Wanderléa records for the first time in 9 years
Her new album shall feature duets with Roberto Carlos and Erasmo
Marco Antonio Barbosa
24/05/2001
Roberto Carlos has just recorded his Unplugged; Erasmo has just released Pra Falar de Amor. In order to complete the return of jovem guarda’s "golden trio", only Wanderléa was missing. But her comeback is nearer than you think: the singer is ready to start recording again, counting on a little help from Roberto Carlos and Erasmo Carlos.
"This project was being planned by the three of us for a long while. Roberto had told me that, as soon as he furnished his studio, he would invite me to cut a record. And he has fulfilled his promise", Wanderléa says. "But too many sad things happened: Roberto lost Maria Rita (his wife died late in 1999). And my own mother died on the same day as Maria Rita... so we postponed it", she explains. The new album hasn’t yet been named, and is going to end a period of almost 10 years without any new discs – her last career album, Te Amo, was released in 1992.
The album will be recorded at the Amigos Records studios, and should come out on the homonym label (also owned by Roberto Carlos and distributed on Sony). Wanderléa recalls: "Originally, Roberto should be the producer, but he declined. Nonetheless, he is very excited about the project." It is worth mentioning that, in spite of a 40-year-old friendship, Wanderléa, Roberto and Erasmo have never recorded together. "We have always been very close indeed, but we’ve never had the opportunity to be in studio together", the singer claims.
Her "romantic rebel" days are over, though. "I want to get rid of the Wandeca [her nickname] stereotype. I am so over it", she says. But Wanderléa knows that it is hard to get rid of that persona – especially after having been away from the spotlight for so long. "I spent the ‘90s playing concerts with my old hits, like Pare o Casamento and Prova de Fogo. But I want to do something different, now. I am picking simple songs", she says.
The only confirmed track, so far, is Canção para Leonardo, a previously unreleased ballad that Wanderléa wrote for her son (dead at age 2, in 1984). "I wrote it for Leo when he was still alive", she remembers. Besides the tribute to her son, the eternal jovem guarda star should count on other family members: "I would like my two teenager daughters – Jade, aged 14, and Yasmin, aged 16 – to be on the record, singing and playing the guitar", she reveals.
Wanderléa will have to face at least one difficult task so as to have the album made according to her wishes: Dado Villa-Lobos and Marcelo Bonfá’s (guitarist and drummer with Legião Urbana) possible resistance. The singer intends to record the song Pais e Filhos, a hit from the group led by Renato Russo. "I know it isn’t easy to get permission to record Legião Urbana’s songs, that they won’t let just anyone record them", Wanderléa says. "But I’m sure that Renato [Russo] would approve". The singer remembers the only time she ever met with Renato, in 1992. "It was cathartic, I have never forgotten. He spotted me, ran up to give me a hug and we spinned in the air."
Year 2001 should bring more new aspects to Wanderléa’s career: her debut as a writer, at age 54, with the book Soltando os Laços. "Although it has been written under the writer’s perspective, it isn’t a memoirs book or a biography", she says, adding that it is rather a "collection of insights on life". And she finishes: "I used to be afraid to print it, people could think that I am retiring from the music business. But I have written forever, I’m very much into philosophy."
"This project was being planned by the three of us for a long while. Roberto had told me that, as soon as he furnished his studio, he would invite me to cut a record. And he has fulfilled his promise", Wanderléa says. "But too many sad things happened: Roberto lost Maria Rita (his wife died late in 1999). And my own mother died on the same day as Maria Rita... so we postponed it", she explains. The new album hasn’t yet been named, and is going to end a period of almost 10 years without any new discs – her last career album, Te Amo, was released in 1992.
The album will be recorded at the Amigos Records studios, and should come out on the homonym label (also owned by Roberto Carlos and distributed on Sony). Wanderléa recalls: "Originally, Roberto should be the producer, but he declined. Nonetheless, he is very excited about the project." It is worth mentioning that, in spite of a 40-year-old friendship, Wanderléa, Roberto and Erasmo have never recorded together. "We have always been very close indeed, but we’ve never had the opportunity to be in studio together", the singer claims.
Her "romantic rebel" days are over, though. "I want to get rid of the Wandeca [her nickname] stereotype. I am so over it", she says. But Wanderléa knows that it is hard to get rid of that persona – especially after having been away from the spotlight for so long. "I spent the ‘90s playing concerts with my old hits, like Pare o Casamento and Prova de Fogo. But I want to do something different, now. I am picking simple songs", she says.
The only confirmed track, so far, is Canção para Leonardo, a previously unreleased ballad that Wanderléa wrote for her son (dead at age 2, in 1984). "I wrote it for Leo when he was still alive", she remembers. Besides the tribute to her son, the eternal jovem guarda star should count on other family members: "I would like my two teenager daughters – Jade, aged 14, and Yasmin, aged 16 – to be on the record, singing and playing the guitar", she reveals.
Wanderléa will have to face at least one difficult task so as to have the album made according to her wishes: Dado Villa-Lobos and Marcelo Bonfá’s (guitarist and drummer with Legião Urbana) possible resistance. The singer intends to record the song Pais e Filhos, a hit from the group led by Renato Russo. "I know it isn’t easy to get permission to record Legião Urbana’s songs, that they won’t let just anyone record them", Wanderléa says. "But I’m sure that Renato [Russo] would approve". The singer remembers the only time she ever met with Renato, in 1992. "It was cathartic, I have never forgotten. He spotted me, ran up to give me a hug and we spinned in the air."
Year 2001 should bring more new aspects to Wanderléa’s career: her debut as a writer, at age 54, with the book Soltando os Laços. "Although it has been written under the writer’s perspective, it isn’t a memoirs book or a biography", she says, adding that it is rather a "collection of insights on life". And she finishes: "I used to be afraid to print it, people could think that I am retiring from the music business. But I have written forever, I’m very much into philosophy."