Roberto Carcassés Brings Fresh Sounds From Havana In A Rare Concert Performance

Straight from Havana, Roberto Carcassés -- pianist, composer, and director of the Cuban collective Interactivo -- will give a rare concert performance in Miami on July 17. The show comes hot on the heels of his new album, Matizar, which he recorded in his home studio in Havana but plans to pay to have manufactured in South Florida.

Carcassés, 35, is considered one of the most cutting-edge artists currently residing on the island and is at the forefront of a new generation of innovative musicians and singer/songwriters who are defining a new era in Cuban music, one which increasingly melds the country's homegrown styles with outside influences. The show will be a window into Havana's contemporary music scene. Since 2001 visa restrictions put in place after 9/11 have made it virtually impossible for Cuban musicians to perform stateside, cutting off a steady stream that in the 1990s saw many Cuban artists tour the U.S. regularly as part of the Clinton administration's people-to-people initiative that aimed to close the cultural divide between the two nations.

Carcassés, who's in Miami on a family visa to visit his ex-wife and son, is taking advantage of the trip to introduce audiences to Havana's new sound. However he will not receive any payment for the concert since U.S. law prohibits Cuban musicians from being paid anything except a small living stipend. The show, which will take place at the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana, is being put on by promoter Ever Chavez, of the nonprofit group Fundarte. For more information visit http://www.fundarte.us/.

Roberto Carcassés Brings Fresh Sounds From Havana In A Rare Concert Performance

Straight from Havana, Roberto Carcassés -- pianist, composer, and director of the Cuban collective Interactivo -- will give a rare concert performance in Miami on July 17. The show comes hot on the heels of his new album, Matizar, which he recorded in his home studio in Havana but plans to pay to have manufactured in South Florida.

Carcassés, 35, is considered one of the most cutting-edge artists currently residing on the island and is at the forefront of a new generation of innovative musicians and singer/songwriters who are defining a new era in Cuban music, one which increasingly melds the country's homegrown styles with outside influences. The show will be a window into Havana's contemporary music scene. Since 2001 visa restrictions put in place after 9/11 have made it virtually impossible for Cuban musicians to perform stateside, cutting off a steady stream that in the 1990s saw many Cuban artists tour the U.S. regularly as part of the Clinton administration's people-to-people initiative that aimed to close the cultural divide between the two nations.

Carcassés, who's in Miami on a family visa to visit his ex-wife and son, is taking advantage of the trip to introduce audiences to Havana's new sound. However he will not receive any payment for the concert since U.S. law prohibits Cuban musicians from being paid anything except a small living stipend. The show, which will take place at the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana, is being put on by promoter Ever Chavez, of the nonprofit group Fundarte. For more information visit http://www.fundarte.us/.

The New Blood of Cajun Music

On Feufollet's lastest disc, Cow Island Hop (Valcour Records), Kristi Guillory, a folklorist and media archivist at the University of Louisiana At Lafayette, paints a vivid narrative picture of this wonderfully innovative, contemporary Cajun outfit:

"On a Saturday night, twenty and thirtysomethings, scholars, writers, artists, bohemians and young professionals dance to Feufollet at the favorite local outdoor venue, The Blue Moon Saloon. Red and blue neon permeates the scene and, as the band pounds, the wooden deck of the dance floor threatens to crash to the ground or fly clear into th Louisiana sky. Here is a vortex of vibrant energy, a buzzing flow of youthful expression, a scene of endless possibility that can be found on any given weeken night in Lafayette, LA."

Guillory goes on to write that Feufollet has emerged as one of the most important voices for Louisiana's Cajun youth. Originally touted as a band of child prodigies -- singer/accordionist/guitarist Chris Stafford and fiddle player Chris Segura have been members since the band's inception in 1995 when they were 8 and 11 years old respectively -- Feufollet is no longer a troupe of debutantes solely steeped in tradition. The sextet has updated the Cajun sound for 21st century ears and dancin' feet with a rock-n-roll aesthetic and some strains of French chanson that are both mindful of the past and forward-looking. While Feufollet is first and foremost a live band, they've seamlessly translated that in-the-moment dirt and grit that comes from playing before an audience onto disc.

Listen for that fuzzed out Farfisa organ, the reworked archival gem "Femme l'a dit," the Mellotron and backward vocal track on "Chère Bèbè Crèole," or even the rambling "Sur la Bord de l'eau," and you'll soon realize that Cow Island Hop is not your typical Cajun album of standard two-steps and waltzes.

The New Blood of Cajun Music

On Feufollet's lastest disc, Cow Island Hop (Valcour Records), Kristi Guillory, a folklorist and media archivist at the University of Louisiana At Lafayette, paints a vivid narrative picture of this wonderfully innovative, contemporary Cajun outfit:

"On a Saturday night, twenty and thirtysomethings, scholars, writers, artists, bohemians and young professionals dance to Feufollet at the favorite local outdoor venue, The Blue Moon Saloon. Red and blue neon permeates the scene and, as the band pounds, the wooden deck of the dance floor threatens to crash to the ground or fly clear into th Louisiana sky. Here is a vortex of vibrant energy, a buzzing flow of youthful expression, a scene of endless possibility that can be found on any given weeken night in Lafayette, LA."

Guillory goes on to write that Feufollet has emerged as one of the most important voices for Louisiana's Cajun youth. Originally touted as a band of child prodigies -- singer/accordionist/guitarist Chris Stafford and fiddle player Chris Segura have been members since the band's inception in 1995 when they were 8 and 11 years old respectively -- Feufollet is no longer a troupe of debutantes solely steeped in tradition. The sextet has updated the Cajun sound for 21st century ears and dancin' feet with a rock-n-roll aesthetic and some strains of French chanson that are both mindful of the past and forward-looking. While Feufollet is first and foremost a live band, they've seamlessly translated that in-the-moment dirt and grit that comes from playing before an audience onto disc.

