Marlene Ribeiro has slowly revealed parts of her upcoming new solo record over the past month. The long-time GNOD member will release Toquei No Sol next Friday and enters a fresh and exciting chapter for this unique artist. With a strong sense of place and distinctiveness, her garden in Ireland and her grandmother’s kitchen in Portugal are among the locations she incorporated into the recording.
“It’s all a big misty haze of nostalgia, playfulness, self-reflection and hopefulness” is what Marlene reckons herself. Yet Toquei No Sol
is also a transporting vision from an artist both returning to her roots and looking out to new celestial horizons.
Toquei No Sol finds Riberio at her most melodic, and the two tracks shared so far feel deep and meditative, setting the record’s tone. It’s tricky to pick a favourite from the two, but with its healthy dose of weirdness, the title track edges it for me. In addition to the song, there’s a colourful and quirky video to go along with it.
