Roberto Menescal into the jazzy electronic Bossacucanova beat

"I'm pop, now, right?", Roberto Menescal joked, after learning that the reporter had listened to Brasilidade  , the album that he has recorded with the Bossacucanova producers-musicians and DJ. The writer of Barquinho, Você, Errinho À Toa (the three with Ronaldo Bôscoli) and other hits from the 1960s has dived into the jazzy electronic bossa, filled with house and drum'n'bass tints, with which his son Márcio, DJ Marcelinho da Lua and Alexandre Moreira have become known abroad. Menescal, by the way, chose the name of the album that was going to be called Bossacucanova Vol.2 (Vol. 1 came out in 1997). "My concept went like this: everything can be used, all types of electronica, as long as it sounds like it was made in Brazil", he says.

Brasilidade hits the stores next week. In the United States, it is going to be released on Six Degrees; in Japan (with a different cover), on King Records; in France, on Warner Jazz; in Spain, on Virgin and in the rest of Europe on Crammed Discs. Only G"D knows when it is coming out in Brazil and on which label. "Our last option is to release it on Cucamonga (an Albatroz label that released the first Bossacucanova disc)", says Da Lua. In June, the four artists will go on a European tour for one month, probably making a stop at the Summerstage fest in New York. The only reason why they won't take a longer tour is because of Menescal's schedule - he will soon be releasing a live album recorded with Wanda Sá and Marcos Valle (read the article).

The veteran musician has reinforced his connection to Bossacucanova. Not only the project was born in his studios, but he was also in charge of a dance-driven remake of his song Barquinho. That was the most successful track from Bossacucanova Vol.1 outside of Brazil. "I was told: do your thing and we'll do ours", he says. Shortly after, Menescal tested it during a show to celebrate bossa nova's 40 years: he hosted BCN onstage for a version of A Morte de um Deus de Sal (written with Bôscoli). Many liked what they heard - enough to make him rest assure that it was worth it to make the album.

On some of the tracks, Menescal recorded his acoustic guitar with a click, so that Márcio, Da Lua and Alexandre could wrap it up in beats and blips, later on. On other tracks, he improvised on his electric guitar over the beats assembled by the trio. The fact that he agreed on playing the instrument that he had abandoned for years is celebrated. "The electric guitar is a toy that I have always enjoyed playing with. I'm even studying it, a bit", he says, pointing out that it is quite a challenge to create melodies upon the beats.

Classics and new bossas
Brasilidade is filled with remakes of classic bossa nova songs, such as Telefone, Nós e o Mar, Rio, A Morte de um Deus de Sal (all by Menescal-Bôscoli), Água de Beber, Garota de Ipanema, Nanã and Surfboard, as well as Bye Bye Brasil (Menescal-Chico Buarque). But the label insisted that new songs be made for the album. The bossa master and BCN wrote three: the title track, plus Mais Perto do Mar and Guanabara. "The foreigners would say: you need new songs, you need percussion, house beats. And so we did Guanabara on request", reveals producer and bassist Márcio Menescal. On that track, his dad provided the melody for the ideas presented by the trio. "They had the project, but were missing a designer", says Roberto.

The empathy that Bossacucanova inspires guaranteed important guest appearances in the disc, which was recorded at the studio Barquinho, recently opened by Menescal on an island in Rio de Janeiro. Saxophonist Léo Gandelman appears on Telefone and Ed Motta lent his jazzy vocals to Garota de Ipanema. Other participations were shaped as samples taken from vinyl albums, in an attempt to give a vintage atmosphere to the disc. On Surfboard, for instance, Marcelinho da Lua decided to insert a sample full of scratchings and flangers. According to Menescal, assembling that track was the toughest job. The song written by Tom Jobim couldn't have been left out: "Tom told me that if he hadn't written that song, I would end up doing it", goes Menescal, who participated in the original recording of Surfboard.

Besides vinyl samples, natural ambience (the echoes were all created in rooms), vintage equipment and real string sections were other resources utilized on Brasilidade to soften the electronic coldness. "There are no programmed beats, only edited sounds", reveals Márcio Menescal. That's what made the great rhythmic variety possible. And the sound of the sea was taken from a sample of Barquinho, which was taken from a vinyl print of Bossacucanova Vol.1.

Menescal's and Bossacucanova's expectation in relation to Brasilidade is big. "Foreigners are into generation contrasts", claims the veteran musician. The draw back, according to him, is the difficulty of reproducing the album live - which is not impossible, except for the four guitars present on Surfboard. He and BCN are going to practice a lot for at least a month, prior to touring. "The technical evolution provides the musicians with new options. But what is going to validate our job is our ability to reproduce it", says Menescal. Willing to cultivate the contrast that attracts non-Brazilians, he reveals his greatest concern with the Bossacucanova shows: "What should I wear?" - although those who know him, also know that his style is maybe even more trendy than the rest of the trio's.