Interview // With Linda Martini

Linda Martini are a Portuguese band formed in 2003. They've released two albums - Olhos de Mongol (2006) and Casa Ocupada (2010) besides 3 EPs - Linda Martini (2005), Marsupial (2008) and Intervalo (2009). This is our interview with them, full of honesty and simplicity.

Fuck Yeah Music Stories:  How did you guys meet each other?
Linda Martini:  We all met around 16/17 years old in 96/97. All of us lived in Massamá/Queluz, so we met somewhere between high school and hardcore shows.

FYMS: We know your name "Linda Martini" comes from a friend of yours. Can you tell us more about that story?
LM:  No glamour around the name. We didn’t have a consensual name back then and when we heard this one, it sounded ok.

(Photo: Paulo Segadães)

FYMS: Which bands or artists have influence in your music?
LM:  There are four very different persons in the band. We all have the same hardcore/punk background, but also the four hear lots of other stuff since ever. So we can go from Beastie Boys to Converge with Nick Cave or Robyn on the way.

FYMS: Say the name of one album that you think is an icon and that everyone should listen to.
LM:  The Shape Of Punk To Come, from Refused.

FYMS: Where and how do you get your inspiration for your songs?
LM:  Everything that comes to us during our day-to-day routine. It can come from a book, a song, someone falling in the street…

FYMS: What is your music background?
LM:  The Hardcore SXE scene back in the 90s.

FYMS: How do you describe your music to people?
LM:  Rock!

FYMS: What is the place you would like to play one day?
LM:  We’d like to tour in Europe just for the fun of hanging around together in a van. We play a lot in Portugal, but don’t usually go outside the country. Portugal is a weird country. It’s small but you can almost live out of music just playing weekends, if you manage to hit a certain circuit.

FYMS: Do you have any ritual before going on stage?
LM:  We just kiss each other, but there’s no rule about it. It’s punk man!

FYMS: One of your songs is "Adeus tristeza" from Fernando Tordo. Why did you decide to cover it?
LM:  Actually it was André’s father who suggested. We were doing other 80s Portuguese artist but he told us that this was the one. We were afraid of him, so we did it.

FYMS: In 2010, you've released your second album “Casa Ocupada”. What can you tell us about that record?
LM:  This record reminded us the feeling associated to our past at Squats, more particularly one in Lisbon. The album is more raw and direct than the previous one, so we felt it was appropriate to name it Casa Ocupada - Portuguese for Occupied House (Squat).

FYMS: Your songs are all written in Portuguese. Are you those artists that think you must sing in your own language?
LM:  No way! We had bands in English and some members still have bands singing in English. When we started Linda Martini, we wanted to do a different sound from our punk/hardcore bands. So we thought “why not to sing in Portuguese?” So we tried and it went ok. No patriotic bullshit associated to it. Music has no language.

FYMS: Can you name a favorite Linda Martini song? Why?
LM:  No! To difficult!

FYMS: Have you found any Portuguese artist that is really worth to listening to?
LM:  Loads of them! Dead Combo, B Fachada, Capicua, Sam the Kid, PAUS, Filho da Mãe, Adorno, Panda Bear (he lives in Lisbon. Sorry! Portuguese now.), Norberto Lobo,  etc.

FYMS: What do you think about the importance given to music in Portugal?
LM: We’re still battling to put more people to pay attention to music and to be alert to the fact that there’s really good stuff here. Mentalities are changing and people are starting to discover Portuguese contemporary music.

(Photo: Paulo Segadães)

FYMS: What do you think about the selling of albums online instead of the physical CD on the stores?
LM:  It’s music. No matter where you listen to it or how you listen to it. Everyone has an mp3 player these days, so it’s normal that you want to have music on that platform. But there’ll always be vinyl lovers and people that like to have the artwork in their hands. It doesn’t matter that much. What matters is that people listen to music and that somehow artists can be able to keep doing it.

FYMS: With who would you like to make a collaboration with in the future?
LM:  We’re already doing one with Filho da Mãe – one of our favorite artists.

FYMS: What are your plans for the future?
LM:  We’re starting to write a new record. And we'll keep playing this year promoting Casa Ocupada.

FYMS: Complete these sentences...
a) One Day
LM: …we'll realize that Linda Martini has been playing together for 20 years. Only eleven are missing.

 b) The best thing people can say about us...
LM: …is that they can feel that we love to do what we do, the way we do it.

c) And the worst...
LM: …that we're rock stars.
d) In ten years...
LM: … we’ll be playing for 19 years together and almost realizing that we’'e doing it for 20.

FYMS: What would you tell to FYMS readers?
LM:  Download our records and if you enjoy them, find a way (somehow) to buy them on internet.

Special thanks to Linda Martini, Sónia Ramos and the photographer mentioned above.