Rafael Ramos grows up and produces new João Donato

Former MTV VJ turns 21 and conquers the pre-bossa artist with extensive curriculum

Silvio Essinger
10/04/2001
Rafael Ramos has long been involved with the music industry. In his early teens, he talked his father, João Augusto (current artistic director at Abril Music, back then doing the same job at EMI), into listening with benevolence to a tape from a band called Mamonas Assassinas. As a result, the debut album of the band that João had regarded as "a Raimundos rip-off" sold 2 million copies in little time.

Rafael recorded two albums with the teen rock band Baba Cósmica (on the first disc, he was playing the drums; on the second, he was doing vocals) and was a TV host, on the show Quiz MTV. Now, at age 21, the fun kid faces his first big challenge quite seriously: he is going to produce João Donato's first album featuring new songs in 15 years.

It may sound a bit crazy, but not that much, when one looks into Rafael's trajectory. He has already produced Los Hermanos' debut album (Los Hermanos 30'' excerpts ), plus the punk band Inocentes (O Barulho dos Inocentes), the reggae band Maskavo (), and rock bands Relespública (O Circo Está Armado 30'' excerpts ) and Video Hits (Registro Sonoro Oficial  30'' excerpts ).



Learning to go with the flow
With the recordings almost done and the mixing underway, Rafael takes time off to tell the story of the album, made at the renowned AR studio, in Rio. "I wanted the environment to be the best possible", the producer claims, informing that Donato recorded on a piano that faced a garden, just to keep things smooth. Very methodic, he doesn't hide that the both had trouble, because Donato is everything but methodic. "Donato is teaching me how to listen, feel, go with the flow", he says, recalling that the album should have been released in April ("But we've learned that there are no set dates with Donato").

Rafael recruited the best musicians available to accompany Donato: Jurim Moreira (drums), Jamil Joanes (bass) and Ricardo Silveira (guitar). Fábio Fonseca (keyboard) has made a guest appearance playing the Mini Moog and Clavinet. As a producer should, Rafael doesn't make too many revelations about the disc, but claims that it is going to be "more Brazilian and less jazzy", and that there are enough songs for 2 CDs.

What's more: Donato sings on all of the tracks, which can be bossa novas, salsas, mambos, rocks, funks and even drum'n'bass - but played with drums and piano. Concerned with the instrumental excellence, Rafael chose to avoid drum machines. "I wanted the sessions to have a feeling", he says, pointing out that Donato seems especially creative and productive, right now . "I was so lucky", he says. The guy felt at ease to update the master, giving him Dave Matthews Band, Jungle Brothers and D'Angelo albums - which Donato devours.

Hardcore past
Lately, Rafael has decided to dedicate his time solely to being a producer and to DeckDisc. So much so that he dropped out of the MTV programme and out of college. Prior to that, he had dropped out of Tamborete Entertainment, a hard rock label that is now managed by Leonardo Panço, guitarist with the band Jason. Rafael had produced both Jason albums, Odeia Eu (30'' excerpts , 1998) and Eu Sou Quase Fã de Mim Mesmo (30'' excerpts , 2000) on Tamborete.

While the band tours around alternative dumps in Europe, Rafael remains in Rio, producing albums. Among these, the new one by Leoni (former Kid Abelha), the new Maskavo and Bois de Gerião (on BMG). And he keeps an eye on new artists that could join DeckDisc's cast. "I attend all of the underground and mainstream concerts, and I always go backstage", he swears.