Lúcia de Carvalho

Lúcia de Carvalho is a France-based singer from Angola.

Sometimes reminiscing upon childhood memories, sometimes a fierce woman always fighting for causes important to her, this singer, dancer and drum player offers us a music full of freedom and travels, audaciously mixing world music and modern rhythms. When asked where this love for music comes from, Lúcia acknowledges that it probably comes from her mother, herself a singer and piano player in a choir in Angola, who loved to gather her five daughters and share songs with them.

“We used to sing and dance all the time! At home, in the street, at the market… Anytime and anyplace was a good time to let our emotions go! Moreover, we used to listen to music on the radio, Angolan music as much as music coming from other Portuguese-speaking
countries such as Cape Verde, Brazil and Portugal...” After Angola, Lúcia de Carvalho spent part of her early years in a children’s home in Portugal and was then adopted by a French family.

As a teenager she grew up with a new culture, a new language and a new country. Her career started when she was barely 16 years old, after she joined the band “Bia de Assis et Som Brasil”. She started as a dancer in the band and quickly became its lead singer. Lúcia spent 10 years touring with the band and playing a variety of traditional and popular songs to French and international audiences.
In 2009, the singer and composer decided to launch her solo career using a more personal repertoire. Starting with traditional Brazilian music, she added pop, funk and reggae—inherited from her French adolescence—to her musical world.

As the years went by, concerts came one after another, and the audience discovered a charming and enticing artist. But in the background, the vital need to reconnect with her African roots started to appear. After first Extended Play released in 2011, it was time for Lúcia to be on the road again, in order to explore her heritage with a new and particularly meaningful album.