Listen for that fuzzed out Farfisa organ, the reworked archival gem "Femme l'a dit," the Mellotron and backward vocal track on "Chère Bèbè Crèole," or even the rambling "Sur la Bord de l'eau," and you'll soon realize that Cow Island Hop is not your typical Cajun album of standard two-steps and waltzes.

Gilberto Gil Offers His Worldview

Hot on the heels of his new release, Banda Larga Cordel (Warner Music Latina), Grammy-winning statesman Gilberto Gil -- Brazil's current minister of culture -- tips his hat to the digital revolution in an interactive, eleven-city U.S. tour that openly invites fans to capture the shows' images and sounds for the purpose of refraction, reproduction, and dissemination on a grand scale. It's Gil's way of making his music accessible to the masses and efficiently transmitting his message to the world that the digital divide is another man-made inequality that's not insurmountable. With dates from June 18 to July 5, the tour is Gil's first full-band swing through the U.S. since 1999. Technology has been a leit motif throughout Gil's long and storied career. On the occasion of announcing his new record he even invited U.S. journalists to pose their questions via a virtual press conference. I for one passed on the invitation since, admittedly, I've only partially crossed over to the other side of that divide. Gil's album, which translates as "The Broadband Pamphlet," alludes to the Internet as a tool that spreads his poetic and philosophical parables about the human condition. And he does so with a decidedly electronic sound folded into a plethora of Brazilian folkloric rhythms and styles. "Os Pais," is a song about modern parents who worry about the kind of world their children will inherit as they walk the fine line between cultural freedom and the kinds of excesses that can result in social ills. "Nao Grude Nao," is a reminder that no matter how far you travel you can never escape your own reality. And "Nao Tenho Medo da Morte," is a ballad that confronts the fear of death. Lighter songs about carnival trysts and bachelor parties round out historically themed songs such as "Outros Viram," an ode to Brazil as the center of civilization where miscegenation is the norm, and those that touch on the technological revolution as a double-edged sword. Musicianship and thought-provoking lyrics continue to define Gil's legacy.

Gilberto Gil Offers His Worldview

Hot on the heels of his new release, Banda Larga Cordel (Warner Music Latina), Grammy-winning statesman Gilberto Gil -- Brazil's current minister of culture -- tips his hat to the digital revolution in an interactive, eleven-city U.S. tour that openly invites fans to capture the shows' images and sounds for the purpose of refraction, reproduction, and dissemination on a grand scale. It's Gil's way of making his music accessible to the masses and efficiently transmitting his message to the world that the digital divide is another man-made inequality that's not insurmountable. With dates from June 18 to July 5, the tour is Gil's first full-band swing through the U.S. since 1999. Technology has been a leit motif throughout Gil's long and storied career. On the occasion of announcing his new record he even invited U.S. journalists to pose their questions via a virtual press conference. I for one passed on the invitation since, admittedly, I've only partially crossed over to the other side of that divide. Gil's album, which translates as "The Broadband Pamphlet," alludes to the Internet as a tool that spreads his poetic and philosophical parables about the human condition. And he does so with a decidedly electronic sound folded into a plethora of Brazilian folkloric rhythms and styles. "Os Pais," is a song about modern parents who worry about the kind of world their children will inherit as they walk the fine line between cultural freedom and the kinds of excesses that can result in social ills. "Nao Grude Nao," is a reminder that no matter how far you travel you can never escape your own reality. And "Nao Tenho Medo da Morte," is a ballad that confronts the fear of death. Lighter songs about carnival trysts and bachelor parties round out historically themed songs such as "Outros Viram," an ode to Brazil as the center of civilization where miscegenation is the norm, and those that touch on the technological revolution as a double-edged sword. Musicianship and thought-provoking lyrics continue to define Gil's legacy.

Nublu Celebrates Six Years

Nublu Celebrates Six Years

Yusa Comes Close To Perfection On "Haiku"

Compared to just about every songstress from Me’Shell Ndegeocello to Maria Bethania, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Yusa represents a new generation of artists in Cuba whose all-encompassing, genre-defying sound is creating new paradigms of Cuban music. As the title suggests, the album, which was recorded in Havana and mixed in Rio, rides on a quiet eloquence and sophistication, especially where the arrangements and poetic lyricism coalesce to reveal a deeper meaning. From beginning to end – opening with a chorus-fueled Yoruba song in collaboration with the Afro-Cuban fusion band Síntesis and closing with “Gente Simple,” a contemporary rumba sung with sonero Francis del Rio -- Yusa’s third full-length displays a cadence that is at once expansive and intimate. Much to the credit of Brazilian producer Alê Siqueira, who's worked with Marisa Monte, Bebel Gilberto, and Carlinhos Brown, Yusa’s delicate songs unfold with a playful minimalism that builds on dichotomies: the quasi-mythical city of Havana and the sea, the past and present, the roots and the horizon beyond, all culminate in the enigmatic inner world of this modern day troubadour. A conservatory-trained musician who's performed with Havana collective Interactivo and Brazilian roots rocker Lenine, Yusa is at her most pensive on "Walking Heads," the album's only track sung in English where lyrics such as "illusions have their own horizon," and "so much to learn so close to me," hint at the constant ebb and flow of her music. On the jazz-infused "No Tengo Otro Lugar," Yusa's soulful vocals and Roberto Carcassés's meandering piano give off an updated filín vibe anchored in the song's intelligent lyrics. Midway through, "Conga Pasajera," is the standout track where a blend of subtle electronic garnishes and percolating percussion ripple in a swaying melody that draws from Brazil. "Sirvió De Algo?" is the edgiest track on the album -- a barebones voice and guitar tour de force that cascades with the kind of clarity and rawness that will move you to listen again and again.

