A cool brazilian-music breeze to your ears

 

In this section, you will read brief descriptions Paulo wrote about his albums.

  

Eu comigo (Independent - 2004)

This was my second experience with home recordings. It was the very beggining of the "homestudio era" in Brazil and people were getting more and more interested in digital home recordings but it was still a very small movement compared to what it would become in a few years. I had this small room where I put my simple set up and called it Composito studio. The technical conditions were far from ideal but I just had this will to finish this project and I did it. The reason why I named it Eu comigo (which means "I with myself" in portuguese) because I did everything on it. All the twelve songs are compositions of mine, and I recorded virtually all the instruments but saxophones and flute. A friend of mine, Thiago Ferté played them for me. When I say I recorded all of them, it means that the drums and all other instruments that I can't play were just programmed by me. It may sound weird but the recording technology for homestudios at the time were not even close to 2008. So, you can imagine that, despite a strong musical essence, the audio results were not that good. Even though it was also treated in a professional studio (TBS studio - Rio de Janeiro), when the recorded sound is not perfect, little can be done to make it better in the mixing and mastering. A lot of songs from this album were re-recorded on my following albuns. I only sold it to close friends and family, what makes it a very rare album to find.

 

 

Trying to fool destiny (Independent - 2006)

I had the opportunity to record this album during 2006. It was a long, exhausting but rewarding year. By the time I finished the record, it started being sold on the internet (mainly at CD Baby) and physically in Japan (Disques Dessinée - Kobe) a couple of months later. That's why I am so thankful of Derek Severs (CD Baby creator) who I had the oportunity to meet in person years later in Rio de Janeiro) and Masao Maruyama (Disques Dessinée owner) who was the man that bet on my music.

This one is a truly independent record, with no label behind it. I invited the great musicians I was working with in a TV show to record with me and most of them agreed. The trouble was finding available time in the musicians' and the studio's schedule at the same time, since I was a payless job. However, I was working at the recording studio I was using back then and I had resonable time to mix the songs in my free time.

Writing lyrics in english was, by far, my biggest challenge, even with the help of dear english-speaking friends. I tried not to write complicated arrangements, in order to have the songs flowing well to the listeners. Most of the compositions were brand new, made exclusively for this record but one of its most popular songs, Smile at me, was an english version of an old song of mine Sorri pra mim. To be honest, I'm very proud of this work as a whole.

One curiosity is that, sometime during the recordings, I came up with this expression "trying to fool destiny". I wondered if I might have been doing that: fooling an damned fate of mine which tried hard to prevent me from reaching happiness. As crazy as it may seem, I found it so nice that I decided that I would not only name the album but also a song after it. A couple of months later I managed to finish the song, which happens to be one of my favorites.

This album can be found in a lot of websites all over the world but I recommend you to buy it at CD Baby.

  

Trying to fool destiny - Japan (Production Dessinee - 2007)

A few differences from the original album. Due to the good sales of Trying to fool destiny in Japan, it was given new artwork, more adapted to the japanese market and three bonus tracks. It is a whole new edition, by label Production Dessinee, owned by Masao Maruyama. It also started being distributed to major record stores through out that country through Vivid Sound Japan.

As an independent artist, it was great to see my work gain bigger dimensions. Reviews and comments from japanese listeners made me think about how important for my career would be a tour in Japan. As far as I am concearned, more people got to know my work because of this new release. However, although I tried hard, I have never been able to perform anywhere in Japan.

This record can be easily found in Japan still today. If you are not from there, you may also found it in virtual stores from other countries.

  

Sine qua non - Japan (Production Dessinee - 2007)

During the year of 2007, I negotiated with japanese label Production Dessinee (the same one that released the japanese version of Trying to fool destiny) about the release of a brand new record. The main difference would be that this one would have not only songs in english but also in portuguese, being all of them songs of my authorship but this time with one single collaboration. Not mentioning that, this time, I would be paid to record an entire album of mine. Better, impossible. I called musicians among the best one in Rio de Janeiro to record with me. Most of them also had been present in my previous album but this time it was a whole different situation. The schedules were tighter and we were able to finish recordings in about a month (very fast, comparing to the eight months of Trying to fool destiny). The mixing and mastering of this album were pretty much based on the first one. I guess I was able to intentionally create a sound unity between them. Just like the first one, this album caused good impressions on listeners from Japan. It has been receiving positive reviews and comments from japanese on the internet. It can be easily bought in stores from Japan and virtual stores on the internet. My regret is that this record is still not distributed digitally.

 

Your love - Japan (Céleste Records - 2012)

During the year of 2009, Miyaki Toshie from label Céleste Records proposed to sign me for one record. We agreed upon the conditions and so I started to write and compose. This time, I decided to make an album mostly with songs in portuguese but the only song I composed in english became the CD title.

When I was ready to record, I called basically the same musicians that I worked with in the previous albums. The sound should be similar and I managed to do it. Although I was not in a hurry, I didn't have plenty of time to finish it and I wanted to release it as soon as possible. Nevertheless, the economy crisis delayed for years the release of this record. I had to excercise my patience and calmly wait for the right moment which has arrived.Your love has finally been released and sold in every major music store in Japan. The plan is sell it worldwide and digitally this time.

 

 

 

Buy his latest CD Your love at