Menu

Feature


Planet Brazil


12/04/2006 - 

Mention the Brazilian music scene and the response has been the same for decades: "Braaaazil, pa la la la la la, Braaazil, Brazil!" A number of major Brazilian stars have exported the sounds of bossa and samba worldwide since the 60s. But now "Brésil, Brésils", France's 'Year of Brazil' (which runs from March to December 2005), gives music fans the chance to discover another facet of the relationship between Gilberto Gil's homeland and France.


Noites do Brasil, La Favela Chic, Batucadas, Monica Passos, Seu Jorge, Marcio Faraco, Orquestra do Fuba – these are just a few examples of the wealth of music nights, venues, projects and artists fuelling the thriving French-Brazilian scene today (cf. article "Brazil-on-Seine"). Guitarist Baden Powell de Aquino, the "father of Afro-sambas", was one of the first musicians to pioneer Brazilian sounds in France and Paris, where he frequently performed and recorded in the early 60s, a time when he met French musician Pierre Barouh (cf. article "A Lifelong Ambassador of Brazil"). Following Barouh's lead, a number of other French music stars including Brigitte Bardot, Pierre Vassiliu and Claude Nougaro, drew on Brazilian sounds over the years, recording cover versions of Brazilian classics which ranged from the sublime to the frankly ridiculous (cf. article "Paris Flies Down to Rio").

Thanks to Serge Gainsbourg's Les Sambassadeurs, Bernard Lavilliers's O Gringo, Henri Salvador's Sur mon île and Nino Ferrer's La Madureira, popular Brazilian rhythms of the day filtered through into French 'chanson.' However, this musical appropriation, together with the burgeoning international success of bossa nova, meant that other styles of Brazilian music have tended to be overlooked. Rumos, a music project currently being run in Brazil, is now looking to set that situation to rights. The project is promoting a generation of exciting new up-and-coming talents such as Renata Rosa and Raizes de Coco - renowned for reviving regional Brazilian sounds for the modern world - and cutting-edge acts such as Loop B, Mombojo and Uniao Racial who are serving up a mix of traditional Brazilian rhythms, hip hop and electro (cf. article "Less Bossa, More Nova").

 
 

Listen to the webradio

 

 


Brazil-on-Seine

Seu Jorge, have carved out a place on the music scene here. Although the beaches of Rio are far away, Paris offers these artists a "huge window on the world" - and they are certainly making the most of it!

Read on


Paris flies down to Rio

The French-Brazilian connection has been fuelled by a host of cover versions over the years, many of them of the highest quality. RFI Musique takes a look at the Brazilian classics ...

Read on


A lifelong ambassador of Brazil

Pierre Barouh will forever be associated with the soundtrack of the cult 60s movie Un homme et une femme, but the French singer-songwriter's career has actually been much more eclectic ...

Read on


Less Bossa, more Nova

Rumos, a dynamic new project which aims to promote contemporary sounds from Brazil, is turning the spotlight on the best home-grown productions. And the mixed bag of sounds ...

Read on