Yusa Comes Close To Perfection On "Haiku"

Compared to just about every songstress from Me’Shell Ndegeocello to Maria Bethania, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Yusa represents a new generation of artists in Cuba whose all-encompassing, genre-defying sound is creating new paradigms of Cuban music. As the title suggests, the album, which was recorded in Havana and mixed in Rio, rides on a quiet eloquence and sophistication, especially where the arrangements and poetic lyricism coalesce to reveal a deeper meaning. From beginning to end – opening with a chorus-fueled Yoruba song in collaboration with the Afro-Cuban fusion band Síntesis and closing with “Gente Simple,” a contemporary rumba sung with sonero Francis del Rio -- Yusa’s third full-length displays a cadence that is at once expansive and intimate. Much to the credit of Brazilian producer Alê Siqueira, who's worked with Marisa Monte, Bebel Gilberto, and Carlinhos Brown, Yusa’s delicate songs unfold with a playful minimalism that builds on dichotomies: the quasi-mythical city of Havana and the sea, the past and present, the roots and the horizon beyond, all culminate in the enigmatic inner world of this modern day troubadour. A conservatory-trained musician who's performed with Havana collective Interactivo and Brazilian roots rocker Lenine, Yusa is at her most pensive on "Walking Heads," the album's only track sung in English where lyrics such as "illusions have their own horizon," and "so much to learn so close to me," hint at the constant ebb and flow of her music. On the jazz-infused "No Tengo Otro Lugar," Yusa's soulful vocals and Roberto Carcassés's meandering piano give off an updated filín vibe anchored in the song's intelligent lyrics. Midway through, "Conga Pasajera," is the standout track where a blend of subtle electronic garnishes and percolating percussion ripple in a swaying melody that draws from Brazil. "Sirvió De Algo?" is the edgiest track on the album -- a barebones voice and guitar tour de force that cascades with the kind of clarity and rawness that will move you to listen again and again.

St. Petersburg, Florida's O Som Do Jazz Drops A Debut Album, Infinita Bossa

I distinctly remember O Som Do Jazz performing live when they opened for Brazilian multi-instrumentalist/composer/arranger Jovino Santos-Neto at the Palladium in St. Petersburg, Florida a few years ago. Carioca singer Andrea Moraes Manson, who's married to David Manson, an architect by day and the ensemble's trombonist and arranger by night, got up onstage and told the story of how her American husband, upon hearing her sing around the house, cajoled her into lending her voice for a bossa nova inspired jazz group he had thought about forming. Reluctant at first, Moraes Manson eventually warmed up to the idea. This year O Som Do Jazz released its debut Infinita Bossa. The sixteen-track album breezes through the Brazilian Songbook -- interpreting some of the timeless gems from the bossa repertoire and other surprises along the way. More contemporary bossas by Antônio Carlos & Jocafi, Djavan, Pedro Caetano, and Rita Lee -- the original singer of 60s psychedelic rock band Os Mutantes -- are interspersed among the standards from luminaries like Tom Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Carlos Lyra, Marcos Valle, Baden Powell, and Luiz Bonfá. There's even an original composition by David Manson titled "Sea & Salt," a smooth horn infused, jazz-bossa conversation that shines even in the company of masterpieces. Moraes Manson's vocals have more of a jazz inflection that emanates a sun-baked tangible vibe in stark opposition to the conventional airy and ethereal voice associated with female bossa sirens. The arrangements, on the other hand, are in keeping with tradition, subtle in striking just the right balance between vocals and instrumentation -- that quintessentially Carioca sway that's been nurtured since the birth of bossa 50 years ago this year. Not to be overlooked are the able musicians who participated in the recording. Roberto Bertone (drums), Ademar Fonseca (bass), Régis Moreira (keyboards), Jeremy Powell (sax), John Ward (flute), and the Alfredo Rivero, who's beautifully nuanced guitar work kept the cadence in check. O Som Do Jazz does bossa nova the right way without getting lost in musical clichés. Come support this local band as they perform live on June 22 at NOVA during the Brasil Arts Festival. You'll feel like you're in Ipanema, if only just for a day.

St. Petersburg, Florida's O Som Do Jazz Drops A Debut Album, Infinita Bossa

I distinctly remember O Som Do Jazz performing live when they opened for Brazilian multi-instrumentalist/composer/arranger Jovino Santos-Neto at the Palladium in St. Petersburg, Florida a few years ago. Carioca singer Andrea Moraes Manson, who's married to David Manson, an architect by day and the ensemble's trombonist and arranger by night, got up onstage and told the story of how her American husband, upon hearing her sing around the house, cajoled her into lending her voice for a bossa nova inspired jazz group he had thought about forming. Reluctant at first, Moraes Manson eventually warmed up to the idea. This year O Som Do Jazz released its debut Infinita Bossa. The sixteen-track album breezes through the Brazilian Songbook -- interpreting some of the timeless gems from the bossa repertoire and other surprises along the way. More contemporary bossas by Antônio Carlos & Jocafi, Djavan, Pedro Caetano, and Rita Lee -- the original singer of 60s psychedelic rock band Os Mutantes -- are interspersed among the standards from luminaries like Tom Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Carlos Lyra, Marcos Valle, Baden Powell, and Luiz Bonfá. There's even an original composition by David Manson titled "Sea & Salt," a smooth horn infused, jazz-bossa conversation that shines even in the company of masterpieces. Moraes Manson's vocals have more of a jazz inflection that emanates a sun-baked tangible vibe in stark opposition to the conventional airy and ethereal voice associated with female bossa sirens. The arrangements, on the other hand, are in keeping with tradition, subtle in striking just the right balance between vocals and instrumentation -- that quintessentially Carioca sway that's been nurtured since the birth of bossa 50 years ago this year. Not to be overlooked are the able musicians who participated in the recording. Roberto Bertone (drums), Ademar Fonseca (bass), Régis Moreira (keyboards), Jeremy Powell (sax), John Ward (flute), and the Alfredo Rivero, who's beautifully nuanced guitar work kept the cadence in check. O Som Do Jazz does bossa nova the right way without getting lost in musical clichés. Come support this local band as they perform live on June 22 at NOVA during the Brasil Arts Festival. You'll feel like you're in Ipanema, if only just for a day.

