The Algarve Resident meets the lead-singer of a group that is going places
He’s given up trying to work out where he’s from, but Tiago Sa-Ga certainly knows where he’s going. At 23, he’s the driving force behind the alternative/freak-folk/indie/world band Time for T that trail-blazed across the Portuguese music scene last year and looks set for even more success in 2014.
After winning Antena 3’s Band of the Year competition, FNAC’s ‘Novos Talentos’ (New Talents) and the ‘Optimus Live Act Awards’ – which saw them opening last summer’s Optimus Alive music festival in Lisbon – Time for T is now poised to release their “best EP to date” – a mini-album that they will be presenting live in Portugal in April.
It’ll be the cherry on the cake of a string of achievements and fans can be sure there will be more to follow – because Time for T isn’t just about youthful energy and creative talent… it’s about determination and ambition.
Tiago Sa-Ga has his hand firmly on the helm to the future, eyes fixed very much on the horizon.
“I want to get as far as I can get,” he told the Algarve Resident on the whirlwind homecoming this Christmas that he combined with two solo concerts in Faro. “I want to create great music that I will be proud of when I am an old man.”
But before you think this all sounds too serious, the young singer/songwriter, who grew up in the rural countryside of the western Algarve and enjoys wearing hats, has the perfect handle on self-deprecating humour.
“Everyone in the band is better at their instruments than I am at mine,” he smiles. “But I write the songs…”
They are songs that brush the corners of poetry, so it is not surprising they have gathered a following that extends from the friends of his “little sister” to the mothers of ex-girlfriends. Every Time for T gig sees the fan-club growing – and because the (so far) all-male group “comes from all over the place”, it’s getting out there, too.
“Before we play in Portugal in April, we’ll be doing a mini-tour of England and hopefully a couple of gigs in France and Spain,” says Tiago.
The boys, from Spain, Switzerland, Portugal and UK, all met in Brighton – “one of the most concentrated places for musicians” in Europe – and although they remain based there, they have discovered that Portugal is a melting pot for musical talent.
“Lisbon has a fabulous scene going,” says Tiago. “And I’d love to be part of it.” In fact, the success of the new EP – still to be named – will determine Time for T’s next steps.
“We’ll wait to see where we are once it has come out and we’ve done the summer festivals,” Tiago explains. “We’re happy in the UK as it’s one of the best places in the world, really, for music, but the competition is crazy. At the level we’re at, you can earn far more playing gigs here than you can in the UK – so we just have to see how it goes.”
Coming to the end of a crowd-funding drive to produce their mini-album in the spring – with six songs and involving various guest musicians – its promotion and marketing will now be handled by Optimus Discos (as part of the group’s Live Act win).
Describing it as a mix between the last two EPs – combining the “crisp, folky” style of ‘Dream Bug’ with the “rocky, freaky” touches of ‘Mongrel’ – Tiago reckons the sound “isn’t like any other band” he has heard “for a long time”. Older fans may recall the Monkees, Madness – there are even shades of the Beatles – while younger followers just post “likes” endlessly on Facebook.
That, in itself, should steer Time for T ever closer to the band’s goals for recognition and, hopefully, those songs that will make them all proud.
For a sneak preview, you can check the band out on Youtube. Both EPs are available for purchase online. Meantime, crowd-funding towards recording costs of the “best little album to date” is drawing to a close on Indiegogo:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/time-for-t-record-and-release-their-best-little-album-with-your-support while more news can be found on the group’s facebook page.
Diary dates for next year in Portugal are: April 10 (Coimbra) / 11 (Lisbon) and 12 (Algarve) – with the last taking place in Lagos Cultural Centre at 9.30pm.
The Algarve Resident will bring readers more news on Time for T as it comes, but for now bear in mind it’s a great-little-success-story-with-a-Portuguese-twist to give us all a nice warm feeling for the start of a New Year.
facebook.com/timefort
By NATASHA DONN [email protected]
