Zélia Duncan: going toward new sounds
Folk singer refreshes her music on Sortimento with new songwriters and musicians
Silvio Essinger
11/04/2001
Zélia Duncan is a "soft and smooth" voice in search of her identity. She is growing less interested in technique and vocal exhibitions and more attentive to the simplicity and good sense à la Suzane Vega. Sortimento 
, Zélia's first album on Universal Music, is an alternative route for what her fans got used to follow. "I may be a folk singer - and I'm proud of it - but I'm also Brazilian", she said during the press conference. "MPB is our treat."
By "our", one should read the generation to which she belongs. Songwriters and interpreters who are thirtysomething and appeared during the 1990s; people like Zeca Baleiro, Chico César, Paulinho Moska and Lenine. "That's because there were two teams in the 80s: MPB and rock", Zélia analyzes. "In the 90s, we felt more at home."
Sortimento is where the singer lets go of biased principles and gets together with different music partners. It is an attempt of breathing more freely after having made three albums (Zélia Duncan
, from 1994; Intimidade , from 1996; and Acesso , from 1998) with songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Christiann Oyens, who is currently playing with Lulu Santos' back up band. Only one track on Zélia's new album - Me Revelar - was written with him. "It is a classic Zélia-and-Christian tune", she admits.
Christian has produced four tracks on the new album, and that's about it. "We were going for different things", she explains. Zélia switched from "married girl" to swinger. "It was great to get a more detached view on our songs." She picked an Arnaldo Antunes song written with Pepeu Gomes (Alma). Rodrigo Maranhão (of the band Bangalafumenga) wrote the music for two of her lyrics, Chicken de Frango and Beleza Fácil. Fred Martins was her partner on Flores and Hóspede do Tempo. "I hate the idea that there's nothing good anymore, and there are no more songwriters", she protests. "I wanna know where they have been looking. I, for one, have found what I was looking for."
Rita Lee collaboration
Moving on with her list of "affairs", Nando Reis wrote the title track and John (of Pato Fu) wrote Todos os Dias. Other partners are not as unexpected, though. Zélia had written the music for Lee's Pagu (of the album 3001 ), and now, Rita wrote the music for Zélia's Desconforto. Itamar Assumpção is present on the opening track, Por Que Eu Não Pensei Nisso Antes?
Zélia considered using different producers, like Herbert Vianna had done on his latest solo disc, O Som do Sim . She fell in love with Beto Villares' production of the box set A Música do Brasil and Mestre Ambrósio's new album, Terceiro Samba . "He was going to produce three tracks and ended up doing eight", she says. Beto brought assorted musicians to the recording sessions - members of Mestre Ambrósio, Trio Mocotó (on the samba Na Hora da Sede), DJ Marco and rappers Johnny MC and Rappin' Hood (on Desconforto). "Today, there's a feel that everything has been done, already - that's why rap is so important", she defends. "Who's gonna say that a DJ is not an artist?"
Zélia, though, is not sympathetic to the commercial explosion of the funk made in Rio. "The rhythm is ok, but the lyrics suck." She believes the fire is going to consume itself in no time. "There's always going to be something that major labels will claim that the people enjoy. But what is nice and solid will always be there, too." Speaking of commercial possibilities, she swears that the new label did not interfere in Sortimento: "I'll take the blame on it, there were no spies in the studio. I'm too old for that, I'm 36", she says. In fact, she is about to celebrate 20 years in music, having stepped up on a stage for the first time at age 16, in 1981, in Brasília.
Stage format
The concerts of Sortimento kick off next month in São Paulo, and Zélia swears that she's not going to try and reproduce the album onstage - she will adapt the songs. Percussion and keyboards will share the space with bass, guitar, drums and sampler. "I wish to have Rodrigo Maranhão and the rappers onstage with me".
Although she's aware that her fans are not really keen on changes, Zélia is not concerned with wheter Sortimento will be well accepted by them. "They'll get used to it. Many of them were expecting a new Catedral [her first hit, a version of Tanita Tikaram's Cathedral], but then they heard me performing with Uakti [on Código de Acesso, of Acesso], and they liked it." So be prepared, because she's going through a rock phase, listening to oldies like Humble Pie, The Kinks, Thin Lizzy and The Who.
