Vicente Brilhante, better known as Shiny, moved from the capital to the Azores, where he discovered his true essence. In his new album, he transforms his connection with the islands into music while celebrating freedom, the sea, and the constant evolution of life.

“Sleeping with the stars and waking up with the sea” is how rapper Shiny introduces himself in one of his songs, ‘Brisa’, in which he recounts his connection with the nature of the Azores. “If it wasn’t for the islands, my album wouldn’t exist,” he tells Diário da Lagoa. In February, he released the first songs from his latest album, “Em Evol”, which continues this connection in personal evolution and artistic discovery.

Vicente Brilhante is 24 years old and originally from Lisbon. When he was six months old, he visited the island of Flores for the first time and has admired its waterfalls and vegetation since he was little. Used to the chaos of the capital, it was on the island that he found his freedom: “Flores has always been a home to me. I felt free, which I didn’t have in the city because my mother wouldn’t let me play in the street. And there was my paradise; my parents let me go wherever I wanted.”

Every summer, the artist visits the island of Flores. And that’s how it was from a very young age. He later made the island his home for two years and now lives in São Miguel – he says that fate “brought him to Lagoa”. Even in London, studying finance, he didn’t feel as at home as he does here, although it was an enriching experience in terms of learning. “I don’t get on very well with the cold or the lack of light,” he admits.

“I love it here. I look at the sea, infinite, and that’s what inspires me. I talk a lot about the sea in my songs and the connection with the elements of nature that surround us,” he says. But Shiny isn’t the only one in the family who has felt this connection with the Azores. His father, Jorge Brilhante, originally from Ericeira, also fell in love with the island of Flores, where he moved in 2010. He currently owns the Maresia restaurant in Fajã Grande. “He says it’s the place where he feels best and he’s been all over the world,” says Shiny.

In fact, although he had never studied music, his father had always introduced him to musical culture. “From Bossa Nova, Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque, Cartola himself, who I have a sample of in one of my songs on the new album,” he says. He lost himself in these sounds. “He’s very eclectic. I grew up listening to all that, and it made me create a range of melodies for myself,” he adds.

“In Evol”

Shiny’s new album – “Em Evol” – was born from thousands of notes stored on his cell phone. Inspired by the nature of the archipelago surrounding him, it symbolizes the “constant evolution that we are and must undergo in our lives,” he says. In addition, the reverse side reads “Love me”, which represents his “discovery of self-love”, he explains.

There are three main points on the album cover: on one side, Lisbon; then the Sete Cidades lagoon bridge, São Miguel; and, on the right, the island of Flores. In the background is the triangle that is part of Vicente Brilhante’s life. “Éden”, ‘Pico’ and ‘Voo’ are some of the 24 songs that make up this project, released on February 24. “I think I lacked a few months to have made my album even better. If I’d had a bigger budget, maybe people would have been more into it,” he reflects.

However, he recognizes that he did his best and is proud of all the people who worked with him to create “Em Evol.” Unconcerned about other people’s perceptions of him, Shiny believes that “only by exposing our reality can people identify with it.” He stresses, “It’s not enough to have talent; you have to have vision.”

“Elevating our islands is undoubtedly one of my missions,” says Shiny. In 2024, he took to the stage at the Monte Verde Festival and performed on the island of Flores and in Lisbon. In four years, his ambition is to be at the Altice Arena. Like the Madeiran musician Van Zee, who has gained a lot of success recently, he believes it is possible to be an islander and have national reach. “I have no doubt that I’m going to make a living from this. I really believe in myself,” he adds.

“If it weren’t for the islands, my album wouldn’t exist. If it wasn’t for my experience in Flores, São Miguel and Lisbon, there wouldn’t be an album,” says the young artist. He continues: “Everything that comes from me is a combination of my experiences. All artists should incorporate their experiences into their art.”

As for other local artists, he says he’s willing to collaborate with anyone he can identify with. “I like to lend a hand to others. I’m no more than anyone else, we’re all different individuals and I think we have to grow together,” he told DL. However, he knows that not everyone feels the same way: “They’re afraid to get together because they might lose out to the other.”

In Diário da Lagoa, Clife Botelho-director

Photos by Clife Botelho