Brazilian rock
Brazilian rock refers to rock music produced in Brazil and usually sung in Portuguese. In the 1960s, it was known as iê-iê-iê,[1] the Portuguese transcription of the line "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from the Beatles song "She Loves You".[2]
Brazilian rock
Brazil in the late 1950s; fusion genres from the late 1960s
Overview[edit]
Rock entered the Brazilian music scene in 1956 with the screening of the film The Blackboard Jungle, featuring Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock", later covered in Portuguese by Nora Ney.[3]
The electric guitar was introduced to Brazil in 1948, specifically in Salvador, by the carnival group Dodô e Osmar. They developed an instrument they called the pau elétrico ("electric stick"), notable for being the first electric guitar designed to eliminate microphonic feedback while producing a characteristic sustained sound. In 1949, Dodô and Osmar pioneered the use of this electric guitar in carnival celebrations, performing songs from an open car they dubbed the Trio Elétrico as they traveled through the streets of Salvador. This innovation has endured, evolving into today's large trucks that continue the tradition of mobile musical performances during Carnival.
1950s[edit]
In 1957, the first original Brazilian rock and roll song, Rock and roll em Copacabana, was penned by Miguel Gustavo. This pioneering track was recorded by the singer Cauby Peixoto and rose to #52 on the charts that year.[4]
During this period, several bands performed songs that were rough translations of English lyrics, though a number of groups chose to focus on instrumental rock instead. This was in part inspired by instrumental bands such as Duane Eddy and The Champs. In 1958, this inspiration led to the release of the first Brazilian instrumental rock song, "Here's the Blue Jean Rockers" by The Blue Jean Rockers [pt]. Later the same year, Bolão & His Rockettes went on to record the country's first purely instrumental LP. These developments played a crucial role in establishing rock as a popular genre among Brazilian youth. Following these pioneering efforts, a wave of new bands emerged, including The Avalons, The Clevers [pt], The Rebels, The Jordans [pt], The Jet Blacks, The Pops, Os Populares, The Bells, The Lions, and The Youngs, further solidifying rock's place in Brazilian music culture.
1958 marked a watershed moment for Brazilian rock, witnessing the meteoric rise of several artists and bands. Notable figures such as Nora Ney, Nick Savoia, Celly Campelo, Tony Campelo (Celly Campelo's brother), Lana Bittencourt, Demétrius, Cinderella, Regiane, Ronnie Cord, and Hamilton di Giorgio achieved rapid success, establishing themselves as prominent names in the music scene virtually overnight. Additionally, instrumental groups such as the aforementioned Avalons, Tte Rebels, the Jordans, and Os Incríveis also gained widespread popularity, contributing to the vibrant and diverse landscape of Brazilian rock during this pivotal year.
The early years of the 2000s[edit]
The boundary between MPB - "Música popular brasileira" - and international electric pop and rock was largely broken with the TV Record Festival (1967), a milestone seen in the documentary Uma Noite em 67, and Tropicalismo. Brazilian popular music resulted from a gradual union of regional folk music and contemporary urban references. But if at that time (1967) a dichotomy was evident ("MPB" versus electric music), on the other hand, in this moment was visible the beginning of the electric fusion in acoustic Brazilian music.
Musicians and bands of the 90s absorbed definitely the rock aesthetic in the "MPB" or vice versa: Chico César, Fernanda Abreu, Paula Morelenbaum, Adriana Calcanhotto, Lenine, Paulinho Moska, Ed Motta, Badi Assad, Marisa Monte, Carlinhos Brown, Arnaldo Antunes, Nando Rei Zeca Baleiro, Lula Queiroga, Jair Oliveira, Wilson Simoninha, Léo Minax, Chico Amaral, Marina Machado, Bebel Gilberto, Zélia Duncan, Tony Platão (or Toni Platão), Pedro Mariano and Max de Castro.
