The modifying power of Mamelo Sound System
The trio from São Paulo releases a daring debut CD, with guests from mangue beat bands and American rapper Afrika Bambaataa
Tom Cardoso
08/01/2001
The trio Mamelo Sound System do not believe that they are "going to happen in 2001", first of all, because the members do not regard themselves as band members and make a point about being only a production nucleus. Second, because each member has their own lives, different tastes, and nothing can guarantee the continuation of Mamelo as a project.
"We've always felt that this group thing, being around one another all the time, is very tiring and old", says Daniel Bozio, who, along with Rodrigo Audiolandro and Alexandre Basa, completes the creative structure of Mamelo, answering for the debut album, Mamelo Sound System
, released through the labels Y?Brazil and Gorila Hi-Fi.
The idea of the trio was to gather the greatest amount of friends in the CD, coming from varied musical backgrounds. They got studio hours for free and proceeded to call everybody up. There were rappers (Thaíde, DJ Hum, MC Rapine' Hood and KL Jay), mangue beat stars (part of the band Nação Zumbi, plus Bactéria, from Mundo Livre S/A), funk musicians (Paula Lima and the group SP Funk) and DJs (Marky and Nutz). American rapper Afrika Bambaataa was dragged down to the studio. "Rodrigo talked Bambaataa into participating with us. He loved it, and spent a long time telling us alien stories, and stuff", recalls Bozio.
The presence of talented guests bestowed a lot of charm on the record. Rap with a jazz accent. Funk and dub with drum'n'bass. Overuse of samples and scratches, reinforced by Paula Lima's attractive voice. All put together along with the three mamelos production experience. "Basa and I have small home studios; Rodrigo has a sampler. Many people think that it is enough to have technological resources at hand, but it's not quite like that. The whole process needs solid music, electronica and studio experience", says Bozio.
If anyone gets excited with Mamelo's debut CD and goes check their gig out, though, they're gonna be surprised: only one track from the CD is performed live. The show is a lot heavier, with strong hip hop tints - vocalist Rodrigo's favorite genre, although almost despised by the other two. Mamelo Sound System already have new material, which means that they are considering the possibility of putting out another CD soon.
"We've always felt that this group thing, being around one another all the time, is very tiring and old", says Daniel Bozio, who, along with Rodrigo Audiolandro and Alexandre Basa, completes the creative structure of Mamelo, answering for the debut album, Mamelo Sound System
, released through the labels Y?Brazil and Gorila Hi-Fi.
The idea of the trio was to gather the greatest amount of friends in the CD, coming from varied musical backgrounds. They got studio hours for free and proceeded to call everybody up. There were rappers (Thaíde, DJ Hum, MC Rapine' Hood and KL Jay), mangue beat stars (part of the band Nação Zumbi, plus Bactéria, from Mundo Livre S/A), funk musicians (Paula Lima and the group SP Funk) and DJs (Marky and Nutz). American rapper Afrika Bambaataa was dragged down to the studio. "Rodrigo talked Bambaataa into participating with us. He loved it, and spent a long time telling us alien stories, and stuff", recalls Bozio.
The presence of talented guests bestowed a lot of charm on the record. Rap with a jazz accent. Funk and dub with drum'n'bass. Overuse of samples and scratches, reinforced by Paula Lima's attractive voice. All put together along with the three mamelos production experience. "Basa and I have small home studios; Rodrigo has a sampler. Many people think that it is enough to have technological resources at hand, but it's not quite like that. The whole process needs solid music, electronica and studio experience", says Bozio.
If anyone gets excited with Mamelo's debut CD and goes check their gig out, though, they're gonna be surprised: only one track from the CD is performed live. The show is a lot heavier, with strong hip hop tints - vocalist Rodrigo's favorite genre, although almost despised by the other two. Mamelo Sound System already have new material, which means that they are considering the possibility of putting out another CD soon.