NEWSLETTER

By the staff of Vice Brazil with guest appearances by two members of Bonde do Role

BOSS IN DRAMA		ANDRÉ CACCIA BAVA

BOSS IN DRAMA Your Favorite EP Self-released Don’t know how to write at all, but since you guys asked me nicely, I’m going to talk about Boss in Drama, one of my closest friends here in Brazil. He’s 22, white, super-skinny, has dark hair, brown eyes, is into young fat guys, has great musical taste (Prince, Fred Falke, and Cher in her Cherokee phase), and he taught me how to use Auto-Tune. If you fancy him, just hit him up on MySpace, he’s available. And since this is supposed to be a record review, his EP is my favorite at the moment. I coproduced it. HAAA! DJ GORKY (BONDE DO ROLE) FABY HILTON Superbitch Self-released Google Faby Hilton, check the pictures—you’ll understand why we’re so proud to be born in Brazil. We pray to God thanking him for spawning such a wonderful creature that we can call it our own fellow compatriot. Diplo is a fan and so are we. Seriously, we mean it. PEDRO D’EYROT (BONDE DO ROLE) ANDRÉ CACCIA BAVA Vento Bom Tratore  André Caccia Bava used to play in a romantic duo known as Sandy & Junior (argh) and was also part of the team gathered by polemical speech rocker Lobão (there are people who like him). Now Bava has left this muddy past behind by making a kind of distorted entrance into samba, with a beach swing and a sand scent. This is to enjoy in your spare time, on your iPod, with some rolling papers in reach. And Bava is hot and handsome. He could play anything anyway. ASTRUD GILBERTO SIBA AND ROBERTO CORRÊA Violas de Bronze Viola Corrêa The paths of Siba, exponent of rural maracatu, and Roberto Corrêa, physics teacher and great acoustic-guitar player, come together toward the infinite. The tradition of folias, catira, and modas de viola is still there but sounds different and twisted, with elements brought in by these men who have seen the world yet have each found a personal universe of rhythm. Here, roots are fantastically elaborate melodies and master poetry. As a duo, they merge and complement each other in instrumental pieces for trained ears, or not. And if the art of Violas de Bronze cannot be understood because it goes beyond the very sense of music itself, the record is also an unpretentious invitation to bate-coxa (something that would look like a barn dance), which is already something. ADEMIR CORREA BLACK DRAWING CHALKS My Favorite Way Monstro Discos They come from the countryside of Brazil and do something rare for the country: well-played rock. They don’t slip into heavy metal, don’t add any elements from other genres, and don’t have a DJ. It’s plain, straight, and fast rock, which sounds even more powerful onstage. The single “My Favorite Way” is music to fuck. Or drink. Or drink and fuck. TOM JOBIM LUÍSA MANDOU UM BEIJO Luísa Mandou um Beijo Volume 2 Midsummer Madness This band from Rio (their name translates to “Luisa Has Sent a Kiss”) make girly pop music influenced by everything from bossa nova to Dadaism, all wrapped up in retro-kitsch visuals like Playmobil toys and coated with an obvious, fun, and digestible indie finish. Onstage, a journalist (Fernando Paiva), a poet (Flávia Muniz), a sound engineer (Luciano Grossman), an architect (Pedro Paulo), a filmmaker (Daniel Paiva), and a PhD in philosophy (Paulo César) bop around casually. In the audience, thin people wearing tight jeans and dirty high-tops shake their heads without having their perfectly messed-up hair go bad. Nothing new. They’ll soon be forgotten by us. SONIA BRAGA CAETANO VELOSO Zii e Zie Universal The record starts off very well, with the tracks “Perdeu” and “Sem Cais.” Both sound pleasant and carry less of the sexual tension shown by Caetano in his previous album, Cê (2006). “Por Quem” puts an end to the quiet. Not only because it’s more of a rock song, but also because it’s very dull, with Caetano emitting one high-pitched sound that makes you feel like breaking the CD. Also in the running for worst track of the album is “A Base de Guantánamo.” But after the bad ones, he makes it up to the listener with “Lobão Tem Razão,” which has nice distorted guitars at a samba pace. It’s a quiet record, perfect for hangovers. With this release, Caetano leaves his anger behind but still proves