A New Voice in BRock
When Nila Branco was 15 years old, she and her sister moved from Abaeté (Minas Gerais) to Goiânia (capital of the state Goiás; 210 km southwest of Brasília) to study and to work. With a repertoire of rock covers, Nila also performed in various bars and as an opening act for bands like Raimundos. It earned her enough money to record and release her first album independently in 1997 (Nila Branco). At that time she was also one of the leaders of the GO-Rock movement, to promote the more contemporary music scene of the city. Goiânia was mainly known as a city far away from where the action is, the countryside, so to speak. With GO-Rock another image was pursued. Thus the name of Nila Branco spread. After moving to São Paulo Nila was offered a record deal with Abril Music, which led to her second well received album Parte II (2002). One of the songs on that album, “Diversão,” was used in the TV series “Desejos de Mulher” (Rede Globo), making Nila’s fame even bigger.
That Nila often goes far to get what she wants can be illustrated by another song of that second album, “Eu Sei,” written by the late Renato Russo, composer/singer of the legendary band Legião Urbana. His record company stood in the way to allow Nila to include the song on her first album. Nila fought back and got the authorization from Russo’s parents. So she could include the song on her second album.
The emphasis of Nila’s music is on rock. She names the big rock stars and bands as her main influences, Raul Seixas, Rita Lee, Legião Urbana, Os Paralamas and Barão Vermelho. After hearing this new third album on EMI, Tudo o Que Eu Quis, I would take the liberty of adding the Stones and Rod Stewart & the Faces as well. Some of the songs recall in that direction of the great British rock scene of the 70ies, like the album’s opener “Dessa Vez” and most certainly “Pra Ninguém.” However, this could also be because of guitarist Tuco Marcondes, who clearly left his mark on this album. He’s responsible for all the arrangements and is featured on guitar as well as on keyboards. His solos are strong and direct, while his accompanying chords form a good match with Nila Branco’s pure rock voice. Drummers Kuki Stolarski and Maguinho switch places, bassist is Fernando Nunes and producer Guto Campos is the percussionist. For this release Nila chose compositions by Brazil’s main rock stars like Lulu Santos, Alvin L, Zeca Baleiro, Paulo Miklos (Titãs), Nando Reis and Rodrigo Amarante (Los Hermanos). It’s a well-balanced album with some beautiful rock ballads (“Sentimental,” “A Nossa Música” and “Skap”). The title song is a Nila Branco translation of “Frances Limon,” a hit song by the Argentinean band Enanitos Verdes. “Seus Olhos” is a song in which Nila can fully demonstrate her rock skills. The voice is absolutely perfect for the music, very strong and never nervous. On the contrary, it’s more a laid back voice, doing justice to the masterful compositions. The album closes with a somewhat oriental arrangement of Lulu Santos’s classic “Areias Escaldantes.” Towards the end the sitar unfortunately invites Nila to diverge a bit from her own style by creating some middle-eastern sounds. But it’s only a very small spot on a fantastic rock album on which Nila Branco conquers herself a place in the Brazilian rock (BRock) scene.
ALBUM INFORMATION
Nila Branco
Tudo o Que Eu Quis
EMI 864826-2 52004 (2005)
Time: 39’24”
Tracks:
- Dessa Vez (Nando Reis)
- Up Grade (Marcelo Rubens Paiva – Kiko Zumbianchi)
- Tudo o Que Eu Quis (Horacio Hernandez Cantero)
- Hoje (Paulo Miklos)
- Sentimental (Rodrigo Amarante)
- Seus Olhos (Pit Passarell)
- Tanto Faz (Tito Bahiense – Fernando Nunes – Marcelo Szabo)
- A Nossa Música (Kiko Zumbianchi)
- Prá Ninguém (Alvin L)
- Skap (Zeca Baleiro)
- Areias Escaldantes (Lulu Santos – Nelson Motta)