Gui Amabis Talks to Global Groove Connection About Sonantes... And A Few Other Things

On the phone from Recife, Brazil, soundtrack producer Gui Amabis talked to GGC about Sonantes, the São Paulo based collective that he is a part of, along with Grammy nominated singer Céu, Pupillo and Dengue from mangue beat punk outfit Nação Zumbi, and Rica Amabis, a member of hip-hop collective Instituto. Sonantes’s debut album was recently released on Six Degrees and it also features some collabos with Siba, Lucio Maia, Beto Villares, and Apollo 9. Gui talked about his fascination with music from the past, São Paulo’s creative openness, and making good music with close friends.

GGC: The idea for Sonantes began with 3 Na Massa how did things evolve and lead to another collaboration between you, Rica Amabis, Céu, Pupillo, and Dengue?

Gui A: It was Céu’s idea. She wanted to do something different from her personal work,

this was while we were finishing 3 Na Massa, 3 Na Massa wasn’t finished yet. It was like in the end of the process of 3 Na Massa and then I had some songs that I was composing, everybody heard it and liked it and we started like OK, so like we have some songs, so let’s make new ones and try to get a number of songs that we can release on an album. But it was Céu’s idea.

GGC: I’ve spoken to Rica a little bit about this, I’m very interested in what’s going on in São Paulo, in that it seems like there’s a group or a scene of musicians who like to experiment with traditional folk music from Brazil and hip-hop, and electronica, and it just seems like a very eclectic scene.

Gui A: You know what I feel is happening in São Paulo is like what happened in the 60s or 50s around the world when musicians had time to spend with each other, you know, and talk, and drink, and stay together, not even making music, just talking and hearing stuff and hearing what everyone thinks about things and I think that was lost for some time, because of the times, no one has time, everyone has to run, you know, to get to pay the rent, so I think it’s happening again, everyone is like having more time. And I think it’s also because of the crises going on in the world. We don’t have much work [LAUGHING]. We have work but we have more time, you know. I go to Rica’s house and stay there for like the whole day and then Pupillo shows up and Dengue shows up and then we go to Catatau’s place and talk, you know. So it’s like, I don’t know if it’s a scene you know. There’s a lot of different circle of friends, you know.

GGC: So there’s a strong spirit of collaboration.

Gui A: Yeah, yeah, I think people are starting… I don’t know, I sometimes think about that, I think somewhere in the 80s, I don’t know it’s my opinion OK, it’s my opinion…

GGC: Yeah of course…

Gui A: Somewhere in the 80s everyone was like this my style, I want to do my song, you know, and now everyone one is more like let’s do something and it’s more productive because I can start something with Rica and then come here to Recife and do something with Siba…

GGC: But it does seem like a lot of the best music coming out of Brazil right now is concentrated in Sao Paulo. Is that just coincidence?

Gui A: It’s because Sao Paulo is the economic capital and it’s happening in São Paulo but it comes from all of Brazil. Dengue and Pupillo are from here, Recife, Catatau from Cidadao Instigado is from Fortaleza, which is here in the Northeast also. So, it’s happening in Sao Paulo but it comes from the whole country and it gathers there. You know what’s happening I think is, it’s mixing more, you know, because people are going to live there and mixing more things there I think.

GGC: So correct me if I’m wrong, but I kind of compare it to what was going on in Rio in the late 50s and 60s when some of the best interpreters of bossa nova were coming from Bahia but they were all coalescing in Rio. I think it’s interesting that there’s been a shift, because Rio has traditionally been the epicenter for all the great music of Brazil but it seems like now it’s São Paulo and it kind of reflects that fact that we live in a post-modern world and I think São Paulo epitomizes that.

Gui A: And I also, I think, in terms of the collective, I think we’re living in a crises and everyone has more time, you know, and everyone is more bothered in the city and I think that putting all of that together, the time we have, the more bothered we are with the city, with the noise, and the more references we have from everyone from the entire country, I think that culminates in what’s happening here.

GGC: And in Sonantes, I’ve listened to the album a lot and I’ve noticed that there’s a

confluence, if you will, between this futuristic sound, but also kind of looking to the past and bringing elements of tradition into… you know it’s like a fusion of different times and different styles.

Gui A: I think we like old music. I think it’s the Portuguese side of everyone. I think it’s a very Portuguese album in my opinion, from the Portugal roots.

GGC: You mean from fado and that kind of thing?

Gui A: Yeah, it’s not so directed to the rhythm, you know, it’s more to the feeling, it’s a

little bit sad and narrow, it’s not the rhythm, it’s the vibe. We listen to old stuff, you know.