he’s very good at what he does. ADRIANA ALVES		DE LEVE De Love Ideal Unsettling and sarcastic, De Leve shows off his Rio laid-backness in every project he takes part in. That’s why he is as obnoxious as he is cool. In this record, the MC presents himself with another attribute: romance. Lyrics full of dirty love, with beach beats and a rapper look so cheap that it would make you vomit if you didn’t know it’s just some costume. The jewelry that helps put his gangsta look together is nothing but drawings of gold necklaces on his t-shirts. Unbelievable. ADRIANA ALVES MIXHELL Boom Da New Judas Remember when Kevin Federline tried to break the baile funk with “Popozao”? I think this is what he thought he was sounding like. PEDRO D’EYROT (BONDE DO ROLE) FLORA MATOS Jogo da Velha Independent Success is the only thing we can wish for the very feminine Flora Matos, MC, daughter of a musician, born in Brasília, living in São Paulo, and standing strong. Her MySpace has only cool songs. Shows are also good, and if you attend one, you have the chance to put your hands on a CD containing this single. The song comes in two versions, one produced by her compatriot Lurigan, the other by Brit Mark Antony. It’s crazy when you listen to the first one, with bass and beats from handclap percussion, very dancehall, with lots of singing in the refrain, and you have the impression this is the closest Flora has come to global pop—kind of what MIA sounds like. But it’s not—it’s excellent hip-hop and ragga, with a latent potential that she has handled well so far. And that, my friend, is talent.  ANDRÉ MALERONKA MÓVEIS COLONIAIS DE ACAJU C_mpl_te Trama Virtual  This is the second record from the most fuckingly funny of current Brazilian bands. In the 12 tracks of C_mpl_te (for dummies who don’t get it: “Complete”), Móveis Coloniais de Acaju, born in Brasília, delivers creative lyrics in a dancing ska. Listen closely to the cool “Cão Guia” (“Guide Dog”), which starts with a clever verse: “Andava cego de amor/E meu cão guia não sabia se seguia minha dor.” (“I was blind from love/And my guide dog was not sure he would follow my pain”—OK, it doesn’t have the same zing in English). The number one news is that the album was produced by big-gun Miranda—a judge on the Brazilian version of American Idol. Compared with the band’s last album, Idem, there is a slight but still evident slower pace shown along this record. ARTUR TAVARES PARTEUM Magus Operandi Independent Fans of Brazilian rap cheer when Parteum releases a piece of work. It is time he crosses frontiers and does something new, though. Parteum is a creator of organically electronic and absolutely Brazilian music. He regularly releases mixtapes, which are sort of reports on his works in progress, including his solo work, soundtracks, and songs with his band, Mzuri Sana. The tapes contain new tracks, greatest hits, live recordings, videos, instrumental tracks that escape the verse-bridge-refrain format, and, this time, even beats offered for sampling. Magus Operandi is his sixth mixtape, and it shows courageous music made by a rap lover who isn’t stuck in the genre. Two tracks alone, the beautiful “A Bagunça das Gavetas” and “A Moral Provisória,” are worth the release, but there’s a lot more. Check it out. ANDRE MALERONKA GLORIA Gloria Arsenal Music Lyrics about struggling love; a sweet, sticky voice that reaches more of an aggressive sound (a monster voice) at some very predictable moments. All of this on a similarly predictable hardcore base. By now you know the sound I’m describing. I apologize to fans with uneven bangs and penciled eyes, but the only use for this record is to help people get rid of their constipation. You press play and pieces of shit come out. XUXA MARIANA AYDAR Peixes, Pássaros, Pessoas Universal Music One of Brazil’s new voices, Aydar flirts with samba on this second album. She is really comfortable in unforgettable moments such as “Palavras Não Falam” and “O Samba Me Persegue.” Unfortunately, however, Peixes, Pássaros, Pessoas is too retro-sounding. It works for nostalgic people who still buy CDs and it grants young singers a diva feel, but it’s a boring formula. Maybe she was just born in the wrong time. ALEXANDRE PIRES

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