By Rosine Alleva, José Oliveira, Journalist/Photographers – Rock At Night France, Switzerland
Feeling festive, Rosine and I decided to publish MARIA GADU and TRIBALISTAS interviews to wish you all a wonderful Christmas. It’s also our gift to the Brazilian People!
We hope that FREEDOM, RESPECT and LOVE will be the words that will resonate in Brazil in 2019
We had the opportunity to interview Maria Gadú and the famous Tribalistas , the band who never toured before , and chose the Baloise Session Festival to come back to the front scene after 15 years!
MARIA GADU Interview
RAN – What a wonderful adventure to see you here on tour with the TRIBALISTAS! What was the origine of this opportunity?
MARIA GADU– It may sound strange but I don’t remember this invitation. We have the same Producer here in Europe and he knows that since my childhood I have always been a big fan of MARISA MONTE.
This TRIBALISTAS tour in Europe and Brazil is a huge gift for us because they released an album 15 years ago and had never toured before! And we could not miss such a great opportunity to discover new countries and beautiful scenes, like the BALOISE SESSION here in Basel. I really realize a dream !!
RAN– You have already sold more than one million albums and participated to duets with prestigious stars such as, TONY BENNET, ALICIA KEYS, EAGLE-EYE CHERRY and even with the famous CAETANO VELOSO, with whom you’ve recorded a Live. What did all these experiences bring you ?
MG– Serenity, Wonder … These are things I had never thought of. Especially with these international icons. I consider that CAETANO VELOSO is the most international artist of the Planet! One of my biggest idols! And it is very impressive to see that these people are so open and extremely generous to interact with young people with a growing musicality. With them we learn a lot about Music, about Culture, all convey currents that allow us to better understand the joys of this beautiful job. The history of their careers illuminates our feelings! And as I am very curious, I am immersed in their experience! They were very generous to me, responding with great tenderness to all my questions.
RAN – CAETANO VELOSO has a reputation for being very rigorous and not talking much to the press …
MG– He’s rigorous because his music allows it! But I’m lucky to be one of her best friends and this barrier doesn’t exist. Due to his intellectual level, his experience, the musical experiences he accumulates … and he even instigated me to become more rigorous. Not only musically but also in my studies, because I study anthropology. It is this rigor that made what CAETANO VELOSO is today! An excellent poet and musician! And he appreciates timeless music! He is a contemporary being! He is near the people with whom he feels affinities. Whether to learn or to teach. Whether with people of his generation or in my case, with people much younger than him.
RAN– He has a great spirit of openness …
MG– Yes, he is a man who loves to talk, share … I share a great friendship with him (we have a great friendship) and I visited him last week. Sometimes we take the guitar and let the pleasure invade us while playing his old compositions. Things he’s not used to play since a long time. His lyrics are enigmatic. Some contain several cultures within the same song! And it represents an exercise of generosity when he does it with me.
RAN– I understand he’s running away from interviews …
MG– Ah! This I do not know! Maybe he can feel tired after all these years. Can you imagine how many interviews he has already given throughout his career?
RAN– SHIMBALAE was a highlight in your musical journey. It allowed you to become known in Europe. In France, your fans really appreciated the theme of Jacques BREL “DO NOT LEAVE ME”. Was it a gift from you?
MG– Yes, certainly. When an artist goes to Brazil and records a theme in Portuguese, even if the pronunciation is not perfect, it, on the contrary, adds a touch of “charm”. This has been highly appreciated not only in France, but of course in Belgium, and we are commemorating the 30th anniversary of his death. Yes, it also allowed me to know a little better other younger musicians. A door, a new path has opened! I love this sharing with the French language, which, a few years back, was the first foreign language taught at school in Brazil!!
RAN – I saw on your site that you were very active in the defense of women’s rights well before the last presidential elections, so tumultuous. And now ? Will Brazil become a Country of Resistance or Exile?
MG– RESISTENCE !!! Always! Throughout its history, Brazil has emerged as a resilient nation! 518 years ago when we colonized Brazil, the Indians were already Resilience! I am a native child and unfortunately, once again we will go through a painful period where the blood has already begun to flow. In 2 weeks, 12 people have already died. It’s really sad ! We will resist !!!
OS TRIBALISTAS Interview
MARISA MONTE
ARNALDO ANTUNES (EX TITAS)
CARLINHOS BROWN (TIMBALADA)
RAN – I don’t know if you know, but tonight you’re playing at home!
Marisa Monte – Ah! Really? How do you do that?
RAN – Beatrice STIRNIMANN, the Festival Director is a big fan of Brazil. Every year, she flies to your country, right after the end of her festival, for a holiday in the sun!
MM– Ah! Yes? “Maravilhoso!”!
RAN– The question that everyone asks you, in any country you play , what went through your head to make the decision to take the road, after existing for 15 years as TRIBALISTAS? Do you consider this as a simple engagement or a marriage to 3?
