On Monday, August 26, Nathan Duvall, DJ of AFM’s show Lucid Pilot, interviewed the talented Raquel Valente, leader of the band 701. Nathan introduced the musician as “an accomplished bandleader, composer, producer, singer and lyricist from Lisbon, Portugal, who plays a unique, futuristic psych-pop.”
Raquel called in from Lisbon, where she lives and creates her music by the coast. She explained that the ocean is an inspiration for much of her music. Raquel talked about her process for creating music: she always begins with the lyrics, often starting on her phone and finishing on her laptop. When asked what instruments she primarily plays, Raquel said she did dabble for a bit with the keyboard, but bass and her voice are the two instruments she loves.
Raquel and Nathan talked a lot about the algorithm of services like Spotify and Tidal and how these apps help them discover music from around the world and across the ages. Raquel noted that Portuguese radio is often focused so much on foreign music that it’s hard for Portuguese artists to break through, so listeners often discover her through the algorithm. She said of being a musician in Portugal: “You just do it ’cause you love doing it and you can’t live without doing it.”
701’s new album is titled Se eu não me divertir, quem é que me diverte?, or If I Don’t Have Fun, Who Will? You can find everywhere her music streams here, and you can listen to her full interview in Lucid Pilot’s archive.