GGC: What were you listening to, what were your influences when you were making this

album?

Gui A: Oh, I listen to very old things [LAUGING].

GGC: Like?

Gui A: Very old things. Some big bands from Europe from the 30s, Clara Nunes, her first

albums, when she wasn’t doing samba; her first albums she does a lot of traditional songs, Brazilian romantic and traditional songs, not samba, and I listen a lot to Siba. Me and Rica, and Dengue, and Céu, we are from Brazil but we grew up in a world in which radio played music from everywhere, so it’s not like ‘Oh I play Brazilian music,’ no I listen to since I was 13, I listen to Bob Marley and then to Fela Kuti and just listened to him and then Joao Gilberto, so I, I’m Brazilian, I have my Brazilian roots but I had everything, you know.

GGC: You were speaking of Siba and he’s actually on the album, he sings “Toque de Coito,”

how was it that you all decided to invite him to participate?

Gui A: I was working on that track in my studio and the other room, I used to have a room in Catatau’s studio, Catatau from Cidadao Instigado, he has a studio with Caliu – Caliu is a percussionist and a sound engineer from Fortaleza also but he lives in São Paulo – and I rented a room there in their studio and I was working on that track, I was working on the instrumentals and Siba showed up to record with Catatau and he went in the room and he heard the music and he asked ‘What is that?’ and I said ‘Oh this is Sonantes we’re doing an album, I’m working on this track,” and I said ‘We’re looking for someone…,’ I was, I wanted to invite him, you know, but I was like ‘We’re looking for someone to sing this one thing,’ at the moment he said ‘I’ll sing that.’ I said ‘Oh, I don’t believe you can sing it,’ [LAUGHS]. It was occasional, he showed up, I was working on the track and he liked it, and now I’m doing a soundtrack for a play with him. Now he invited me [LAUGHS].”

GGC: There’s a cinematic quality to the Sonantes album, how has you experience in producing soundtracks influenced you?

Gui A: My brother [Rica] works with movies too, Puppilo works with movies too. I do more

soundtracks; that’s what I do more, I’ve been doing that most of my time. Doing TV series, doing movies... Going back to the conversation, you mentioned there was a shift from Rio to São Paulo and I think what happened in the 60s where people gathered to make music and thought more like in terms of a collective and not as ‘Oh I’m gonna do my work, my career, my thing, and my name,’ I think the record companies maybe did that in the 80s. And it’s happening again, there’s no more, for us, there are no more record companies, we work for ourselves, we take care of ourselves. So I think that for that reason [that era] is coming back, people are starting to… there’s no plan as a career you know.

GGC: I think that lends itself to more creativity, when you’re not being dictated.

Gui A: Sure, we did this [album] because we love each other’s work. Everyone, I love what

Pupillo does, and what Dengue does, and what Céu does. We all admire each other and Céu admires Rica a lot. We did this in a home studio, only the end of the album, when we recorded the drums, was when we went to the studio, but the creative process was done at home. It’s very loose and I think the album reflects that.

GGC: I really like the track “Quilombo Te Espera.” Zumbi comes up a lot in popular myth in

Brazil and there are a lot of songs about him and the quilombos, and how he’s tied to capoeira too, and I love how you all take this legend of mythical proportions and you transform it into something new in the song, it has a very futuristic sound, but at the same time there’s a primordial, jungle futuristic thing going on. It’s a really good song.

Gui A: We look a lot to the old stuff, you know. We like everything that is going on also, but we guide ourselves to listen and I especially listen to old music, I try to remember where we came from and where we are.

GGC: There’s a balance between songs that bring in those elements from the past and other songs like “Defenestrando” which is more experimental. Can you talk a little bit about the instruments used in the album?

Gui A: We used a Hammond in a lot of the songs that Pepe Cisneros played. Pepe is Cuban,

he’s a percussionist, pianist, he plays everything; he’s a multi-instrumentalist [whose credits include Brazilian chanteuse Cibelle, Céu, Sizão Machado]. Pepe is a great friend of mine, we would hang out together everyday before I started working in the studio in recording and production, when I was just hanging out, having fun [LAUGHS]. And he’s a very good friend and partner and he plays the Hammond on a lot of the tracks, which I think is what repeats itself more. We used some synthesizers, and the cork, and some of that stuff. And a lot of pieces from samples from everywhere that we deconstruct and make it sound totally different, not using it in the traditional way like when hip-hop first started and they would just put the loop there and played a beat. We try to cut it.

GGC: Going back to Cuban music, and this has nothing to do with Sonantes but have you

heard of a bass player named Yusa? She just did an album produced by a Brazilian producer named Ale Siquiera.

Gui A: Oh, I’ve heard of her.

GGC: I’ve always found it interesting how there are so many parallels between Cuban and Brazilian culture.

Gui A: I think that Cuba is the most similar place to Brazil.

GGC: I think it’s mostly because of the same African heritage.

Gui A: And the mix, because in the rest of Latin America there wasn’t such great a mix of

Africa, and Europe, you don’t see many black people in Argentina, in Bolivia, in Peru. You’re either native or European.

GGC: Well listen thanks so much for taking some time out to chat.

Gui A: I helped you?

GGC: Yes, definitely.

Gui A: But just for you to know, Sonantes is like a… existe um carinho, sabe. We did it because we had these songs and we thought it would be a good album and that we could have fun doing it, and Céu especially was the one who was like let’s do it, let’s do it. And I think everything came out very good and the artwork I think is beautiful from Valentina Trajano and Jorge Du Peixe – Jorge Du Peixe is the lead singer and he writes all the lyrics for Naçao Zumbi – and I think it reflects what the album is.

