Tania Pereira

admira A8-EF, Serie Artesanía
admira Sofía

Tania Pereira, originally from Asturias, blends her folk roots with acoustic indie and experimental pop, influenced by artists such as Bon Iver, José González, María Arnal… Nylon guitars played with open tunings hybridise with minimalist electronic percussion bases, wind instruments and samples, creating a cinematic journey. Simple structures with almost whispered vocals, which arrive like a breath of fresh air on the current music scene.

She grew up immersed in musical culture thanks to her father, Pedro Pereira, a singer-songwriter and composer. Her career began in the folk music group Brandal, with whom she recorded Na Fonte La Canalina (2010) and achieved international recognition as a finalist at the Interceltic Festival of Lorient (2011).

During her time in London, where she lived for 12 years, her sound took its definitive shape: atmospheric guitars, ethereal vocals and lyrics that oscillate between the intimate and the poetic. Inspired by singer-songwriters such as Ben Howard, John Martyn, José González and Silvio Rodriguez, in 2021 she released her first album, Un Sueño Dentro de Un Sueño, a self-published work with songs in Spanish and Asturian.

Tania plays an admired guitar, a key tool both in her compositions and in her concerts, where she combines technique, emotion and a strong connection with the audience, being one of the most authentic and personal voices on the current Asturian music scene. Her career includes collaborations and performances with artists such as Víctor Manuel and Ferla Megía, appearances in documentaries such as L’Horru and, recently, she opened Nacho Vegas’ concert in Asturias. When she takes to the stage, she is accompanied by two multi-instrumentalists, creating a powerful live trio format that adapts to different venues and is praised by those who are beginning to discover her, as was recently the case at the Prestoso Fest.

She is currently working on what will be her next album, Rousa de Xericó, a new work where the traditional and the experimental go hand in hand without losing the emotional pulse that characterises her work, giving more prominence to nylon strings, wind instruments, keyboard pads and percussion closer to her traditional roots.

admira: Your roots are closely tied to traditional Asturian music. How did you get started in music and what memories do you have of that time with Brandal?

Tania: As mentioned in the introduction, my father is also a composer, so music has been part of my life since I was very young. I started performing on stage, collaborating on some songs at his concerts, until we formed a folk band, reviving traditional songs and pieces from south-western Asturias and El Bierzo. That’s where I started to gain experience as a singer and also as a rhythm guitarist.

admira: Your career has taken you from Asturias to London, passing through very different stages. What professional lessons have had the greatest impact on you along the way?

Tania: It has been wonderful to see people from other cultures and languages get emotional listening to my songs without even understanding the lyrics. I have also learned that what works on some stages does not work on others, and how important the dynamics of the songs are for telling a story in live performances.

admira: Your music has a very strong emotional charge and a very polished sound. What inspires you when you compose, and how does your environment influence your songs?

Tania: This latest work that is about to come out is very reflective, searching for where our emotions come from and understanding how we deal with them. I try to tell stories in a slightly more literal way than I used to, without hiding so much. Instrumentally, I try to use the guitar as if it were another vocal line and write very melodic parts as if two voices were singing, and you can hum both.

admira: We know you play an Admira guitar. What do you look for in a guitar when choosing an instrument to accompany you live or in the studio?

Tania: In the studio, I avoid fret buzz and I like a tight neck that allows me to play with ease. My Admira is perfect because of those extra millimetres of narrowness in the neck, and because it keeps the sound clean on the higher frets, as I play quite high up. The option of being able to switch between line and mic on the pickup. It’s also very important that they stay in tune, as I tend to vary it a lot in live performances, and the less feedback there is in a live setting, the better!

admira: You’ve just released Rousa de Xericó, your second album. What are your plans for the coming months? Will there be a tour, new songs or collaborations on the horizon?

Tania: That’s the plan. To reach as many people as possible by exploiting the trio, to keep creating… The coming weeks will see several collaborations with other Asturian artists, and I hope to continue collaborating, broadening my horizons and getting more involved in production and other projects.