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London and NYC Club and Concert Listings Carioca and Conscious - O Rappa Interviewer/Translator: Damian Platt Photographers: Damian Platt and Marcos Moret On Friday 18 June Kentish Town was taken over by a horde of dedicated fans who had all come to see one of Brazil's most popular bands, O Rappa, give their first ever solo concert in the UK. The place was partying in that way that only Brazilians know how, as hundreds came to fight off homesickness and enjoy this special one-off bash at The Forum promoted by Jungle Drums magazine. O Rappa are different to many of the Brazilian acts that come to the UK in as much as they have plenty of attitude (no croony nu-bossa slush here, for once!) and are not afraid to tackle social and political questions head on. For O Rappa being social activists is equally as important as being musicians. Their sound is a powerful and unique rock/rap/dub fusion which, combined with their honest and committed socio-political outlook, has struck a chord with millions of fans across the formidable length and breadth of the country. Coming from Rio their songs detail much of the impact that the absurd and crippling levels of violence and corruption that reign in the city have on the day to day lives of Cariocas (inhabitants of Rio). I saw them perform in Rio's Canecao in 2002 - a breathtaking and energetic performance. And I can happily say that I wasn't disappointed in North London two years later on, the atmosphere and their searing rendition of Jimi Hendrix's Hey Joe being both worth the trip across the city alone. In the afternoon before the show I also got the chance to speak to the lead singer of the group, Falcão, in a blustery car park underneath Parliament Hill and London's grey clouds. You arrived in London yesterday? We arrived in London yesterday and before that we visited Scotland. Did you like it there? It was wicked, the castle and everything. Castles aren't very common in Brazil (!) so it's nice for us to be able to visit such places. But we also came to play, which has made us very happy. Is it the first time that you've played here in the UK? We played for the first time at the Reading festival. Playing there was a big moment for the band, because we had just finished mastering our album Lado B Lado A in a studio in Bath in 1999. And as Peter Gabriel was recording the album Egg there at the time we got to know him. We've since played once at WOMAD, but this is our first time back since that. So this visit now is something of a lightening trip? Yes, what makes us happy is playing. The important thing for us is to play, expressing our art and what is in our hearts. How would you describe O Rappa to an English person that has not heard of you, given that Brazilian styles here that are more well known are Bossa, MPB, and so on? I would describe us a band that has been around in Brazil for years, defending social policies and doing voluntary work. We're a band that tries to play in as many places as possible so that the fans can understand that yes, we play music, but also that we're here to do things that politicians aren't doing. I think that the English public might find our sound similar to Asian Dub Foundation - it's very important that even if they can't understand the language, people understand how seriously we take our role as singers and that we are a band that sings from the heart. We don't adopt the attitude of – how can I put it – liars or hypocrites. Our position is that of a band who carry in our hearts the fact that we come from a Third World country, that we suffer from hardships - especially coming from the state of Rio de Janeiro, which is going through one of the longest civil wars in the world. These are things that you feel on the street - we don't come from rich areas, we come from backgrounds in the suburbs, and we always try to be close to those people that try to be more than just a band, like Asian Dub Foundation, who have a social and voluntary outlook, and are activists. In Rio we work closely to Afroreggae [A cultural NGO that aims primarily to give young people from poor backgrounds a cultural training and focus to draw them away from crime and violence www.afroreggae.com.br - Ed.]. Our percussionist actually comes from projects Afroreggae started eight years ago. And since then O Rappa has always been one of those Brazilian groups present in the community that goes back for workshops. We're always going back to the community with the aim of stimulating art, in a community that has been torn apart by violence. In Vigario Geral a massacre took place in 1993, an event known all over the world [a favela in the North of Rio where 23 innocent civilians were killed in an attack by a police death squad – Ed.]