GGC: The chemistry is palpable.

Gui A: I hope, I hope… I don’t hope anything, but I would be happy if especially North Americans could understand because it’s very Brazilian, some songs only a Brazilian can hear or only someone who really understands Portuguese is going to hear the lyrics and understand and remember their parents, it’s a very Brazilian album.

GGC: It’s nostalgic…

Gui A: That’s from the Portuguese side.

GGC: Tem uma qualidade ancestral, uma coisa assim.

Gui A: It’s from the past, from when there weren’t any records anywhere, and just the radio playing.

GGC: I think it’s an album to listen to sitting around the house, with a group of friends…

Gui A: Yeah, and then someone would stop to sing the lyrics, it’s very Brazilian.

Gui Amabis Talks to Global Groove Connection About Sonantes... And A Few Other Things

On the phone from Recife, Brazil, soundtrack producer Gui Amabis talked to GGC about Sonantes, the São Paulo based collective that he is a part of, along with Grammy nominated singer Céu, Pupillo and Dengue from mangue beat punk outfit Nação Zumbi, and Rica Amabis, a member of hip-hop collective Instituto. Sonantes’s debut album was recently released on Six Degrees and it also features some collabos with Siba, Lucio Maia, Beto Villares, and Apollo 9. Gui talked about his fascination with music from the past, São Paulo’s creative openness, and making good music with close friends.

GGC: The idea for Sonantes began with 3 Na Massa how did things evolve and lead to another collaboration between you, Rica Amabis, Céu, Pupillo, and Dengue?

Gui A: It was Céu’s idea. She wanted to do something different from her personal work,

this was while we were finishing 3 Na Massa, 3 Na Massa wasn’t finished yet. It was like in the end of the process of 3 Na Massa and then I had some songs that I was composing, everybody heard it and liked it and we started like OK, so like we have some songs, so let’s make new ones and try to get a number of songs that we can release on an album. But it was Céu’s idea.

GGC: I’ve spoken to Rica a little bit about this, I’m very interested in what’s going on in São Paulo, in that it seems like there’s a group or a scene of musicians who like to experiment with traditional folk music from Brazil and hip-hop, and electronica, and it just seems like a very eclectic scene.

Gui A: You know what I feel is happening in São Paulo is like what happened in the 60s or 50s around the world when musicians had time to spend with each other, you know, and talk, and drink, and stay together, not even making music, just talking and hearing stuff and hearing what everyone thinks about things and I think that was lost for some time, because of the times, no one has time, everyone has to run, you know, to get to pay the rent, so I think it’s happening again, everyone is like having more time. And I think it’s also because of the crises going on in the world. We don’t have much work [LAUGHING]. We have work but we have more time, you know. I go to Rica’s house and stay there for like the whole day and then Pupillo shows up and Dengue shows up and then we go to Catatau’s place and talk, you know. So it’s like, I don’t know if it’s a scene you know. There’s a lot of different circle of friends, you know.

GGC: So there’s a strong spirit of collaboration.

Gui A: Yeah, yeah, I think people are starting… I don’t know, I sometimes think about that, I think somewhere in the 80s, I don’t know it’s my opinion OK, it’s my opinion…

GGC: Yeah of course…

Gui A: Somewhere in the 80s everyone was like this my style, I want to do my song, you know, and now everyone one is more like let’s do something and it’s more productive because I can start something with Rica and then come here to Recife and do something with Siba…

GGC: But it does seem like a lot of the best music coming out of Brazil right now is concentrated in Sao Paulo. Is that just coincidence?

Gui A: It’s because Sao Paulo is the economic capital and it’s happening in São Paulo but it comes from all of Brazil. Dengue and Pupillo are from here, Recife, Catatau from Cidadao Instigado is from Fortaleza, which is here in the Northeast also. So, it’s happening in Sao Paulo but it comes from the whole country and it gathers there. You know what’s happening I think is, it’s mixing more, you know, because people are going to live there and mixing more things there I think.

GGC: So correct me if I’m wrong, but I kind of compare it to what was going on in Rio in the late 50s and 60s when some of the best interpreters of bossa nova were coming from Bahia but they were all coalescing in Rio. I think it’s interesting that there’s been a shift, because Rio has traditionally been the epicenter for all the great music of Brazil but it seems like now it’s São Paulo and it kind of reflects that fact that we live in a post-modern world and I think São Paulo epitomizes that.

Gui A: And I also, I think, in terms of the collective, I think we’re living in a crises and everyone has more time, you know, and everyone is more bothered in the city and I think that putting all of that together, the time we have, the more bothered we are with the city, with the noise, and the more references we have from everyone from the entire country, I think that culminates in what’s happening here.

GGC: And in Sonantes, I’ve listened to the album a lot and I’ve noticed that there’s a

confluence, if you will, between this futuristic sound, but also kind of looking to the past and bringing elements of tradition into… you know it’s like a fusion of different times and different styles.

Gui A: I think we like old music. I think it’s the Portuguese side of everyone. I think it’s a very Portuguese album in my opinion, from the Portugal roots.

GGC: You mean from fado and that kind of thing?

Gui A: Yeah, it’s not so directed to the rhythm, you know, it’s more to the feeling, it’s a

little bit sad and narrow, it’s not the rhythm, it’s the vibe. We listen to old stuff, you know.

GGC: What were you listening to, what were your influences when you were making this

album?

Gui A: Oh, I listen to very old things [LAUGING].

GGC: Like?