In the first decade of the millennium, many musicians had already incorporated the new rock as an alternative aesthetic to this generation. This new fusion is encountered in Fernando Catatau, Vanessa da Mata who has done backing vocals for Black Uhuru, Tatá Aeroplano, CéU, Curumin, Orquestra Imperial, The +2's, Mariana Aydar, Karina Buhr (see also Comadre Florzinha), Seu Jorge, Ana Cañas, Nina Becker, Rômulo Fróes, Márcia Castro, 3 na Massa, Bruno Morais, Cérebro Eletrônico, Fino Coletivo, Tulipa Ruiz, Thiago Pethit, Tiê, Marcelo Jeneci, Dante Ozzetti, Moisés Santana, Miriam Maria, Jonas Sá, Sergio Molina, Cicero, M. Takara, Leo Cavalcanti, Sobrado 112, Banda Sincrônica, Pedro Osmar, Gutti Mendes, Marcelo Pretto, Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda, Kristoff Silva, Lu Horta, and Mandrágora. The Vanessa da Mata songs "Ai, Ai, Ai" and "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" (with guest vocals by Ben Harper) became number-one hits in Brazil.
The real independent attitude raises also a growing audience at the beginning of the 21st century. There is a lot of opportunities with the festivals such as Bananada (Goiânia), Porão do Rock (Brasília), Camping Rock (Itabirito), Humaitá Pra Peixe (Rio de Janeiro), Grito Rock (itinerant), Fora do Eixo (itinerant), Abril Pro Rock (Recife), Goiânia Noise (Goiânia), Mada (festival) (Natal, Rio Grande do Norte), Calango (festival)(Cuiabá), Festival Garimpo (Belo Horizonte), Varadouro (Rio Branco), Rec-Beat (Recife), Jambolada (Uberlândia), Vaca Amarela (Goiânia) and independent labels (like Monstro Discos, Senhor F, Mondo 77, Trama, Travolta Discos, Deckdisc, Urban Jungle, Fora do Eixo Discos, Escárnio e Osso). It's a moment of intense creativity. The Brazilian indie scene with the support of the internet, MTV and the festivals gain a captive audience. Part is influenced by the Hard rock, Hardcore, Metal, part is influenced by the 1990s rock, after the Strokes and Radiohead boom. There are references of the 1970s Brazilian music and Glam rock, Folk music (Brazilian or not), from the 1980s B-rock, from the 1980s São Paulo Vanguard, Jovem Guarda (the garage side of this genre), Tropicália, the Samba rock and the Black music revisited, Electro, Rap, Ska, Jazz, Dub music, Funk Carioca and part is influenced by almost everyone of these genres. A large number of bands were created. Among pioneers from this period are Cachorro Grande, Tetine, Cordel do Fogo Encantado, Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), Autoramas, Cibelle, Udora, Pedro Luís e a Parede, Bnegão, Cascadura, Mombojó, Forgotten Boys, Gram, Ludov, Cidadão Instigado, Canto dos Malditos na Terra do Nunca, Bidê ou Balde, Lampirônicos, Leela (banda), Fernando Chuí, Hurtmold (instrumental), Zumbi do Mato, Mopho, Os Pistoleiros, Polara, Declinium, Pullovers, Mamelo Sound System, MQN, Vulgue Tolstoi, Flu, Doiseu Mimdoisema, Hipnóticos, Monokini, Sleepwalker, Astromato, The Butcher's Orquestra, Grenade, Wado, The Charts, Astronautas, Módulo, China and O Grito. The term Post-rock is already well used in Brazil.
Some magazines in the English language in the beginning of the 2000s deemed some worldwide genres like electronic rock (using this term on the 2000s music) and new rave having some Brazilian bands not only as the exponents but builders of these movements. 2015 was the first year in history that no songs by Brazilian rock acts were present at the list of the 100 most played songs on Brazilian radio, according to a research carried out by Crowley Broadcast Analysis.[8]
2010s[edit]
Wannabe Jalva is a space groove rock band formed in 2011 by Tiago Abrahão (guitar/bass/seq), Felipe Puperi (vocal/guitar), Rafael Rocha (vocal/guitar/bass) and Fernando Paulista (drums) in Porto Alegre, Brazil.