A MUSICAL JOURNEY

by Jody Gillett

Augusta, it’s thanks to you and Angelica that I discovered Consolação. Tom Ze’s samba-tinged ode to the avenues of Sao Paulo mapped out the city for us. Invited by Brasil Musica & Arte to seminars in 4 Brazilian cities, we are on a whirlwind journey into music as the ultimate expression of Brasilian diversity. Brasil Musica & Arte (BMA.org.br) is a non-profit organisation that seeks to promote Brasilian music internationally through commercial, institutional and media partnerships. Supported by Apex - Brasil’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency - the organization’s aim is to encourage a global platform for independent Brasilian music within a cultural context. Culture as a tangible export is a tricky business; you can’t package it and sell it by the kilo like coffee. But music does have the incredible potential of getting you to visit far off distant lands. We are only just discovering the immense riches of Brasil´s musical heritage. In a country as vast and culturally diverse as this, every state sounds different.

São Paulo
But first, a stroll down Tom Ze’s avenues. In Sao Paulo, the second largest city in the world, it feels like you can experience New York, Paris and Barcelona in one afternoon. Between the flyovers and skyscrapers you find leafy backstreets and the vibrant bohemian quarter Vila Madalena - bohemian being code for lots and lots of cool bars. Downtown is the fabled Baratos Afins. Stacked with rare vinyl and new cd releases, it’s a landmark independent record store and label that has been going for almost 30 years.

Next stop the immaculate Sesc Vila Mariana, one of over 200 Sesc cultural centres hosting discounted events for workers across Brasil. We meet up with artists, labels and distributors there. Sao Paulo’s underground scene is diverse – you’ll hear anything from sleek electronica to lo-fi post punk, social hip hop and metal samba… it’s all very vibrant and the musicians are a savvy crew. Epic levels of piracy hit Brasil decades ago, and the Brazilian independent music scene has many years of experience in dealing with the problems the UK record industry is only now facing up to. Micro-businesses that act as labels, agents, publicists, managers and publishers are common-place. Unsigned acts use online platforms such as tramavirtual.com.br to showcase and network. You find that private / public partnerships are behind anything from short-run CD manufacturers to festivals. It’s clear that Sao Paulo is a frenzied, buzzing hub of musical innovation.

To the west, in the central state of Goiás, Goiânia is acknowledged as being the rock capital of Brazil. There is a high guitar-per-capita count and it’s perhaps the most likely city to produce the Brazilian version of the Arctic Monkeys.  Goiânia’s music scene has a rising national profile, largely thanks to the label Monstro Discos, promoters of the Goiânia Noise Festival and co-founders of the Abrafin national festival circuit. They live to rock.

The state is also famous for sertanejo music – the lush rolling plains make this a cattle-raising heartland and the twangy guitars and soulful laments conjure up the wide open spaces of the Brasilian backlands. Feel the call of the wild? Canyons, trails and waterfalls, thermal springs and a huge national park await.

Later, at the Centro Cultural Martim Cererê there’s a festival going on, and it looks like every band in town is playing. There’s something touching about seeing all those rock kids watching sertanejo artists. The night begins with rootsy caipira played beautifully by Roberto Correa and ends with the explosive cartoon ska of Moveis Coloniais.

Fortaleza, capital of the North-Eastern state of Ceará, hosts the annual Feira da Música. The trade fair, seminars and showcases are a gateway to North-Eastern music and attract delegates from all over the country. At bars, concert-halls and street stages across the city you can catch bands like Fortaleza’s own electro-punk thrashers Montage – the first Brasilian band to play in the virtual world of Second Life – and the stunning folkloric ensemble Canários de Munin from Maranhão who get the whole street dancing coco and ciranda.

During the day, the Mercado Central is crammed with all kinds of traditional wares, from hammocks to hats and poetry. Cafés offer fantastic fresh food – help yourself to your favourite Brasilian dishes and pay according to the weight of your plate. Ceará is well-known for its superb beaches – if your thing is dune-buggy rides and lively bars, then head to the east of Fortaleza to funky Canoa Quebrada. Or go west to the white sands and azure seas of the staggeringly picturesque Jericoacoara.

Salvador is the oldest and most historic city in Brasil - with deep cultural connections to Africa and spectacular colonial architecture.  UNESCO declared the old quarter –Pelourinho – a World Cultural Heritage site, and it’s there that Gal Costa, one of Bahia’s most famous daughters, plays a free open-air concert. The square is packed with thousands of people of all ages and the entire crowd sing every word of every song along with her – it’s a gorgeous, magical moment. The free show is one of many initiatives kick-started by the new Secretariat of Culture to keep music high on the agenda in the state that gave us such huge stars as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Dorival Caymmi.  Later on, we find emerging talent Mariene de Castro singing at her regular Saturday night samba da roda party, which is a definite must!

Since the 1930s, the Sorveteria da Ribeira, in the Cidade Baixa has been concocting famously delicious ice creams; including tropical fruit flavours that are so good they’ll have you wondering whether ice cream should qualify for Unesco Cultural Heritage status. Have a double scoop of Cupuaçu. Save the Amazon!

End
We are at the end of our trip – the diversity of music has been stunning and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Across Brazil new creative hubs are abuzz. Manguebeat, the most significant cultural movement since Tropicália, burst out of Recife. Once considered a provincial backwater, the city is now a vibrant musical centre. As we speak, on the edge of the Amazon, Belém’s technobrega rave scene and hooky surf guitar outfits are causing a riot. Will an eco-tourism boom and mega beach parties make Pará the next cultural hotspot? We fly out of Sao Paulo, home to CSS, a band who, more than any other right now, are a huge international success story for music made in Brasil. Are they representative of Brasilian culture? Absolutely - they’re inspired and original and there’s nothing more Brasilian than that.