MM – (Laughs) It’s a long term engagement! Our love is preserved by the respect, admiration, friendship that exists between us. We have already been together for 25 years. We were playing together 10 years before our first album appeared 15 years ago. Between the 15 years between the two albums we have had parallel careers and we have produced a lot. We love to work on studio. We recorded a whole lot of themes. which were also sung by other artists. It was then decided that it was time to take the road, not only to Brazil, but to come and make a few concerts in Europe! We have a blast every night because we love to share our differences and specially to communicate our joy to the public. And they make us feel that Love that helps us to excel every night. They feel this festive and respectful atmosphere that characterizes us.
RAN– Can you admit that this is still a big surprise to note that 15 years have passed without seeing you on the road, for concerts … ..
MM– Certainly yes. In our first album there is a theme that speaks of us as a group subject to separate at each moment. In fact, we never saw each other as a group. We are 3 solo artists, who have done a collaborative work. OK, we even won a prize as “Revelation Group” (smiles) but we never felt that soul as a band ! We continue to be 3 artistic individualities.
Arnaldo Antunes – We discovered that there was an alchemy by composing, singing together, so everything became spontaneous and that naturally led us to record an album. The adventure continued without ever imagining that we would one day release a second album but being so prolific in the field of composition, it just turned out that we had to go back to the studio again!
Carlinhos Brown – The TRIBALISTE is an accompanying artist. He is over 150 years old (Laughs). This is the reference of our experiments. A country as Brazil, that has been affirming a concrete movement from that miscegenation, continues to explore the beauty of the miscegenation. The miscegenation provokes innovations in the beings. Because you learn of everything of the World! You don’t just preserve the ethnic identity or be, miscegenation is ethical!! My musical experience led me to share and meet, from time to time, other horizons. To play the Guitar of COIMBRA or the one of CÓRDOBA and at the same time the form of playing Guitar in the Interior of BAHIA, make you discover that all of them have some particularities in common. We live on a Planet where the peoples’ cohesion must become a major asset! And the color of the skin should not be an obstacle to this cohesion! And Music is a powerful vector for linking and transmitting different styles. Each of us must take advantage of the mutations acquired through contact with other artists. This will lead to creating new musical forms and a new way of composing and playing an instrument!
RAN– You have just approached other music forms and I see, that on your album, CARMINHO, one of the most important Portuguese Fado singers, is present.” How did that opportunity arise?
MM – Carminho is one of our great friends and a very dear Artist in Brazil. She crossed the Ocean a lot of times for playing at the best Brazilian halls. She’s a very open and communicative person. She has many relations with Brazilian
artists and among them, us! The songs appeared through our friendship. She participated to a lot of partnerships with us and all of that contributed to this invitation to play on our album. And it is an additional accent that will come to join that of Bahia (like Brown), of RIO (like that of Marisa) and San Paulo (like that of Arnaldo). A brother accent (because Portugal and Brazil are brother countries), an accent that is our brother! That she perfectly merged.
AA – The historical past that unites Portugal to Brazil always created musical bridges and this is one of those examples. CARMINHO also participated in my DVD Live recorded in Lissabon. When I heard her for the first time I was quite impressed because her surrender to the song! The same thing we try every night on stage!
MM– The music is a communication form and CARMINHO is very communicative. She is virtuous in the song, she has an enormous easiness of communicating through Music. That is not for everyone.
CB – That’s all about the ethics. Because when we have a perfect knowledge of our culture we can feel more comfortable when we talk to other people. Carminho brings a remote memory of great fado singers and at the same time her voice not only connects with AMÁLIA RODRIGUES but she also reminds that Brazil has also great singers as Dolores Duran, Marisa Monte and Veti . And it’s a place where to respect the traditions! It’s very important that Portuguese connection exists! After all not only for her but also for the people of Bahia. When one refers to BAHIA, one always emphasizes its African side. They forget that BAHIA is also indigenous, Muslim, Italian, Hispanic and everything! Now she is all this! And when those icons refresh us, they remind us to keep the links with our roots. And remind us that we have always something to learn! Although à lot was well learned with all of the roots built in Brazil, there’s a lot to learn. Countries need speakers!
RAN– Regarding to your prolific way of composing, the main question is, when would you release a next album?
MM – When we prepared the set list for our shows, it was a little hard work because we discovered we had 56 songs recorded in our studio!!! And now, we’ve composed some new material on the road! Actually we have no pre-established plan, it could happen. As it was the case for this second work. And we accepted this invitation from our souls! All we‘ve created prompted us to go on the road. And here we are! At the Baloise Session Festival!
Merry Christmas to the Baloise Session Team, to Rock At Night readers, photographers and journalists!!
José and Rosine
PHOTO GALLERY
I was born in Portugal and lived the Sixties exploring the great UK Rock magazines: "The New Musical Express" and "Melody Maker". Ray Charles and Pat Boone were my father’s fav. I became “The Great Pretender”. Cliff Richard was our Elvis Presley. As a beach boy, with my first guitar, I met a beautiful French girl on the beach! It was the Summer of 69!! We got married and rock music was our dowry. In France, I became a Wine Genetic Research Scientist. One of my works contributed to the decoding of the genome of the vine! As a rock journalist, I’ve worked twenty years for the Portuguese and Brazilian Rock Press. I ‘ve interviewed so many great artists. Then, one day I met FRANK ZAPPA! I got into trouble for introducing my wife to "Uncle Meat"!
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