Lua de Morais is a true renaissance woman. The Brazilian-born, L.A.-based entertainer is a singer, songwriter, actress and producer, and she’s performing at the Cinema Bar this week so she chatted with the News…
A bit of background first — when did you start singing and performing, and when did it get serious? I’m from Brasilia, Brazil. Raised in Argentina then lived in Chile for 19 years. My Brazilian dad is a poet, my step dad (from Argentina) was a musician, my mom (Brazil) is a teacher yet she writes the cutest songs; she wrote a song to each of her eight children, so we could say I have a bit of an artistic upbringing. I sang as far back as I can remember… later on in life I went to acting school and fell in love with acting. My mom has a photo of me at the age of two singing on Brazilian National Television, so maybe you can say I started to sing seriously at the age of two. I always knew I wanted to be a singer, but possibly my first serious paid gig was at the age of 21.
Describe your sound/style… I’d say it’s jazzy, soft, (for the most part), it depends on what I’m singing or how I’m feeling, or how I decide to arrange/play or sing my songs. I definitely have a “romantic-melodic” sound. Adult Contemporary is what I’ve been told my genre is; and mixes a lot of Jazz and Bossa Nova as well, especially when I perform live. But to be honest, I’m still exploring and experimenting.
Have you released any recorded music? I have seven albums I released independently as a singer/songwriter since 2008. I haven’t released anything since moving to L.A., yet I’ve been writing and waiting for the right team to work with to release new music. I’ve also collaborated with other artists’ albums and recorded dozens of children’s albums for Leader Music S.A.
What are your career highlights so far? My first album Puedes So- ñar won an award which made it possible for me to record/produce it entirely. The government of Chile (FONDART) financed it. PULSAR AWARDS nominated me in 2015 for Best Romantic Ballad with my single “Tu Secreto” (“My Secret”) also in Chile, where I lived for so many years. I’ve written/produced/ directed a Musical called Actitud Femenina (“Femme Attitude”) which I’m very proud of and where I get to share stage with my own daughter. This is a project that I’d love to bring to the US one day. I just released a trilingual poetry/art book on Amazon, which is a dream come true as well.
Have you played Culver City/Cinema Bar before? I haven’t had the pleasure yet. I’m so excited for this opportunity.
What can we expect from your set this time? New and old songs, stories and many surprises. Love and sincerity. I’ll be performing with some of the coolest musicians I know in L.A. for the first time which makes this occasion extra special. You can expect a fresh Brazilian sound, very jazzy, with lots of romance…oh, and songs in three different languages, (English, Spanish & Portuguese), along with some of my poetry.
What else do you have planned for 2022? As I mentioned before, I just released a trilingual poetry book on Amazon (“NUA, voz del silencio) and have the official launch June 30 with a live show as well, which I’m getting ready for. This event is one of the most important in my career so far and I’m very grateful of Uno Productions to have partnered with me and for supporting me with the book. I’ll be performing in Portland in August, in Chile in November-December, and am still confirming other performances in LA for this year (Black Rabbit Rose, Harvelle’s, etc.,). It’s so exciting how we can finally start performing live again. I’ll be posting dates soon on my website and social media accounts. (www.luademorais.com / @ luademorais) The event takes place at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 at the Cinema Bar.
