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From the Brazilian Slums to The Life Aquatic: Discovering the Stripped Down Music of Seu Jorge
“If you had to nominate someone as the coolest man on the planet, for this week anyway, Seu Jorge would be a good candidate.” —Peter Culshaw, The Telegraph (UK)
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Seu Jorge comes from the outskirts and hits us directly in the soul. While many got a taste of his powerful presence and rough-but-sweet voice from his David Bowie renditions in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, his solo album Cru (a September 6, 2005 release on Wrasse Records) will satiate new fans yearning for his pared down, soulful approach.
Jorge was once a homeless kid in a favela (Brazilian slum) outside of Rio de Janeiro. By age ten, Jorge was repairing tires to help support his family.
“Getting out of a favela is a big deal. Gangsters are so powerful. Drug trafficking is rife, and no one has jobs,” he recently told The Independent (UK). Having spent years turning his energies to music and theater, Jorge landed the part of Knockout Ned in City of God, the film that put an international spotlight on favela life, poverty, and violence. This untainted, street credibility shows through whether Jorge is on screen or on stage.
The music on Cru (which translates as Raw) is driven by Jorge’s voice, and while the most obvious accompaniment is acoustic guitar and percussion, there is a subtle electronic presence at times as eerie as a musical saw. Other times the acoustic percussion hints at a hip-hop beat. But the mostly-bare production allows the voice and soul of Jorge to shine through, not too different from a kind of Nick Drake universe.
The song “Eu sou Favela” translates to “I am the Favela,” and is as political as the lyrics get; unless you count “Mania de Peitão,” which rails against the use of silicone breast implants.
While the melody of love song “Tive Razão” make it the stand-out track (not to mention that Life Aquatic stars Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe make cameos in the music video), some listeners will be drawn to Jorge’s cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Chatterton” or Elvis Presley’s “Don’t.” Regarding the Elvis cover, Jorge told The Telegraph, “He took from black music in the first place, and I was taking it back, imagining myself in cowboy boots.”
Seu Jorge will tour North America this spring and summer giving audiences a chance to see why his presence has led to his unexpected, substantial following.
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From the Brazilian Slums to The Life Aquatic: Discovering the ...
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