. Whenever something sad happens we always do what we can to use art to survive through it. We've never raised a flag for any political party, and we've always defended the right to create art. What do you think of the music scene in Brazil at the moment? Are there any groups that you particularly like? There are plenty of people putting out good stuff who aren't getting radio airplay. For example there are some kids in the Northeastern scene called Sonic and Junior, an alternative sound which is really good. There's also Nacão Zumbi who have a marvellous sound. A university group who mix poetry with samba called Os Hermanos. There's a good bunch of people. The independent scene is strong at the moment, and there have never been so many opportunities to participate in shows. There have always been one or two big bands at festivals and big concerts, but now they're also putting on stages for newer, less well-known acts. At the time when O Rappa began, you heard a whole lot of Axé in Brazil, a lot of lambada, and it was very difficult for us to play in big places. So we had to work our way up very slowly playing in small venues that support alternative music. That's the way we won over the public, which is how we like it. We didn't get famous by trying to be something we weren't, or by being played on the radio a lot, which is why we have built up the strong body of work that we've got today. And now you're busy every weekend, travelling all over Brazil? More or less every weekend, across the country. I just heard that we're booked every Saturday and Sunday night until February. At every show the contractor makes a contribution, which O Rappa matches, and this builds throughout the year, with more help from the fans who come to see us and buy CDs and shirts. By the end of the year we have a sum that we can give out to some NGOs, giving them a quantity of money in order to help them carry on with their work. We work with a large development NGO in Rio called FASE that puts us in touch with the smaller NGOs that receive the donations. There's been a lot in the international media about Rio in recent months - drug wars and so on. What's the situation like at the moment - has it been getting worse? I think its because of political negligence in the past and a lack of policies in terms of health, housing, and education. Because of this the authorities have been accumulating debts towards the people for years and years. Nowadays the situation has become so serious that people don't believe in anyone at all. The few politicians who manage to get themselves voted in do so by deceiving people, giving things out, and making promises. Rio has been through difficult moments in the past but this moment is particularly complicated because the trouble starts right at the top and the negative effects are trickling down to the people. What's going on? The different authorities in charge of the city [Ed: as Brazil is a federation each state has its own government] – the mayor, the public security secretary, and the governor – don't get on, and where there is discord there is a general weakening. And because of that weakness people are in danger. The police was already corrupt but now that the three principal authorities in the city don't get on, it has become even more corrupt. And what generates the drug traffic is the arrival of drugs. To give you a statistic, each month more or less 800 ships enter and leave the port of Rio, and only ten are ever searched. While all this is going on, the population continues without health, housing, education, sanitation...anything. So then what happens, what gives people easy money? Selling drugs - just the same as anywhere else in the world. If someone is stuck in a rut and he doesn't have anything to live off, he either has to put up with the situation or he does what he can to get something. And he could die in the process, perhaps leaving behind a wife and some kids, which means more kids without a dad. It's not a question of people robbing each other - "I'm pissed off so I'm going to rob you!" It's looking at the television and seeing that they the politicians have been robbing millions. Could be yesterday, today, a minute ago, this afternoon - the politicians are rich driving their imported cars and so on. Just now in Peru, the population of a city decided that the mayor had been robbing them, and they caught him in the act of trying to escape with what he could, and he was surrounded by a mob who lynched him. I live in a Third World country, and the mentality of O Rappa is a Third World mentality. But I still can't get my head round the fact that someone needs to rob so many millions. He doesn't steal a thousand or a million - he robs 100 million-plus. People see this on the television, and those that are armed then go out and steal from anyone. The problem in Brazil has always been from the top down - it's always been oppression, oppression, and now when it's supposed to have stopped, with the military dictatorship over, you've got governors, mayors, and all the other politicians taking and stealing. And we have to live with this. With thanks to Jungle Drums, Cristiny and Falcão. Abraços, parabens pelo trabalho e obrigado! Note: Jungle Drums - is a relatively new UK-based magazine on Brazilian culture that aims to promote cultural cohesion. It's published in both Portuguese and English, and it's free, so if you see it, pick one up. RELATED LINKS: O Rappa - official website Jungle Drums The Forum Buy O Rappa's Instinto Coletivo Ao Vivo at Amazon UK (CD)  | US (CD) Buy O Rappa's Lado B Lado A at Amazon US (CD) Buy O Rappa's O Rappa at Amazon US (CD) Buy O Rappa's Mundi at Amazon UK (CD)  | US (CD) PUBLISHED: Sunday 4 July 2004 More features EMAIL UPDATES! Do you want to receive Know The Ledge update emails? Click here to sign up!	::: RELATED LINKS O Rappa - official website Jungle Drums The Forum More Features