The history of the Portuguese singer Rita Redshoes in the musical universe began in 1996. At the time, the singer was known as Rita Pereira and played the role of drummer in the group of musicians that formed part of the theater group “Ita Vero”, from Escola Secundária by José Afonso, Loures.
A year later he started to sing and play keyboards in the Atomic Bees, which released a version of ‘Perfect’ by Fairground Attraction, included in the collection “Optimus 2000 – Novos Talentos” and which in 2001 edited the album “Love.noises.and.kisses “.
She later played bass in the group Rebel Red Dog, and played piano and sang in the Photographs project. The latter functioned as a kind of embryo of what the singer later presented as Rita Redshoes.
From 2003 she was invited to be the service keyboardist of David Fonseca’s support band, with whom she interpreted the theme ‘Hold Still’, from the album “Our Hearts Will Beat As One”.
In 2007, the imagery of the movie “The Wizard of Oz” and the classic “Let’s Dance”, by David Bowie, inspired her to adopt the name Rita Redshoes. At the same time, she began to prepare her first album, with the lead single ‘Dream On Girl’, included in the compilation “Novos Talentos-FNAC 2007”.
Golden Era – 2008
The album, released in 2008, features 12 songs sung in English, a dozen examples of melodic pop that refer to the universes of Fiona Apple, Cat Power, the early days of Goldfrapp or even David Fonseca.
“The songs are fragments of me, of things I think about love, they are influenced by what I see, not so much by music, but by images, by movies. I have many images recorded in my head and all of that influences me”, explained the singer to Lusa.
The themes “Dream On Girl”, “Hey Tom” and “The Beginning Song” are already known from “Golden Era”, which have been serving as the calling card of Rita’s music. “These first two themes reveal two universes where the album actually fits, between `uptempo´ and more intimate songs”, she said.
The album is co-produced by the author and Nelson Carvalho and features Filipe C. Monteiro (electric guitar and keyboards), Nuno Simões (bass), Sérgio Nascimento (drums) and even a string section.
During the first months of releasing her album, she was accompanied by the same musicians who recorded with her, currently featuring Filipe C. Monteiro on electric guitar and keyboards, Cebola (dR.strangeamor) on bass, Rui Freire (dR .strangeamor) on drums, Borges (dR.strangeamor) on keyboards and Ana Rita Inácio on back vocals.
Lights & Darks (2010)
Lights & Darks, composed entirely of original themes by Rita Redshoes, reveals a more mature artist, detached and direct in her songs, which definitively confirm Rita Redshoes as an exceptional singer-songwriter.
“Lights & Darks” was inspired by places where she had been in the previous 10 months and by books she had been reading over that same period. Part of these inspirations were taken from the most varied areas: in painting, from Renaissance environments and textures; in literature, by writers such as D. H. Lawrence, Albert Camus or Florbela Espanca; and in music, by some composers such as Les Baxter, Henry Mancini or Arthur Lyman.
The Other Woman (2012 show)
“The Other Woman”, or the world in their songs is the most recent show created by Rita Redshoes in 2012. Rita Redshoes has always wondered about the importance that “being a woman” has in characterizing her creativity. From this discovery, almost evident, resulted in the conception of a concert with somewhat different characteristics from those she is used to: a tribute to the authors, composers and performers who, through their creativity, inspired her since she woke up to music. as PJ Harvey, Loretta Lynn, Lhasa de Sela, Joan Jett, Nina Simone, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Amélia Muge, Patti Smith or Sheryl Crow.
3’30 (Show)
In December, the singer-songwriter, invited by percussionist Nuno Aroso, participates in the concert “3’30 – Percussive Sung Songs”, within the scope of CCBeat, which took place at the Centro Cultural de Belém. In “3’30” the two musicians collaborated with an impressive group of composers from the so-called classical tradition who have long developed remarkable paths in the world contemporary music scene – Oscar Bianchi, Matthew Burtner, Martin Bauer, Peter Ablinger, Kumiko Omura, Luís Antunes Pena, Jorge Prendas, Nuno Peixoto de Pinho or Angela
Life Is a Second of Love (2014)
In 2014, Rita Redshoes returns to songs with “Life Is A Second Of Love”, her third original work, an album that confirms her as one of the most talented composers of her generation and an interpreter of rare ability. “Broken Bond” is the theme that anticipates the discovery “Life Is A Second Of Love”, a work recorded at the end of 2013 between Portugal and Brazil with production in charge of Gui Amabis, musician and producer from São Paulo. In addition to Gui Amabis’ programming and samples, Rita Redshoes also had the participation of Brazilians Regis Damasceno (guitar and bass) and Dustan Gallas (guitar). In national terms and in addition to Rui Freire, the project’s usual drummer, it also featured Ana Cláudia Serrão on cello and, in a participation that extends to some songs on the album, in the choirs, Afonso Cabral, David Santos (aka Noiserv) and Salvador Menezes, members of the collective You Can’t Win Charlie Brown.
Her (2016)
Recorded in Berlin, at Riverside studios, this Rita Redshoes album had the participation of some musicians of choice: Knox Chandler, the guitarist who is also responsible for the string arrangements on the disc and has worked with bands such as R.E.M., Depeche Mode or Siouxie and the Banshees; Earl Harvin, the American drummer who has played with Pet Shop Boys, The Pychedelic Furs or Damien Rice, and is currently the drummer for Tindersticks; and Greg Cohen, jazz bassist best known for belonging to the John Zorn quartet, but who has played with an endless list of musicians such as Tom Waits, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Anthonyand the Johnson or Marisa Monte.
In production, “Her” was conducted by Victor Van Vugt, producer of Nick Cave’s seminal album, “Murder Ballads” and Beth Orton’s album, “Trailer Park”, nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize, winner of a Brit Award . In addition to the aforementioned Nick Cave and Beth Orton, the Australian producer has worked with names like P.J.Harvey, Depeche Mode, The Fall, Billy Bragg or Einsturzende Neubauten, just to name a few.
On her 4th album, Rita Redshoes writes and performs, for the first time solo, three songs in Portuguese, one of which is co-authored with Pedro da Silva Martins. This was also the album on which the artist played the most instruments: piano, omnichord, keyboards and acoustic guitar.
