Helder Moutinho
| Helder Moutinho | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hélder António Moutinho Paiva dos Santos |
| Born |
February 21, 1969 Oeiras |
| Origin | Portugal |
| Genres | Fado |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Manager |
| Labels | HM Música |
| Associated acts | Camané, Pedro Moutinho, Gisela João, Marco Oliveira, Ricardo Parreira, Vânia Conde, Fernando Alvim |
| Website | heldermoutinho |
Hélder António Moutinho Paiva dos Santos, artistically known as Helder Moutinho (Oeiras, 21 February 1969) is a Portuguese singer and songrwriter, and one of the most distinguished artists in the Fado genre. He's also the brother of two renowned Fado singers, Camané and Pedro Moutinho.
Born in Oeiras in 1969, Helder's family was deeply rooted in traditional Fado, whether singing, composing or writing poems, being is great-grandfather José Júlio da Silva Paiva (Fado composer and singer of the late 19th century) a prime example of this. In his youth and late teens, Helder attended various tertúlias and traditional Fado circles, further enticing the young Helder to take a chance on composing and writing poems.
At 18 years of age, Helder Moutinho began to write his first poems in the most varied forms of traditional Fado. Soon he realized that all the tunes were familiar, something that marked, in stark way, his vision and ethos as performer and lyricist.
His relationship with Fado is further cemented with circles and gatherings of Fado Houses, amongst various poets, singers and musicians, causing a major change in the young singer, an exemplar alumnus in the art of being Fadista.
At 24, he's invited to join the cast of a typical Fado House, located in Bairro Alto, Lisbon's historic district. The year of 1994 marks the beginning of his career as an interpreter and, at the invitation of José Manuel Osorio and Ruben de Carvalho, he takes the stage for the first time, participating in the cycle "Fados na Mãe d'Água", part of Lisboa'94: European Capital of Culture program, an event that, once again, placed the Portuguese capital in the highest level of the Europe's cultural capitals.
Soon after, more invitations followed, making Helder one of the most sought after voices of Lisboa's live Fado shows in the most distinct and iconic Fado Houses, such as the "Taverna do Embuçado" and "Parreirinha de Alfama". In 1998, Helder would also perform live at Expo '98.
"Não Guardo Saudade À Vida", with lyrics of his own, is recorded by Mysia on her album "Garras dos Sentidos", in 1998. The Portuguese singer would also interpret the theme "Trago A Saudade Esquecida - Fado Carriche", also penned by Helder and Raúl Ferrão, a track that would feature on the soundtrack of the Portuguese movie "Fátima"
His debut album, «Sete Fados e Alguns Cantos», is release in 1999, by the record label Ocarina, critically acclaimed by WOMEX's magazine "Strictly Mundial".
Followed by this album, Helder begins to create his own "tertúlias" and Fado gatherings, in a way to reflect and recreat the ones which he attended in his youth, which gave him more ground to prepare his second album, "Luz de Lisboa".
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Wikipedia