The Non Talkers are a Pop-Folk duo from Viana do Castelo, Portugal, comprised of the Marco and Evita Brantner couple, who generously accommodate mature listeners to feel like part of their family by reflecting life’s unadorned progression in their songs.

Marco met Evita in 2011 on the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece, while he was part of an alternative Rock band and Evita was working as a children’s animator for a local resort. While Marco was from Portugal and Evita from Belgium, they settled on English as their main communication language.

One fateful day in 2013, Marco heard Evita’s singing abilities by accident while she was humming along to a record on the radio. Astonished by his wife’s range and vocal control, Marco invited his wife to lay the background vocals for his first solo album and even adjusted most of the songs to make space for more of Evita’s parts. Soon however, Marco came to the realization he would like to officially embark on the lifetime journey of a professional duo with his beloved wife. Evita was keen to accept his proposal and laboriously began writing songs together.

Given Marco’s baritone voice and proficiency in playing bass, keyboard, guitar paired with Evita’s mezzo-soprano register, the duo naturally took on the Pop-Folk route. The couple opts for a real-life basis to their lyrics ranging from how they first met (Fire Burning In My Veins), encouraging themselves and others to progress throughout the pandemic (We’ll Be Fine), the emotional story about the premature birth of their daughter Noa, and the challenging times that settle with a loved one’s Alzheimer diagnosis.

Sonically, Marco first lays the base melody, usually with his preferred instrument, the guitar, then uses his keyboard to integrate additional sounds and partitions on the computer. Evita establishes the general lyrical outline, polishes her husband’s melody with heavy input throughout the process, and finally the two take the demo to the recording studio where an entire array of six people come in to organically reproduce, recreate, and record the final version of the song. The Non Talkers take great pride in their sound being thoroughly and unapologetically organic. A high-class and arduous task that very few employ in this day and age.

The duo is almost always accompanied by their live band when performing, having as a matter of fact worked with illustrious professionals such as Hugo Danin, an elite drummer, Joao Bessa, Paulo Baixinho, both top-notch sound engineers. The Non Talkers have successfully built their fanbase by touring in Matosinhos, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Leiria, Viseu, Coimbra, Guimarães, Braga, Lisbon, Aveiro. Their first EP, Pendulum Of Time, brought the Non Talkers the Honorary Award at the 2020 Blue Rhymez Entertainment edition for Best Indie Band, and Artist Of The Year in 2021, which subsequently resulted in media coverage and critical acclaim. Another achievement that prompted the Non Talkers into the spotlight was being one of the six winners at the Rootstock 2020 Awardswhere the band was gifted $6.000 which they have since reinvested in their music and visuals.

Albeit having a Master’s Degree as a Neurophysiology Technologist from the Escola Superior de Saúde do Vale do Ave (ESSVA), Marco Brantner loves playing cameraman and directs the Non Talkers’ music video often being the one filming Evita’s sequences and only hiring a third party when they both have to be present in the frame. This less known talent of Marco has garnered the couple a whopping 20k views for Pendulum Of Time, 40k views for Fire Burning In My Veins, and 155k views for We’ll Be Fine.

The married couple’s next big project "Roots" was released in the beggining of 2022. The two share: “14 songs that we want to capture the hearts and imagination of our fans. We’ve gone really personal on it and you’ll get to discover our affinity for both Pop-infused summer records and soulful ballads. Yes, we’re Pop-Folk but we’re also highly experimental Indie.”The Non Talkers’ European provenience translates shockingly well to the American audience with Blue Rhymez Entertainment stating in their analysis of The Pendulum Of Time: “If Fleet Foxes were ever on your playlist, you owe the Non Talkers a minimum of 3 minutes of your life. They’re that good!” 

By Mariana Berdianu