, Zélia's first album on Universal Music, is an alternative route for what her fans got used to follow. "I may be a folk singer - and I'm proud of it - but I'm also Brazilian", she said during the press conference. "MPB is our treat."By "our", one should read the generation to which she belongs. Songwriters and interpreters who are thirtysomething and appeared during the 1990s; people like Zeca Baleiro, Chico César, Paulinho Moska and Lenine. "That's because there were two teams in the 80s: MPB and rock", Zélia analyzes. "In the 90s, we felt more at home."
Sortimento is where the singer lets go of biased principles and gets together with different music partners. It is an attempt of breathing more freely after having made three albums (Zélia Duncan
, from 1994; Intimidade , from 1996; and Acesso , from 1998) with songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Christiann Oyens, who is currently playing with Lulu Santos' back up band. Only one track on Zélia's new album - Me Revelar - was written with him. "It is a classic Zélia-and-Christian tune", she admits.
Christian has produced four tracks on the new album, and that's about it. "We were going for different things", she explains. Zélia switched from "married girl" to swinger. "It was great to get a more detached view on our songs." She picked an Arnaldo Antunes song written with Pepeu Gomes (Alma). Rodrigo Maranhão (of the band Bangalafumenga) wrote the music for two of her lyrics, Chicken de Frango and Beleza Fácil. Fred Martins was her partner on Flores and Hóspede do Tempo. "I hate the idea that there's nothing good anymore, and there are no more songwriters", she protests. "I wanna know where they have been looking. I, for one, have found what I was looking for."Rita Lee collaboration
Moving on with her list of "affairs", Nando Reis wrote the title track and John (of Pato Fu) wrote Todos os Dias. Other partners are not as unexpected, though. Zélia had written the music for Lee's Pagu (of the album 3001
), and now, Rita wrote the music for Zélia's Desconforto. Itamar Assumpção is present on the opening track, Por Que Eu Não Pensei Nisso Antes?Zélia considered using different producers, like Herbert Vianna had done on his latest solo disc, O Som do Sim
. She fell in love with Beto Villares' production of the box set A Música do Brasil and Mestre Ambrósio's new album, Terceiro Samba . "He was going to produce three tracks and ended up doing eight", she says. Beto brought assorted musicians to the recording sessions - members of Mestre Ambrósio, Trio Mocotó (on the samba Na Hora da Sede), DJ Marco and rappers Johnny MC and Rappin' Hood (on Desconforto). "Today, there's a feel that everything has been done, already - that's why rap is so important", she defends. "Who's gonna say that a DJ is not an artist?" Zélia, though, is not sympathetic to the commercial explosion of the funk made in Rio. "The rhythm is ok, but the lyrics suck." She believes the fire is going to consume itself in no time. "There's always going to be something that major labels will claim that the people enjoy. But what is nice and solid will always be there, too." Speaking of commercial possibilities, she swears that the new label did not interfere in Sortimento: "I'll take the blame on it, there were no spies in the studio. I'm too old for that, I'm 36", she says. In fact, she is about to celebrate 20 years in music, having stepped up on a stage for the first time at age 16, in 1981, in Brasília.
Stage format
The concerts of Sortimento kick off next month in São Paulo, and Zélia swears that she's not going to try and reproduce the album onstage - she will adapt the songs. Percussion and keyboards will share the space with bass, guitar, drums and sampler. "I wish to have Rodrigo Maranhão and the rappers onstage with me".
Although she's aware that her fans are not really keen on changes, Zélia is not concerned with wheter Sortimento will be well accepted by them. "They'll get used to it. Many of them were expecting a new Catedral [her first hit, a version of Tanita Tikaram's Cathedral], but then they heard me performing with Uakti [on Código de Acesso, of Acesso], and they liked it." So be prepared, because she's going through a rock phase, listening to oldies like Humble Pie, The Kinks, Thin Lizzy and The Who.