
Tito Paris is currently one of the most prominent ambassadors of Cabo Verdean music worldwide and a key figure in promoting Creole music and culture in Portugal. He is also recognized as an Ambassador of Cabo Verdean Culture globally and has been awarded the title of Commander of the Order of Merit in Portugal.
The late night concerts included Ko Shin Moon (France), Throes + The Shin (Angola/Portugal) and Kumpania Algazarra (Portugal).
Kumpania Algazarra
Kumpania Algazarra, formed in 2004 in the streets of Sintra, is celebrating its 20th anniversay in 2024. This modern outfit quickly established themselves as one of the most dynamic brass bands in Portugal, creating a distinctive sound that combines ska, folk, reggae, Balkan beats, Latin rhythms, and funk.
Over these two decades, the band has released an EP and nine albums, touring globally with hundreds of performances, always maintaining their infectious energy. In 2024, they marked the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Revolution and paid tribute to Zeca Afonso with the single “O que faz Falta,” reinterpreting the classic with their signature style.
In October 2023, they released Histórias e Raízes, an album enriched with collaborations with artists such as JP Simões, Jacqueline Carvalho, Marcelo Almeida, and Synik. This work revisits traditional Portuguese music with Kumpania Algazarra’s distinctive touch.
Throes + The Shine
Throes + The Shine specialize in Luso-Angolan beats, including kuduro. The band includes Mob Dedaldino, Igor Domingues, and Marco Castro. their most recent album is Kalunga, released two years after Aqui. T Live performances are unstoppable and infectious, enabling the band to energize crowds worldwide.
Throes + The Shine debuted in 2012 with Rockuduro. The band has since evolved, releasing multiple albums and singles, including “Mambors de Outros Tipos” (2014), “Wanga” (2016), and “Enza” (2019). These works feature hits like “Guerreros” and “Balança.” Tracks such as “Banzelo” from “Aqui” and “Tá Queimar” from “Kalunga” highlight the group’s refined and evolving musical vision, increasingly in tune with the global dance scene.
Ko Shin Moon
Lastly, Parisian act Ko Shin Moon combines traditional melodies with modern electronic beats. Ko Shin Moon is led by Niko Shin and Axel Moon, artists influenced by psychedelia and the electronic disco sounds of the late 1970s as well as Haruomi Hosono, David Byrne, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.
From their debut in 2017, Ko Shin Moon demonstrated an interest in exploratory music that traverses genres, geographies, and eras. This approach earned them an invitation from the National Library of France (BnF) to delve into its extensive sound archive, which includes recordings from around the world. The challenge was to create new pieces exclusively from 78 rpm records. The result was the album 78 Fragments, transforming historical sounds into contemporary art.
In 2020, their third album, Leïla Nova, saw them focusing on organic instrumentation, creating a hybrid synthesis of various musical worlds. Live performances are a crucial element of Ko Shin Moon’s artistic expression.
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Festival MED, Part 1 – Exploring Loulé, a Thriving Portuguese Culture Hub
Festival Med Part 2, Rising Portuguese Talent, Kora Master and Much More
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.