In a setting where music blends with art, nature, and spirituality, ANIQO is preparing to present Essência, a unique event arriving in Almoçageme on November 22 at Quinta da Faianca. Free to attend and donation-based, the gathering invites the public to experience an immersive encounter where sound and artistic installation intertwine. Doors open at 5 pm, close at 6 pm, and the musical performance begins immediately, transforming the space into a true sensory portal.
By Sandra Pinto
On the eve of this special moment, we spoke with ANIQO about her artistic journey, the inner quest that brought her to Sintra, and the creative process that shapes her music, both as art and as destiny.
Can you tell us a little about your journey as a musician and how you ended up in Sintra?
I started writing songs very early around the age of twelve almost instinctively, as if music had already chosen me before I could choose it. During my studies I took singing lessons, but most of what I know comes from intuition, from observing life closely and translating those experiences into sound. My path has never been linear, it’s been more like a pilgrimage through different inner landscapes. I was almost thirty when ANIQO appeared in my life as my artistic persona. From that moment on, I couldn’t stop creating – writing new songs, shaping my sound, and slowly building my whole life around the art. My life feels sometimes like an art project. Landing in Sintra is kind of a continuation of that journey. I came here while seeking a place that resonates with my frequency. Sintra and the coastline around Colares have a certain mystical vibration; the light is different, the wind carries stories.
How would you describe your musical style and the emotions you aim to convey in your performances?
I’ve always been drawn to mixing genres. I see myself as a singer-songwriter rooted in folk, but with elements of electronic, psychedelic, and jazz influences. I would describe my music as cinematic art folk-pop – it creates images, emotional rooms, and inner landscapes, at least inside of me, and hopefully for the audience as well. On stage I try to move inward first. If I can touch something at my own core – the rawness, the softness, the shadow and the light – then I can offer that honesty to the audience. My intention is always to meet people at their center, where everything is both fragile and powerful.
Your upcoming solo set in Almoçageme/Colares combines music with an art installation. How does this interdisciplinary approach influence your performance?
Essência was created together with the artist and energy healer Jill Brandel. The process opened something new for me. I usually create with all my senses, but this project takes that even further. Jill is building an altar from natural essences – plants, elements, textures, energies – almost like a breathing organism. Performing inside this environment won’t be neutral. It will influence my voice, my emotional state, my body. The room becomes part of the performance – or maybe I become part of the room.
What can the audience expect from the event Essência on November 22nd?
We want to open a space where art becomes a portal – a threshold into the heart of things. Essência is an invitation to reconnect the essence of our own heart with the essence of the earth. Through sound, visual elements, and the energy field we co-create, we invite to a deeper sense of seeing & listening. Perhaps to be touched in places long forgotten, hopefully, leaving the event inspired, with some kind of restored faith and a remembering of our shared humanity.
How do your eyes and your voice work together in your music to create a unique experience?
My eyes and ears work together. I take in the world through both – colors, movements, atmospheres, sounds, and frequencies. When I sing, my voice carries what my senses have collected. My lyrics come from that same perception, just in a different form. So in the end, everything works together – the seeing, the hearing, the feeling. My voice becomes the place where these impressions find their expression.
Can you share some insights into your creative process when composing or improvising music?
My creative process usually begins with a sensation – a feeling in the body, a color, an image, a phrase that seems to arrive from elsewhere. I rarely sit down with the intention: „Now I will write a song.“ It’s more like opening a channel or allowing something to be heard that already exists in the invisible. Improvisation plays a big role. It breaks the rules and bypasses the mind. The most of my songs began as improvisations in which I surprised myself. When something feels true, I follow it like a thread.
You mentioned working on Earth, Love and Variations. What themes or inspirations are you exploring in this upcoming project?
This is the title of my new album, which will be released in 2026. Earth, Love and Variations is about love in all its forms and everything that comes with it. It is also about cycles – about coming home after having been lost for a while. I’m exploring how love takes different shapes, how the earth holds and mirrors us, and how everything returns to the same source. I feel very lucky to have worked with Bill Ryder-Jones on this album – he was very sensitive with my songs, allowed them to simply be, and at the same time opened new dimensions for them. I feel this album marks a new chapter for me: a return to essence, and at the same time an opening into something larger.
How do nature and your surroundings in Portugal influence your compositions?
Nature here is not just scenery – it’s a collaborator. The cliffs, the ocean, the wind, the ancient forests of Sintra… they speak so loudly that I feel I am merely transcribing their messages rather than writing my own.
Are there particular artists or experiences that have shaped your sound and artistic vision?
Yes, there are many artists who influence(d) me – Alice Coltrane is a recent discovery on my radar, and I’ve always loved Nick Cave, Talk Talk, Nina Simone and David Bowie. But my entire life shapes my work: the losses, the spiritual experiences, the cities I’ve lived in, the people I’ve met, the travels, the relationships, the darkness and the light. My artistic outcome is a mixture of everything that broke me open, everything that healed me, and this unexplainable source of the universe
What do you hope listeners or attendees take away from your performances and recordings?
I hope they leave with a sense of hope – the deep, quiet hope that emerges when we reconnect with ourselves. If someone walks away with a clearer understanding of their own heart, or feeling the light that exists between the inner and outer shadows, then I’ve done what I came for. I want my music to be a reminder that we are never as alone as we think, that there is beauty beneath the debris, and that love – in all its variations – is always available. You can find it deep within yourself.
