“Music is an ageless territory”: Mafalda Veiga performs on May 6 at the Teatro Tivoli BBVA.

“Geografia Particular” is the name of the show that will be presented on the 6th at the Teatro Tivoli BBVA in Lisbon, as well as the EP that will be released later this year. Does this title have anything to do with the places that have marked you?

I started exploring this concept after talking to a colleague about songwriting. This is what we do and what gives us the most pleasure, and we have noted this many times, even if we don’t remember why we wrote this or that song – this is because there are so many other people’s stories in the songs, which dilutes the reason a little – we always remember where we were when we wrote. Remains in memory. And it was from there that I began to think that all of us, and not just the authors, have a unique map. A private GPS that takes us straight to places no one else can get to so accurately. To places where we were happy or sad, where we were emotional. And this particular geography is, at heart, the way in which my inner map and my affective places are transformed into music.

Can you write anywhere, in any situation?

There is no day or time for this to happen. But I have changed my method several times. There was a time when I was 12 or 13 years old and I wrote everywhere I went: in the classroom, for example. I remember writing lyrics on the bus on the way to college. In dressing rooms, going to concerts. But now I prefer to write in some place, namely in my rehearsal room, where I have guitars, keyboards, where I have sound. I prefer that inspiration does not overtake me anywhere, but preferably during work! I think Picasso said it… and he was absolutely right!

In Lisbon, the place where songs are born, or in Alentejo?

It’s in Lisbon. It’s kind of like a garage where the tools and equipment I use on the road are kept, and that’s where I like to write the most.

And when is the EP coming out?

I don’t have a specific date yet because I did it as a single and worked with different musicians and even different productions.

How will the show on the 6th at Tivoli BBVA go?

I’m going to play some of the old songs that people know well (selected by hand!) that are part of my inner map and – I hope! – an affective map of many people who listen to me and who like my work. But I will also present unreleased songs in addition to those already released (“Oscar” and “Geografia Particular”). Most of the show I will be alone, but sometimes I will be accompanied on stage by two musicians – Antonio Vasconcelos Diaz and Joao Gil. Because this “Special Geography” includes the work that I do with other musicians, and despite the fact that this is a solo show where I will show the most naked songs, without arrangements yet, I still want to join some Topics.

What is it like to be on stage solo? Isn’t it terrible?

In a way, being alone on stage is really something new in my career, because until recently I was afraid! He usually gave concerts with a band, and often they were bands with a large line-up. For example, in the Colosseums, at the Campo Pequeno and often even in small venues, they chose groups. However, a few years ago they managed to convince me to get rid of the fear of being alone on stage.

How did it happen? Is this the result of experience gained?

I don’t even know. They convinced me! I’ve been told for a long time that those moments when I only played the guitar turned out very well, that people sang along with me and it was much more authentic. Which is true, since these are very intimate moments of communication. It’s almost like playing at home with these people. Together they sing the same song. We all feel the same, share the same feeling, and it’s an incredible thing, a very strong emotion that only music (of all art forms) can evoke. Then there was a more specific time when I was going to buy a guitar, a blue telecaster, and I was told, “Well, since you’re going to buy this guitar, why don’t you use it and start preparing this show.” just you?”. And, in a way, it was this blue telecaster that made me write my first solo show, which was called “Crónicas da Intimidade de uma Guitarra Azul”. It was just me and the guitar, with a few “loops” that I ran live.

Two new themes, “Oscar” and “Geografia Particular”, feature two musicians and outstanding producers of the latest generation, Aghir and Nelson Carvalho. How did this call come about?

I have always worked with people of all ages. When I started making music, I also worked with people older than me. There is no such thing as an age group in music. I work and get invited to work with people of all ages because I’m interested in what they can add. I work with Ana Bacalhau, for example, with Joana Espadinha. This age barrier does not fit here. Music is a timeless, ageless territory.

Mafalda belongs to a generation in which few women made music in Portugal. Has the landscape changed for the better?

Changed for the better. It was the Portuguese mentality: making music was seen as such a risky business…women were in short supply and the environment was sexist and male dominated. It took three times as much rigor and effort to impose oneself on such a patriarchal world. It took a lot of perseverance and willpower to keep doing what you’re doing all these years – and now 35. There are not enough women in music with the fame and the kind that we have today.

He has a son the same age as many of his peers. Is it somehow related to the environment?

No, he learned to play the drums until he was 16 or 17, he plays the guitar, but that’s not what he wants to do in life, as much as I would like it!

Was it easy to be a mother and an artist?

In Portugal, when there is no family around, it is not easy. Socially, mothers are required to take care of most situations, and it takes a lot of effort to create a routine and be able to raise a child in a good and healthy way.