New week (and weekend soon to come!), new plans… Sticking up to the Brazilian highlights in Barcelona, I have to mention the annual celebration of Dia de Brasil. Since 2009, each year it takes place sometime around the 2nd weekend of September at the Moll de la Marina (the one near Vila Olimpica). During this one-day free festival one can have a taste of the popular Brazilian contemporary culture: from capoeira, through gastronomy to different musical styles. A detailed programme of the event can be found on www.diadebrasil.es
As the weekend is approaching again, let’s come back to the core of the Carioca music. Thanks to my musically-compatible friend Antonio (aka AdB) I had a pleasure to spend yesterday’s evening with quality bossanova sounds. This special Brazilian food for thought was served by Esteban Matuke, a Chilean-origin musician based in Barcelona for over 14 years (his interesting bio in Spanish can be found here http://www.matuke.net/).
Last night he performed in one of the most trendy BCN neighbourhoods of now: Sant Antoni. Artsy, yet very cozy bar ‘El Taller’ (‘Workshop’ in Catalan) hosted the guitar sounds of MatukeBossaLove project (https://www.facebook.com/Matukebossalove?fref=ts).
Matuke performed both bossanova classics and his own works. El Taller was filled with Brazilian music aficionados, mostly women though (interesting on how gender influence the genre’s preference?).
Having an occasion to speak with Matuke, we shared some observations on our inspirations. Himself, he discovered Gilberto’s music while his father recorded cassettes with Brazilian bossanova. Back in a day, Esteban could only play very simple guitar accords, but after some time and he could finally study on how to perform bossanova. It somewhat reminds me on my tough beginnings with Portuguese: from passion to proficiency.
Speaking of passion for music, yesterday I also had an opportunity to listen to AdB’s first mix performed with his newly acquired Traktor 2. AdB is one of very few people with whom I can speak about music all night (and day anyway) long, who always shares interesting music and concert discoveries with me and we understand each other without words on that topic. Although he is just starting his adventure with DJing, AdB is a very aware listener, so I do recommend to follow his inspirations: https://soundcloud.com/antonio-di-blasi
In the world which is growing yet more commercialized and globalized, music included, I feel very grateful to still have someone to speak in the same language. Good luck with your work, gentlemen!
Wiki:
Carioca – a nickname for the residents of Rio de Janeiro
LUSOFONETICA 