Cristóvam – Setting Sun

By starrymag | December 2, 2020

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

 

Q) “Setting Sun” was inspired by your hometown in Portugal. Why did you decide to pay homage to your roots?

A) I feel really blessed to have been born here in the Azores. This is a pretty spectacular place to grow up…Through music I was lucky enough to travel a lot over the last few years and the thing is the more I travel the more that feeling grows. This place is a very big part of who I am as a person and consequently a big part of who I am as a songwriter.

 

Q) You also released a music video for “Setting Sun.” How did you come up with the concept for the video?

A) It was an old dream of mine to have a music video that could show the beauty of the Azores in a cinematic way. And because of all the attention I had from “Andrà Tutto Bene,” I felt like this was the right time to do it. I wanted to show a bit more of my identity and my roots are big part of that, so I reached out to my friend and director Pedro Varela, told him what I was going for and he jumped onboard.

The concept for the video was a bit more on his side and I guess his main idea was to show that every time we return somewhere that we’ve travelled to in the past, things tend to feel different and the reason why they feel different is because we are in constant change as human beings. Our own personal changes affect the way we see everything.

 

Q) With the release of “Setting Sun” is there an EP or album in the works for the future?

A) Yes! I’ve been working on a big batch of songs that will be released over the course of the next year. Super excited about that!

 

Q) Back in March you released a song and music video for “Andrà Tutto Bene,” (Everything Will Be Fine) a positive reminder of making it through these unprecedented times. Where did the inspiration for the song come from and how has music helped you during this time?

A) It was just my natural way of dealing with what was going on. I just did what I always do when there’s something on my chest – I grab my guitar, a piece of paper and just lay it there.

Music has always helped me through dark and less positive times whether I’m just listening, playing or writing, music seems to always hold the answer.

 

Q) Tell us a little more about your songwriting process.

A) Hm, it doesn’t follow a specific rule. Travelling usually makes me more creative though. Sometimes a song can start from a guitar riff, other times out of a vocal hook or melody, other times out of a couple words that come to mind without the guitar. I tend to record a lot of ideas on my phone, hundreds actually… Sometimes I’ll pick my phone and start hearing these recordings I made somewhere in the past and something will trigger my mind to finish a specific song. It’s actually quite chaotic now that I think of it.

 

Q) Your grandfather had a profound impact on you musically, as he was known as a radio pioneer. What was the best advice he gave you growing up?

A) He used to say: “Nunca te esqueças das tuas raízes,” which translates to “Don’t ever forget your roots.” That’s a very strong sentence…something that I consider super important and something that I hope to one day say to my kids as well.

 

Q) You were also given his record collection! What are your Top 3 albums from that collection?

A) My grandfather’s records passed on to my dad and when I got that collection it already had my father’s records blended in it as well. So, it’s a bit hard now to know which ones came from who! [laughs]

But here go 3 of my favorites:

Jackson Browne – Saturate Before Using

Lee Michaels – 5th

Bob Dylan – Infidels

 

Q) Which artist or artists would you love to do a tour with?

A) Oh, there’s quite a few on that list but I’ll try to narrow it down a little:
Gregory Alan Isakov, Leif Vollebekk, Ryan Adams, Hiss Golden Messenger, Ray Lamontagne, The Tallest Man on Earth and so many more could be here…

 

Q) With live shows currently on hold, have you done any virtual shows or plan to do any for your fans?

A) Yeah, absolutely. I try to stay connected with everyone as much as possible and I am planning on doing a couple special live stream performances during the next few weeks.

 

Q) What do you miss most about performing live shows?

A) Meeting people, hearing their stories, travelling, hearing authentic reactions from the audience to the music you are performing. Those are irreplaceable things. Nothing can ever replace that. That is the core of everything.

 

Q) Who are you currently listening to?

A) The new Lera Lyn record is awesome, been listening to the new Grant-Lee Phillips record as well. Andrew Combs, Boy & Bear, Dustin Tebbutt, Thomas Dybdahl, Molly Parden and many others. I’m always listening to a lot of stuff the same time.

 

Q) What would you like to share with your fans and supporters of your music?

A) I’d like to thank you for supporting what I do and being there for me and say that there’s lot of new music that I can’t wait to share with you guys.

 

Watch The Video For “Setting Sun”