Strangelove Music is delighted to present its first project, two songs from Lena d'Água, one of Portugal’s great musical acts of the early 1980’s. From the ashes of art pop band Salada de Frutas, Lena rose as the first prominent female bandleader in Portugal. Combining a siren presence and soaring vocals alongside songwriter Luis Fonseca and backing band Atlântida, they released a series of records that wove through the avante-pop sensibilities of the time.
Collected here are two of their more leftfield moments; ‘Jardim Zoológico’ compresses a beguiling mix of new wave, post punk and dub into a short sharp pop format, impossible to properly categorize, the dynamic composition sounding as fresh now as it did 35 years ago.
On the flipside, the calmer ‘Tao’ takes Fonseca’s keyboards towards more eastern territory, conjuring up a dreamy synthesized new age vibe. Lena’s beautiful fado hued notes hang poignantly across both songs. Beautifully re-mastered by reissue specialist Peter Beckmann, on 180g vinyl.
