Notes
A Rainbow of sounds and styles Brazilian singer Cintia Rodriguez is a Carioca in heart and soul. Even if she lives in Europe since 22 years, the warming sunrays of Rio de Janeiro continue to influence her music. After having sung with several bands -Lou Bega (Mambo N°5), as backing vocal for Anastacia, Lara Fabian and Amanda Marshal- and appeared in numerous videoclips, she is ready to break through with her first full-CD 'Arco Iris' (Rainbow) on which she displays her varied musical interests, like bossa nova and samba, jazz and blues, reggae and funk. The idea of recording her first album takes shape when meeting Sierra Leone singer Bai Kamara Jr. "Bai has such a beautiful voice, I was overwhelmed and went to talk to him after one of his concerts. Bai told me that he intended to further develop his skills as a producer. As I was precisely looking for a producer, I caught his interest and we started to work at once." Rodriguez is ecstatic when talking about her work with Kamara Jr. "We were a perfect match from a musical point of view, as if work just got done by itself. On some afternoons we composed three songs in a row ! Besides being a producer Kamara Jr. sings on 2 tracks. The marvellous blues timbre of Kamara Jr. and the Brazilian warmth of Cintia's voice make an unbeatable twosome. Bluesette 'Arco Iris' is a well-groomed album; you'll notice Kamara Jr.'s touch, but also the ambition of Cintia Rodriguez. 'Arco Iris' was recorded with excellent musicians both from Rio and Brussels, such as Osman Martins (cavaquinho, a small string instrument, similar to a guitar), Renato Martins (percussion) and Claudio Rocha (saxophone). "The title, 'Rainbow', refers to the diversity of the album : you'll discover pop, reggae, samba, blues, lounge... It is highly eclectic," says the singer with a broad smile on her face. "I have composed 10 songs, three are from Bai and then of course there is Toots' 'Bluesette'." Cintia Rodriguez met Toots Thielemans for the first time when the Embassy of Brazil asked her to sing during the ceremony at which the Belgian Jazz Legend was handed over the medal of Honorary Citizen of Brazil. "Toots has recorded several albums with Brazilian artists. I very well remember the album 'Aquarela do Brasil' that he recorded with the famous Brazilian singer Elis Regina. Elis was my idol when I was a kid. It was a tremendous honour for me to record 'Bluesette' together with Toots". Cintia took care of the arrangements on this splendid version of 'Bluesette', with Toots Thielemans on harmonica. Funk carioca Besides 'Bluesette' the album contains a couple of other love songs, but Rodriguez is also able to show a more concerned, critical side of herself with respect to what is happening in the world, more in particular on 'Todo Mundo Fala' (Everyone Talks). "Everybody says that something needs to be done about global warming, but nobody seems to make the first move. The idea for this track came to mind while watching Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth'. He tells everyone to consume less energy, while at the same time wasting masses of energy in his huge mansion. This having been said, he was a US vice-president during eight years, what actions did he take with regards to the global warming issue? I have travelled on several occasions to Africa and Asia while visiting various development projects. There too it is striking to see to what extent people talk and talk while basically doing nothing to stimulate development". 'Todo Mundo Fala' is a reggae song with an amazing ragga break. On 'Ve Se Acorda Brasil', Rodriguez even briefly switches to rap, or rather funk carioca, as they call it in Rio. "It's the music, the vibes of the favelas, the slums. In this song I express everything that I want to get off my chest. Aggression, Famine, polluted rivers, assaults, street kids, the incredible inequality between rich and poor. My accusation might just be a drop in the ocean, but it is better than saying nothing at all