Gui A: Very old things. Some big bands from Europe from the 30s, Clara Nunes, her first

albums, when she wasn’t doing samba; her first albums she does a lot of traditional songs, Brazilian romantic and traditional songs, not samba, and I listen a lot to Siba. Me and Rica, and Dengue, and Céu, we are from Brazil but we grew up in a world in which radio played music from everywhere, so it’s not like ‘Oh I play Brazilian music,’ no I listen to since I was 13, I listen to Bob Marley and then to Fela Kuti and just listened to him and then Joao Gilberto, so I, I’m Brazilian, I have my Brazilian roots but I had everything, you know.

GGC: You were speaking of Siba and he’s actually on the album, he sings “Toque de Coito,”

how was it that you all decided to invite him to participate?

Gui A: I was working on that track in my studio and the other room, I used to have a room in Catatau’s studio, Catatau from Cidadao Instigado, he has a studio with Caliu – Caliu is a percussionist and a sound engineer from Fortaleza also but he lives in São Paulo – and I rented a room there in their studio and I was working on that track, I was working on the instrumentals and Siba showed up to record with Catatau and he went in the room and he heard the music and he asked ‘What is that?’ and I said ‘Oh this is Sonantes we’re doing an album, I’m working on this track,” and I said ‘We’re looking for someone…,’ I was, I wanted to invite him, you know, but I was like ‘We’re looking for someone to sing this one thing,’ at the moment he said ‘I’ll sing that.’ I said ‘Oh, I don’t believe you can sing it,’ [LAUGHS]. It was occasional, he showed up, I was working on the track and he liked it, and now I’m doing a soundtrack for a play with him. Now he invited me [LAUGHS].”

GGC: There’s a cinematic quality to the Sonantes album, how has you experience in producing soundtracks influenced you?

Gui A: My brother [Rica] works with movies too, Puppilo works with movies too. I do more

soundtracks; that’s what I do more, I’ve been doing that most of my time. Doing TV series, doing movies... Going back to the conversation, you mentioned there was a shift from Rio to São Paulo and I think what happened in the 60s where people gathered to make music and thought more like in terms of a collective and not as ‘Oh I’m gonna do my work, my career, my thing, and my name,’ I think the record companies maybe did that in the 80s. And it’s happening again, there’s no more, for us, there are no more record companies, we work for ourselves, we take care of ourselves. So I think that for that reason [that era] is coming back, people are starting to… there’s no plan as a career you know.

GGC: I think that lends itself to more creativity, when you’re not being dictated.

Gui A: Sure, we did this [album] because we love each other’s work. Everyone, I love what

Pupillo does, and what Dengue does, and what Céu does. We all admire each other and Céu admires Rica a lot. We did this in a home studio, only the end of the album, when we recorded the drums, was when we went to the studio, but the creative process was done at home. It’s very loose and I think the album reflects that.

GGC: I really like the track “Quilombo Te Espera.” Zumbi comes up a lot in popular myth in

Brazil and there are a lot of songs about him and the quilombos, and how he’s tied to capoeira too, and I love how you all take this legend of mythical proportions and you transform it into something new in the song, it has a very futuristic sound, but at the same time there’s a primordial, jungle futuristic thing going on. It’s a really good song.

Gui A: We look a lot to the old stuff, you know. We like everything that is going on also, but we guide ourselves to listen and I especially listen to old music, I try to remember where we came from and where we are.

GGC: There’s a balance between songs that bring in those elements from the past and other songs like “Defenestrando” which is more experimental. Can you talk a little bit about the instruments used in the album?

Gui A: We used a Hammond in a lot of the songs that Pepe Cisneros played. Pepe is Cuban,

he’s a percussionist, pianist, he plays everything; he’s a multi-instrumentalist [whose credits include Brazilian chanteuse Cibelle, Céu, Sizão Machado]. Pepe is a great friend of mine, we would hang out together everyday before I started working in the studio in recording and production, when I was just hanging out, having fun [LAUGHS]. And he’s a very good friend and partner and he plays the Hammond on a lot of the tracks, which I think is what repeats itself more. We used some synthesizers, and the cork, and some of that stuff. And a lot of pieces from samples from everywhere that we deconstruct and make it sound totally different, not using it in the traditional way like when hip-hop first started and they would just put the loop there and played a beat. We try to cut it.

GGC: Going back to Cuban music, and this has nothing to do with Sonantes but have you

heard of a bass player named Yusa? She just did an album produced by a Brazilian producer named Ale Siquiera.

Gui A: Oh, I’ve heard of her.

GGC: I’ve always found it interesting how there are so many parallels between Cuban and Brazilian culture.

Gui A: I think that Cuba is the most similar place to Brazil.

GGC: I think it’s mostly because of the same African heritage.

Gui A: And the mix, because in the rest of Latin America there wasn’t such great a mix of

Africa, and Europe, you don’t see many black people in Argentina, in Bolivia, in Peru. You’re either native or European.

GGC: Well listen thanks so much for taking some time out to chat.

Gui A: I helped you?

GGC: Yes, definitely.

Gui A: But just for you to know, Sonantes is like a… existe um carinho, sabe. We did it because we had these songs and we thought it would be a good album and that we could have fun doing it, and Céu especially was the one who was like let’s do it, let’s do it. And I think everything came out very good and the artwork I think is beautiful from Valentina Trajano and Jorge Du Peixe – Jorge Du Peixe is the lead singer and he writes all the lyrics for Naçao Zumbi – and I think it reflects what the album is.

GGC: The chemistry is palpable.

Gui A: I hope, I hope… I don’t hope anything, but I would be happy if especially North Americans could understand because it’s very Brazilian, some songs only a Brazilian can hear or only someone who really understands Portuguese is going to hear the lyrics and understand and remember their parents, it’s a very Brazilian album.

