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Vanessa da Mata

1 upcoming festival

Brazilian songwriter with a light, unhurried touch on MPB — best known abroad for the bilingual Ben Harper duet 'Boa Sorte/Good Luck.'

Vanessa da Mata is a Brazilian singer and songwriter from Alto Garças, in the state of Mato Grosso. She began as a writer for other artists before releasing her self-titled debut in 2002, and her music sits within MPB while drawing on samba, reggae rhythms and pop songcraft. Her voice is light and conversational, and her arrangements tend to leave space rather than fill it.

The 2007 album Sim broadened her audience considerably and remains her best-known record. She has continued to release albums since, and her songs have been widely covered in Brazil, where she is regarded as much for her writing as for her performances.

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