Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I was born in Mozambique, and I live in West Highland Scotland, in a very beautiful place in the Morvern Peninsula. I moved to Portugal to study when I was 17 and had hoped then to work in the USA, but when my father died, I was left in a place of spiritual pain and confusion. I decided instead to join my partner in the UK, and this move helped me regain balance and face my grief in a better way. We were fascinated by the landscape and history of the Highlands, so when we had the opportunity to move, we did all that we could to succeed in living in this wonderful place. We run a B&B which also serves food and we are so happy that we are known as the place to go and eat – it’s helped us make strong bonds in this rural community. How my childhood impacted my music Growing up in a country with a history of decades of war, my parents brought us up to be socially aware. I was born in the last year of the Civil War, and grew up hearing frightening stories of that time. But I was lucky to enjoy a peaceful childhood, and my parents taught us the importance of caring for each other, even people we don’t know. Due to our history of war and the importance of building a socially and economically healthy country, my father taught us the role of philosophy and its importance in building an enlightened society. He showed me that the well-being of the whole should be at the core of whatever I do, whether it is art (music) or work (profession).
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Eufragio”?
A: Honestly, I do not know how to grow a fan base. I have common knowledge about releasing music and sharing it through social media platforms. I try to do some marketing which is to send the music to some curators and make posts on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) to try to attract attention and have people listening to my music. There are many artists out there, all of them using different methods for attracting fans. It is not an easy task, but I hope that every time a single person listens to my music, will like it and share it with friends and family. Message for anyone who is discovering me. Thank you for saving your time for reading this interview. I make music with the main purpose of helping the construction of a better society and I hope that my music will give you hope, strength, and motivation to pursue your dreams. I hope that the music will help you to broaden your horizons and see the different aspects of life that can be explored to enlighten all of us. Also, please feel free to contact me through social media, I am very open, and I like to hear people’s opinions about my work and their visions about our world.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Many artists inspire me. In Rap music, it is Nas, principally his albums Lost Tapes 1, Untitled, and Life is Good (my favourite). But all of his albums are special to me. I like Amy Winehouse and Sade. Listening to Chopin helps me with my concentration when I am writing. From my home country, Mozambique, artists like Wazimbo, Paulina Chiziane, Stewart Sukuma, Antonio Marcos, and Carlos Chongo or Ghorwane, inspire me a lot with the way they see through society’s problems. Elsa Mangue from Mozambique (deceased), and Tracy Chapman are probably my favourite writers. Their sound is kind of wistful, but I like them a lot.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Rule the World.”?
A: With Rule the World, I wanted to pass on the idea that there are other ways of intervening in society and helping solve its problems. For example, most of us look to the existing political systems as a dogma, as if they are the only ones that exist and everything else should be done around them. I believe that we can create new ones, better, inclusive, and most of all, that respect people’s cultures and different ways of thinking. As an African, I feel like the world system doesn’t benefit Africans, it uses Africa to grow itself while keeping Africa and Africans behind. I also don’t believe that Africa can grow alone, it needs the world’s help, the same way the world needs Africa. So, I wrote the song to pass that message. In the first part of the song, I tried to summarize what I believe is the core of the world’s problems, and in the second part, I tried to summarize the possible solutions. I also believe that young people should have different approaches to the issues of the world. I see us, young people, as disconnected, focusing our energy and strength on things such as parties and having fun with no care about tomorrow. We should understand that our youth years are our elixir. It is when we have physical and mental strength to handle anything. So, we should dedicate those years to building our Home, which is our planet. There is always time for having fun. Our education system could be improved as well. In my opinion, we can’t have people between the age range of 18 to 30 years old living as full-time students. Those are the wonder years, people in that age range should be producing for society. There should be systems that allow them to be workers- students, but with benefits that motivate them.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: This is a very hard question, I am not a one-word person. But I would say “Poetic”.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Rule the World”?
A: Yes, I did. I don’t know what comes to people’s mind when they listen to the song, if they think “Wow, this is incredible” or if it is just “That’s an OK song” but it took me a year and a half to create the song. One reason was that I usually produce a demo instrumental, and I also write the melodies of the chorus before sharing the song with the people whom I want to collaborate with. Making the instrumental was quite hard. I don’t use samples, everything is original, therefore, I needed to create something that would get the attention of the collaborators. I already had the idea for the lyrics, but I didn’t write them until I was happy with the demo instrumental. After making the instrumental, I wrote the lyrics and chorus. But then it took me a year to get to the next step because my partner and I had to change our work. At the time we had some problems with our work, and we decided to leave. We spent the following 4 months thinking about what we should do, and it wasn’t easy. We had a few problems and I had moments where I was afraid of the future, I was too anxious. During that period, I rewrote parts of the lyrics, but I didn’t want the song to reflect what I was going through (anxiety, stress, and the mindset that the problems were bigger than the solutions). So, I would leave it and avoid thinking of it. But my partner was always by my side, and she helped me to see things with a better perspective and with hope. After rewriting the lyrics 3 or 4 times, I decided to send the demo to Rui Michel, a Mozambican rock star who liked the song and agreed to collaborate with me. It was a huge motivation for me and from that moment things just moved forward smoothly. The final version of the instrumental was produced by another Mozambican artist, a producer called DJ Crazy who is also a rapper.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: My music is mainly philosophical. The message is focused on helping the development of our state of mind and spirit to create a better world for all of us. With my message, I try to explore the different visions of society for the improvement of our lives.
My goal as an artist I am a huge fan of Marcus Aurelius, Confucious, King Solomon, and Jesus Christ (I do see him as a philosopher). They had a huge impact on the world, and they had good intentions. They brought thoughts that helped to build understanding among human beings. As an artist, I hope to do 0.5% of what they did. If I do that, I will be very happy. I know some may think this is too utopic, but belief is the start of everything, right?
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: This is another hard question, there are many of them. But probably Nas. He is an incredible rapper. I would also like to collaborate with Tracy Chapman, Amy Winehouse, Sade, and Paulina Chiziane.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Music is a serious thing. We see music as entertainment, but I believe that music is a social responsibility that can also be entertainment, but always with social responsibility as the main part of it. As musicians, we have an important role in society, it doesn’t matter how big or famous we are, there is always someone who is listening to us and it is important to create a positive impact and influence on that person.
The morality of society is heavily influenced by art (all kinds of it), and this should be our main goal when we make music. It is important to have a love for it, the love to make music. When we love it, it will be easy to follow our path without falling into the wrong influences. Many musicians are superstars, and it is common, and normal, to want to be where they are. But if we have the right focus, which is to contribute positively to our society, nothing will disturb our hearts and we will be happy as artists, regardless of how famous or rich we are.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: You are on the right path but be prepared because you will face hard challenges. Don’t be scared or afraid to ask for advice from the older/wiser ones, their advice will help you a lot. Don’t be too focused on yourself, and on your personal needs, the whole is more important. If the whole is good, then you are good too.
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