GGC: It’s nostalgic…

Gui A: That’s from the Portuguese side.

GGC: Tem uma qualidade ancestral, uma coisa assim.

Gui A: It’s from the past, from when there weren’t any records anywhere, and just the radio playing.

GGC: I think it’s an album to listen to sitting around the house, with a group of friends…

Gui A: Yeah, and then someone would stop to sing the lyrics, it’s very Brazilian.

Miami's Cubiche Turns Up The Heat

Miami’s new sound stage is bringing nine of the best local Cuban artists together under the direction of musical producer, songwriter and bassist Descemer Bueno. His new collective Cubiche is comprised of Mr. Haka, El Chino Dreadlion, Philbert Armenteros and Michelle Fragosos. I caught these cats performing live some months ago at The Place in Little Havana and thought they rocked. Their eclectic sound melds hip-hop, reggae, afro-cuban styles, rock, and pop. CUBICHE will hold a free concert on June 15th at North Shore Open Space Park (81 Street and Collins Avenue, Miami Beach). For information call (305) 316 – 6165 or go to www. FUNDarte.us

Miami's Cubiche Turns Up The Heat

Miami’s new sound stage is bringing nine of the best local Cuban artists together under the direction of musical producer, songwriter and bassist Descemer Bueno. His new collective Cubiche is comprised of Mr. Haka, El Chino Dreadlion, Philbert Armenteros and Michelle Fragosos. I caught these cats performing live some months ago at The Place in Little Havana and thought they rocked. Their eclectic sound melds hip-hop, reggae, afro-cuban styles, rock, and pop. CUBICHE will hold a free concert on June 15th at North Shore Open Space Park (81 Street and Collins Avenue, Miami Beach). For information call (305) 316 – 6165 or go to www. FUNDarte.us

Rossa Passos's Bossa Nova Romance

In style and substance, Brazilian songstress Rosa Passos has been heralded as the female equivalent of João Gilberto. The comparison hasn't been gratuitous. Since her 1979 debut, Passos has kept the embers of bossa nova glowing long after its initial explosion enraptured the world and like Gilberto she's become the genre's international voice. In the manner of her idol, Passos is an accomplished rhythm guitarist as well. And last but not least there's a similar intention in both of their voices, where impeccable timing, clarity, and a nuanced conversational approach are favored over ornamentation. Gilberto and Passos exude a subtle, sophisticated cadence found somewhere between the ethereal sway of introspection and the inviting warmth of simplicity. On Passos's latest recording, Romance (Telarc) -- released to coincide with bossa nova's 50th anniversary -- the singer/songwriter tackles the timeless topic of love with her signature torchy vocals in twelve gems culled from the Great Brazilian Songbook. Arranged for a small jazz ensemble, Passos's phrasings are deliberate and disarming. Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Por Causa de Você," "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar"), Djavan ("Alibi"), Ivan Lins ("Doce Presenca"), João Donato ("Cadê Você"), Dorival Caymmi ("Nem Eu"), and Chico Buarque ("Tatuagem"), are some of the luminaries whose songs Passos inhabits in intimate, heartfelt renditions. Love, sensuality, and heartache are universal emotions that Passos taps into by singing from a very personal perspective. To be commended are the fine musicians who accompany Passos on her sentimental journey. Pianist Fabio Torres, bassist Paul Paulelli, drummer Celso de Almeida -- whose brushwork is exquisite -- guitarist Lula Galvão, trumpeters Daniel D’Alcântara and Nahor Gomes, and saxophonist Vinícius Dorin convey the required vulnerability and elegant restraint from where Passos glides, hovers, or meanders in verbose lyricism. Romance is bossa nova at its finest and Passos is its reigning queen.

Rossa Passos's Bossa Nova Romance

In style and substance, Brazilian songstress Rosa Passos has been heralded as the female equivalent of João Gilberto. The comparison hasn't been gratuitous. Since her 1979 debut, Passos has kept the embers of bossa nova glowing long after its initial explosion enraptured the world and like Gilberto she's become the genre's international voice. In the manner of her idol, Passos is an accomplished rhythm guitarist as well. And last but not least there's a similar intention in both of their voices, where impeccable timing, clarity, and a nuanced conversational approach are favored over ornamentation. Gilberto and Passos exude a subtle, sophisticated cadence found somewhere between the ethereal sway of introspection and the inviting warmth of simplicity. On Passos's latest recording, Romance (Telarc) -- released to coincide with bossa nova's 50th anniversary -- the singer/songwriter tackles the timeless topic of love with her signature torchy vocals in twelve gems culled from the Great Brazilian Songbook. Arranged for a small jazz ensemble, Passos's phrasings are deliberate and disarming. Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Por Causa de Você," "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar"), Djavan ("Alibi"), Ivan Lins ("Doce Presenca"), João Donato ("Cadê Você"), Dorival Caymmi ("Nem Eu"), and Chico Buarque ("Tatuagem"), are some of the luminaries whose songs Passos inhabits in intimate, heartfelt renditions. Love, sensuality, and heartache are universal emotions that Passos taps into by singing from a very personal perspective. To be commended are the fine musicians who accompany Passos on her sentimental journey. Pianist Fabio Torres, bassist Paul Paulelli, drummer Celso de Almeida -- whose brushwork is exquisite -- guitarist Lula Galvão, trumpeters Daniel D’Alcântara and Nahor Gomes, and saxophonist Vinícius Dorin convey the required vulnerability and elegant restraint from where Passos glides, hovers, or meanders in verbose lyricism. Romance is bossa nova at its finest and Passos is its reigning queen.