I suppose I should summarise 2014 which passed rather
quickly. Maybe because I did a lot of what I love – music!! According to my
maths I did 30 gigs last year!! 23 with my Polka Nova duo (or occasionally
trio), 4 with London School of Samba (Unidos de Londres), 2 with the few vocal
group, one with a vocal choir for the EFG Jazz Festival and one with Guilherme
Tavares, a Brazilian musician living in London. Let's see if I can beat this in
2015!
Now, the news I’ve been waiting to share with you – I’m
going to Brazil next week!!! It’s been almost three years since my last 4-month
trip so it was long due. This time I can’t stay that much because of work
commitments, but it’s still going to be three weeks! I’m excited, even though I’m
not planning anything outrageous – just a quiet time with friends and my BF’s family
in São Paulo. We bought the tickets back in September and now I can count the
days left to my departure. The lucky BF is already there, enjoying the
apparently sizzling hot weather. For me, it’s 8 more days. Let the countdown* begin!!!
Oh, and may you all have a Happy New Year, filled with smiles
that are real, friends that care, prizes that you deserve, good deeds that you
do and music that you enjoy!
*Contagem regressiva is countdown in Portuguese - mystery solved!
I can’t believe I actually didn’t write anything for the whole of 2013! I had a few ideas but there was so much going on in my professional life that blog writing was the last thing on my mind. Originally, 'the Brazilian dream' was meant to tell the story of my time in Brazil, but my everyday life in London is still very much “Brazilian”. As my BF is from São Paulo, I speak more Portuguese than my mother tongue to the point where I’ve begun mixing them up. Not surprisingly, my mind thinks Portuguese is on the same priority level as Polish and if you woke me up in the middle of the night I am not really sure which one I would speak, given that I also teach English…
Linguistic confusion aside, musically I can’t get more Brazilian than through samba and bossa nova; the two genres that identify my singing style. So folks, here’s a glimpse of what I do, never mind that I’m revealing my identity once and for all. Anonymous blog writing is so 2013…
One of the other good memories from Brazil, and specifically from São Paulo, is a music show my BF took me to in December 2011. I'm not a particularly big fan of instrumental music, but having seen this one, and been exposed to tons of Yamandu Costa and Raphael Rabello (because of my guitarist BF), I might be considered a convert in this respect.
The star of the night, though quite a modest one, was Swami Junior, a guitarist, bassist, arranger, composer and producer. Apparently, he is now one of the most sought after Brazilian musicians! On December 12, when he performed at SESC Consolação, his band was formed of the following members: Swami Jr. (7-string guitar), Alexandre Ribeiro (clarinet), Douglas Alonso (percussion), with Chico Pinheiro (guitar) and Marco Pereira (guitar) as guest musicians.
When they started playing, I felt like in a dream, being transported somewhere to cloud 9 with the wonderful arrangements. I’ve got this particular, physical reaction when I experience something truly magic that tickles my musical taste; I get goose bumps. So that night, it must have looked as if I was cold, but I was simply wrapped by the veal of exquisitely delicate, yet precisely placed sounds. At times though, I was brutally brought down to earth by a neighbour from hell.
This guy in his late 50s, sat next to me, stretched his legs onto a seat in front of him as if he was about to watch a football match and… would not stop tossing and turning, visibly still uncomfortable. I tried not to pay attention to him so as not to lose touch with the heavenly music. Suddenly, the man got up, walked along the back wall (looking for the exit?), a bunch of keys ringing unmercifully by his side. I winced once or twice, but was determined to enjoy the show. He came back to his seat. And started teeth-kissing. Not in a disapproving way, rather as a means to remove hell knows what from his gurgling throat. At times like these I wish I had a gun. He was obviously enjoying himself though as he would shout an out-of-place “Bravo!” each time a track finished. The last straw was when his mobile phone rang (of course!), luckily for him - in a pause between songs, at which sign he left the hall. Luckily for him.
I was able to enjoy the rest of the concert, undistracted and, frankly, I had never heard a better quality sound at any show in Europe. I must admit, and will probably reiterate in the future, that São Paulo’s music scene is truly impressive. And so are its music venues.
So here, a fragment of this exact show, in a neighbour-from-hell-free version, especially for you. (filmed by sesctv) Sound by Rafael Valim.
The hardest thing is to start. It’s taken me over two weeks! But here I am, in Brazil, as if you hadn’t already guessed, making my dream come true. This is not the first time I’ve come here. Earlier this year I landed in Rio de Janeiro, thrilled by the perspective of experiencing all the samba, the sun and the beaches I had longed for. It was my first month in Brazil and I knew it wouldn’t be enough.
Thanks to a very fortunate twist in my life, on November 22nd I set foot here again and this time for a lot longer; nearly four months! You may wonder how I managed to do it. Well, I quit my job, ditched my flat (and my lovely flatmate), packed my bags and took the plane. Simple. I’ve got some savings and plan to play the rest by ear. Sounds crazy? Nice to meet you. My name is Syl (a big hello to those who know me). And in this blog I will be describing the most interesting aspects of my trip.
I’m going to spend most of my time in São Paulo. It may not be the most beautiful place in Brazil, with an infinity of tall, mostly ugly buildings, separated by a web of roads and strings of cars, but let’s not judge the book by its cover. São Paulo is famous for its cultural life – museums, clubs, samba nights, as well as gastronomy, supposedly better than in the most cosmopolitan city I know – London. So, due to my personal inclinations, expect a lot of observations about music and... food. Ready?
