Fausto Bordalo Dias

Since 1970, he has been surveying Portuguese life with his delicate guitar-playing and a clear, critical voice that doesn’t seem to age.

Born on a ship during the passage from Portugal to Angola, Fausto Bordalo Dias embodies the theme of this year’s WASSERMUSIK. The Portuguese singer-songwriter learned his musical craft in colonial Angola. But it wasn’t until he went to Portugal, where he studied politics during the fascist rule of Salazar, that he found his voice and his calling. His first album was released in 1970. His encounter with two musical companions, Correia de Oliveira and José Afonso, helped him realize his major work, a trilogy of albums with titles referring to landscapes: “Por Este Rio Acima” (1982), “Crónicas da Terra Ardente” (1994) and “Em Busca das Montanhas Azuis” (2011). Fausto’s music critically takes stock of life in Portugal, borne by his will to political intervention, his delicate guitar-playing and a clear voice that doesn’t seem to age.