Paula Lima: funk-samba-soul and superproduction
Vocalist with Funk Como Le Gusta makes solo debut in good company
Silvio Essinger
17/04/2001
When she started devising her debut solo album, São Paulo-based vocalist Paula Lima wanted a good studio, a good producer and good musicians. But É Isso Aí 
, coming out now on the label Regata (owned by poet Bernardo Vilhena), turned out better than expected. Recorded in some of the finest studios is Brazil, produced by the hyped Max de Castro and featuring guests like Ed Motta, Gerson King Combo and Ivo Meirelles (of Funk'n'Lata), the vocalist that emerged from the band Funk Como Le Gusta gets as close as possible to what could be regarded as a funk-samba-soul superproduction. "It is like a dream", she says.
Aged 30, Paula believes that everything has its moment in life. "I could have made a solo album before", she claims. Her career started out in 1992, when she was a Law student and joined the dance-music-attitude group Unidade Móvel. The group would originate the acid jazz band Unidade Bop, who put out the album Quebrando o Gelo do Clube in 1994. At the same time, the singer was performing with the group Grêmio Recreativo Amigos do Samba, Rock, Funk e Suol, led by Skowa (ex-Skowa & A Máfia). The group recorded two tracks on Jorge Ben Jor's 23, in 1993. But Paula would only meet with the master again a few years later. He gave her the song A Paz Dançando na Avenida, featured on É Isso Aí.
In 1996, Paula recorded Sr. Tempo Bom
, on Thaíde & DJ Hum's Preste Atenção (1996). She would continue to appear on rap albums in the next years. Shortly after her participation in Thaíde's disc, she joined the funk band Zomba. By that time, she met with guitarist and producer BiD, who was starting the project Funk Como Le Gusta. "I started out making guest appearances and eventually became a member". Paula appears on the first (and only, so far) Funk Como Le Gusta album, Roda de Funk , from 1999. "I have learned and grown a lot from performing with the band", she says. Her very first solo moment, though, the song Margem da Pele , appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Amores Possíveis.
Recording in Rio and São Paulo
Paula Lima met with Bernardo Vilhena when she was singing with Unidade Móvel - and he immediately invited her to participate on a TV show he was hosting at the time - her, not the band. "Bernardo always wanted to see me developing a solo project", she acknowledges. After working briefly with the label Trama, he decided to start his own label, and the first thing he did was to invite Paula to make her solo disc, allowing her to choose producers, repertoire and studios. She decided to record in São Paulo and in Rio, where she had made friends with musicians like Seu Jorge, Zé Ricardo (co-writer of É Tão Bom, with Paula), Max Vianna (son of Djavan and writer of Sai Daqui Tristeza) and Sandra de Sá. Another master of Brazilian soul, Gerson King Combo shared the vocals with Paula on É Tão Bom.
É Isso Aí indicates that it is now time that she made her commitment to music. "I majored in Law in 1996. I come from a very traditional family and nobody wanted me to become a performer", she says. "I never performed in nightclubs, so I was very lucky to meet the musicians I have met." Paula's home was a musical one, too: her parents would listen to Glenn Miller and Martinho da Vila, an uncle would come up with Isaac Hayes and Beth Carvalho, while some cousin brought in Kool & The Gang and Commodores.
But Paula's greatest finding in her childhood was Michael Jackson - Off The Wall remains as her "morning CD". In her teen years, she started listening to samba-rock. "Samba-rock is now becoming cult, people ask 'what rhtythm is that?', but to me, it's no news. I'm glad it has gotten its glamour back", she says. Paula does not see a problem in looking up to the old school in Brazilian pop: "In music, everything is transformation and nothing is creation, there's just seven notes. But we can always add something."
, coming out now on the label Regata (owned by poet Bernardo Vilhena), turned out better than expected. Recorded in some of the finest studios is Brazil, produced by the hyped Max de Castro and featuring guests like Ed Motta, Gerson King Combo and Ivo Meirelles (of Funk'n'Lata), the vocalist that emerged from the band Funk Como Le Gusta gets as close as possible to what could be regarded as a funk-samba-soul superproduction. "It is like a dream", she says.Aged 30, Paula believes that everything has its moment in life. "I could have made a solo album before", she claims. Her career started out in 1992, when she was a Law student and joined the dance-music-attitude group Unidade Móvel. The group would originate the acid jazz band Unidade Bop, who put out the album Quebrando o Gelo do Clube
in 1994. At the same time, the singer was performing with the group Grêmio Recreativo Amigos do Samba, Rock, Funk e Suol, led by Skowa (ex-Skowa & A Máfia). The group recorded two tracks on Jorge Ben Jor's 23, in 1993. But Paula would only meet with the master again a few years later. He gave her the song A Paz Dançando na Avenida, featured on É Isso Aí.In 1996, Paula recorded Sr. Tempo Bom
, on Thaíde & DJ Hum's Preste Atenção (1996). She would continue to appear on rap albums in the next years. Shortly after her participation in Thaíde's disc, she joined the funk band Zomba. By that time, she met with guitarist and producer BiD, who was starting the project Funk Como Le Gusta. "I started out making guest appearances and eventually became a member". Paula appears on the first (and only, so far) Funk Como Le Gusta album, Roda de Funk , from 1999. "I have learned and grown a lot from performing with the band", she says. Her very first solo moment, though, the song Margem da Pele , appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Amores Possíveis.Recording in Rio and São Paulo
Paula Lima met with Bernardo Vilhena when she was singing with Unidade Móvel - and he immediately invited her to participate on a TV show he was hosting at the time - her, not the band. "Bernardo always wanted to see me developing a solo project", she acknowledges. After working briefly with the label Trama, he decided to start his own label, and the first thing he did was to invite Paula to make her solo disc, allowing her to choose producers, repertoire and studios. She decided to record in São Paulo and in Rio, where she had made friends with musicians like Seu Jorge, Zé Ricardo (co-writer of É Tão Bom, with Paula), Max Vianna (son of Djavan and writer of Sai Daqui Tristeza) and Sandra de Sá. Another master of Brazilian soul, Gerson King Combo shared the vocals with Paula on É Tão Bom.
É Isso Aí indicates that it is now time that she made her commitment to music. "I majored in Law in 1996. I come from a very traditional family and nobody wanted me to become a performer", she says. "I never performed in nightclubs, so I was very lucky to meet the musicians I have met." Paula's home was a musical one, too: her parents would listen to Glenn Miller and Martinho da Vila, an uncle would come up with Isaac Hayes and Beth Carvalho, while some cousin brought in Kool & The Gang and Commodores.
But Paula's greatest finding in her childhood was Michael Jackson - Off The Wall remains as her "morning CD". In her teen years, she started listening to samba-rock. "Samba-rock is now becoming cult, people ask 'what rhtythm is that?', but to me, it's no news. I'm glad it has gotten its glamour back", she says. Paula does not see a problem in looking up to the old school in Brazilian pop: "In music, everything is transformation and nothing is creation, there's just seven notes. But we can always add something."