Interview

Adriana de Barros, Scene 360: You clearly have influences from the 80s era. What are some of the bands that inspired you?

David Fonseca: There are a lot of them, but back in the 80’s I would focus more on the songs, than on the bands itself. I started listening to real music (opposite to fake music that played constantly on the radio) with an album called “From Langley Park To Memphis” by Prefab Sprout. That was probably the first album I heard from start to finish… Well, I’m not considering “Breakin’ – There’s No Stopping Us,” the soundtrack of the movie, even though I danced to it like there was no tomorrow. The greatest influence I had came in the early 90’s with the most amazing band of all times: The Pixies.

David Fonseca in “Superstars.” Photo by Paulo Segadaes.

You’re known to wear Converse sneakers, and and some years ago, you influenced a trend in Portugal of the “layer-look” (e.g. t-shirts over long sleeves). And now I’ve seen you with 80 style sunglasses, among other fashionable stuff. Where do you buy your clothing and accessories?

This is a tricky question for me, since I don’t pay attention to fashion that much and I don’t know much about the latest trends. I guess I’ve been wearing pretty much the same clothes for some years now and, amazingly, they fit into this era! I buy most of what I wear at very common places, nothing too specific.

You are good looking man. You promote yourself on the web, and also through print mediums with distinct and artistic photography and design of your album campaigns. It is all presented in a modern yet classic way, as if the images could be shown in twenty years time, and still look good. How important is branding one’s self to benefit actual music sales?

Well, thank you Adriana, I’ll keep that in mind when I look at Sasquatch in the mirror every morning ; ) It’s important to me to find the right imagery for the songs I’m doing and I work on them with the same spirit, but I don’t think I’m doing that for business reasons. Photography was my first love and I couldn’t do it other way, it’s just another way of releasing the passion that moves me in this job. Maybe it helps the folks down at the store, but that’s not really my thing : )

Photos of Fonseca © David Fonseca.

You have a film degree and you were a professional photographer working in fashion. Does this explain why you are fully involved in making your own videos, designing album covers, and more? What are the advantages of doing this yourself?

As I said, I really enjoy doing it. The great advantage is that I know EXACTLY what I’m looking for. I’m working on something that came a long way to get here, all I have to do is to put the right frame on it. I’d like to have more time to do these things, so I could get more out of it, but I put music in first place.

Videos like “Little Drummer Boy” and “Amazing Grace” have a home-made look to it. Is this showing a more realistic side of David Fonseca?

Those videos were done by myself, running around hills carrying the tripod and a guitar, no crew involved, no special effects, no camera movements. I like to do those videos because I have fun doing them, but I don’t know if they represent me in a more realistic side. I think they’re just like any other video I made, only with worst lighting.

At a concert in Caldas da Rainha, you did a cover of “Radio Killed the Video Star” by Buggles. What other covers have you done over the years?

So many, I LOVE to play someone else’s song. “Spit on a Stranger” by Pavement, “Everyone Else In The World” by Stina Nordenstam, “All day and all of the night” by The Kinks, “Just What I Needed” by The Cars, “Debaser” by The Pixies, “Da-Da-Da” by Trio….and sometimes I just play bits and pieces of whatever comes to my mind, it depends on the mood of the show.

I absolutely love your remake of the song “Rocket Man” by Elton John. It just sounds very different from the original and the video is simple and artistic. Please take us through the idea and making of this video? Also, what led you to choosing this song?

I chose it (suddenly) while I was talking about the idea of including a version on my new album. It came to my mind while I was having this conversation and it made a lot of sense to me. The song talks about, among other things, the hidden part of your average day-to-day persona and what lies underneath, which was something that was clear about my new record. I ended up doing the video as a performance piece on that specific idea, trying to be very specific about it visually. I just wanted it to look under someone’s skin and see what’s going on inside… it ended up being me in the video, a wild and amazing shoot. I actually had that idea while I was having lunch, so it was quite spontaneous the way I ended up taking 5 KG of strawberry syrup on me.

Getting people to watch videos sometimes requires taking risks and doing things in new ways. In “Rocket Man,” you ended the clip dressed as a woman—some people liked it and others didn’t get it. I read online that some viewers were confused with your sexuality as a result of this video. Are you ever bothered with what people say on the Internet?

Not at all, the video was all about raising ideas and different interpretations, so I guess it worked. I really don’t see it as a sexually inclined video, I look at it as a piece that talks about difference and some kind of inner power. The idea that something beautiful and unexpected can happen after so many accidents was the main key of the video and I tried to do it the most specific I could. It’s a metaphoric video, I guess.

Fonseca during a live performance © David Fonseca.

Your album “Dreams in Colour” was recently released in Italy and soon will be in Greece and France. You’ve done a few shows at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. How challenging is it to get your music out on the international scene?

It’s always challenging to get out of your seat and do something that is far from your town’s comfort, but I love it. It’s not easy to get through though, there are a trillion bands and songwriters doing the same effort to reach new audiences, but I’ll do it as long as I’m having fun.

Do you plan on releasing an album in North America?

I’d love to and I’m working on that.

A funny thing that you mentioned was even your postman was singing one of your songs. Who else did you hear sing your tune in an unexpected place or situation?

That has happened a lot with this record, specially with the whistling bit of “Superstars”. I’ve listened to it in almost any place you can imagine, in a plane during a 5-hour flight to almost everyone inside a restaurant, it’s mad.

I recently interviewed Rita Redshoes who has a song called “Dream on Girl,” and you have an album titled “Dreams in Colour”—you both may be dreamers but one thing is certain: you’ve worked together. What is it like seeing Rita evolve into a new persona (“Redshoes”) and now with a solo career?

It’s just great! I know Rita for many years and I knew about many of these song for a long time. I also knew that when she felt ready to launch her first record it would be an amazing one and I was right! I’m really happy for her and it’s an honour for me to have such a great talent in my band : )

David Fonseca press photo for “Dreams In Colours.” Photo © David Fonseca.

You were part of a special music group called “Humanos,” which joined various well-known Portuguese singers and gave tribute to brilliant singer-songwriter Antonio Variações. What was the goal of this project, and what was it like working with these other musicians from different backgrounds?

We wanted to bring some of the lost tapes of Variações to life and to celebrate his talent and outstanding songwriting. It was such a thrill for me to work on this special project and to be able to stand side-by-side with some of the greatest singers and musicians in Portugal. I think there were no specific genres in this project, which led to some kind of weird mixture of influences and perspectives.

If you could make a wish come true, which person would you like to do a duet with?

That’s too hard, there are so many that I admire… but I would go for Roisin Murphy right now, she’s absolutely amazing.

On MTV Portugal, you listed 10 videos that you liked. Are there any recent favorites that you can share with us?

MMmmm… I really like the idea behind FATBOY SLIM’s “The BPA Toe Jam”, it’s such a fun video. I like the strong ambience in “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon and the happy/sad environment in “Read My Mind” by The Killers.

Reference:
[] Introduction about the Singer, written by A. de Barros, based from the official press
release "David Fonseca - Dreams in Colour" Retrieved on Jan. 2009. Courtesy of Vachier & Associados.

Credit:
All Photos of David Fonseca are © David Fonseca. Courtesy of Vachier & Associados.