Bangalafumenga: the sound of the streets of Rio de Janeiro
Band that brews typically carioca sounds like samba and funk comes up as a good bet for 2001, approved by artists like Fernanda Abreu and Zélia Duncan
Nana Vaz de Castro
06/04/2001
The name is strange. According to the dictionary, Bangalafumenga is a synonym to "a nobody". The diminutive “banga”, though, as their friends refer to the band, is a badly finished construction or the place where alcoholic beverage is made and consumed. The term was rescued by poet Chacal. “He retrieved it from a Orestes Barbosa book; it seems that bangalafumenga was a spot where music, samba and drumming took place, and these things were slightly forbidden early in the 20th century”, says Rodrigo Maranhão, vocalist, cavaquinho player and main writer with Banga.
Their history dates back to the carnival of 1998, when Chacal put together the project Bangalafumenga in Rio. Every week, there were guests like Lenine, Fernanda Abreu, Seu Jorge, Marcelo D2 and Walter Alfaiate, always accompanied by a group of young musicians interested in samba. The group eventually turned into a bloco (percussion group), and the bloco was turned into a band, with three percussionists (André Moreno, André Bava and Dudu Fuentes), a bassist (Thiago Di Sabbato) and Maranhão’s electrified cavaquinho, which works as a guitar, complete with the approrpiate effects.
Banga are quietly making their debut album. Some of the tracks have been recorded independently, but it is possible that the CD should be finished in some other fashion. “We’re having conversations with a few labels. We prefer small labels, so that we can sit down and talk to the people behind the music”, Maranhão says. Fear of majors? “Yes, a bit. We don’t want to be stuck inside the huge machine”, he explains.
Nonetheless, the recording sessions were momentarily interrupted so that the band could work on their live set, where the hard-to-tag music is tested. “People need to define the type of music and this is a difficult task, but I think it would be fair to say it is about drumming. Because there are different elements, such as the funk, which is very present but not our guideline. Drumming, on the other hand, is undoubtedly the guideline, here”, goes Maranhão. He points out that the mixing quality present in their music is very characteristic of the city: “We are from Rio, and that is definitive.”
Live performances have been helping establish Banga’s name. During the concerts, Maranhão met with Fernanda Abreu and Zélia Duncan. Fernanda wanted to record Rap do Real by the same time when Pedro Luís & A Parede were recording it on the album É Tudo 1 Real. So as to avoid repetition, they chose to write a new song together, producing Baile da Pesada, featured on Fernanda’s latest album, Entidade Urbana.
Zélia was also introduced to their music during a live concert, and has picked two of Banga’s songs for her upcoming album, due next week. Regardless of his success and a songwriter, Maranhão does not consider the possibility of a solo career: “I don’t think of anything without Banga, the recognition is coming with the group, I can’t separate this from that.” His songs, however, have been recorded by Verônica Sabino and Rita de Cássia (formerly known as Rita Peixoto). Just wait and see.
Their history dates back to the carnival of 1998, when Chacal put together the project Bangalafumenga in Rio. Every week, there were guests like Lenine, Fernanda Abreu, Seu Jorge, Marcelo D2 and Walter Alfaiate, always accompanied by a group of young musicians interested in samba. The group eventually turned into a bloco (percussion group), and the bloco was turned into a band, with three percussionists (André Moreno, André Bava and Dudu Fuentes), a bassist (Thiago Di Sabbato) and Maranhão’s electrified cavaquinho, which works as a guitar, complete with the approrpiate effects.
Banga are quietly making their debut album. Some of the tracks have been recorded independently, but it is possible that the CD should be finished in some other fashion. “We’re having conversations with a few labels. We prefer small labels, so that we can sit down and talk to the people behind the music”, Maranhão says. Fear of majors? “Yes, a bit. We don’t want to be stuck inside the huge machine”, he explains.
Nonetheless, the recording sessions were momentarily interrupted so that the band could work on their live set, where the hard-to-tag music is tested. “People need to define the type of music and this is a difficult task, but I think it would be fair to say it is about drumming. Because there are different elements, such as the funk, which is very present but not our guideline. Drumming, on the other hand, is undoubtedly the guideline, here”, goes Maranhão. He points out that the mixing quality present in their music is very characteristic of the city: “We are from Rio, and that is definitive.”
Live performances have been helping establish Banga’s name. During the concerts, Maranhão met with Fernanda Abreu and Zélia Duncan. Fernanda wanted to record Rap do Real by the same time when Pedro Luís & A Parede were recording it on the album É Tudo 1 Real. So as to avoid repetition, they chose to write a new song together, producing Baile da Pesada, featured on Fernanda’s latest album, Entidade Urbana.
Zélia was also introduced to their music during a live concert, and has picked two of Banga’s songs for her upcoming album, due next week. Regardless of his success and a songwriter, Maranhão does not consider the possibility of a solo career: “I don’t think of anything without Banga, the recognition is coming with the group, I can’t separate this from that.” His songs, however, have been recorded by Verônica Sabino and Rita de Cássia (formerly known as Rita Peixoto). Just wait and see.