Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "Mão na Mão" by Ana Lua Caiano, from the 2023 self-released album Se Dançar É Só Depois.
Each artist we're featuring this week is a Music Moves Europe Awards nominee. The MME Awards are the EU-funded prize for emerging artists. There are 15 nominees for these prestigious awards and the winners will be announced Thursday, January 18 at the ESNS festival in Groningen, NL.
Listeners/viewers can vote for their favorite artist for the MME Public Choice Award here.
Portuguese multi-disciplinary artist Ana Lua Caiano studied classical music for eight years, and then studied jazz for four years at the prestigious Escola De Jazz Luiz Villas-Boas, the oldest jazz club in Europe. In 2017, she joined the acoustic ensemble Os Vertigem, but when the pandemic hit and she couldn't play music with others anymore, she decided to embark on a solo endeavor.
Caiano combines traditional Portuguese music with modern electronic sounds, using a synthesizer and a loop station in her live performances. Her second EP, Se Dançar É Só Depois, was released earlier this year.
