Interview: Ana Moura

Ana Moura is one of Portugal's finest exports. With her sixth studio album, Moura, available now, we caught up with the one time Rolling Stones' collaborator to see what we should expect.

Album number six! That must be exciting. How did you feel about recording the album?

I didn't feel any pressure to be honest when I started to record this album. I didn't have time to. I was discovering the new songs and I went directly to the studio. It was very quick to be honest.

2012's Desfado was a huge international success. Did you feel any pressure for the release to top it's success?

That's true. The previous was really a huge success. The album sold more in the last decade in Portugal than any other. This album is much more rhythmical and the songs are happier, because of that. I didn't have much time to stop and think. I just took the joy of the last album and brought that to this album.

The album is very different from its predecessors. Do you feel each album has to have its own identity?

Yes, it is a new start. I always want to make a different album. This album was produced by the same producer as the previous one, but I wanted to ensure it was very different. I love to always create different things. It is important to me. It is why the artwork has the butterfly. It is the idea of me always wanting to take different shapes with each album. It is very important to always try to say something different and discover something new.

Your success has been phenomenal. Did you anticipate being a star on the international stage?

No, to be honest, I always had no expectations. I started to discover my own way of doing music. Taking the traditional Fado and making my own musical identity within that environment. I never thought it would lead me to travel all over the world for concerts. That makes me very happy but I never thought it was what I would be doing.

At what point did you realise you were so successful?

It just grew. When I read reviews I saw people enjoyed the sound all over the world. When my album got album of the year and I saw shows selling out, it just told me that everything was going well.

Lastly, what ambitions do you have left unachieved?

I don't have a specific thing I want to achieve. I just want to do what I do for many years. I travel a lot. It is difficult sometimes to always be travelling and sometimes I am afraid, I have to be very careful as my vocal cords are just muscles. Even if I stop for five days, I have to do my exercises to keep them strong. It is like being a football player. I would say my only objective is to be able to keep doing what I am doing.