Afropop's Sean Barlow and music journalist Jeff Kaliss visited Chico César at his home in São Paulo. Chico played songs from his new CD "Respeitem Meus Cabelos, Brancos" (Respect My Hair, White People) (Abril) and talked about the Sao Paulo-Northeast connection.

Translations by Katherine Booth and Luciana Mendes

JK: What kind of instruments do you use in your band?
CC: I play steel and nylon guitar some electric. In my band we have accordion, keyboards, 7-string guitar, flute bass, sax, percussion, samples but no drum set.

JK: Is it Northeastern at all? What's the style?
CC: I am from the Northeast, from Paraíba and I bring a lot of influences from the region. But when I was a young child, I heard music from all over the world. This is because I worked at a record store from 15-18 years old. Since I was young I had an open mind for all kinds of music. I think my music is characterized by all these influences but most markedly by Northeastern music, African music and Brazilian Popular Music. (MPB)

SB: Tell us about your new CD project, "Respeitem Meus Cabelos, Brancos" (Respect my hair, white people) (Abril Music).
CC: This is an expression from a well-known song - "Respect in my White Hair." I wanted to touch on racial topics but with humor The song works with this. And my own difficulty in becoming someone in the public. These nicknames - "Atomic Ant," "pineapple" etc.

JK: Where did your hair style come from
CC: It's in tribute to my black roots, native Brazilian, and to the punks of the 1970's. The urban tribes.

SB: Can you chose some songs from the new album to tell us about?
CC: There are basically two paths like always. Songs with social themes. "Respect my Hair, White People" or "En las Fronteiras del Mundo" in partnership with Luís Pastor, a Spanish composer. Half Spanish, half Portuguese. Talking about globalization. So there is this social theme and also love songs. For example, "Céu Negro" - "Black Sky" that I wrote in the US…The theme is simple. A love song. Almost a folk song.

SB: Talk a little bit Chico about artists like yourself in coming from the Northeast to São Paulo. The relationship between Northeastern culture and people and São Paulo. And I'm wondering because now we're hearing about forró universitário, forró electrónico.
CC: São Paulo is the square where many elements of Brazilian culture and world cultures meet and many regional manifestations stick more in São Paulo than in their own region… For example when manguebeat, when manguebeat was just being born it stuck more in the media and audience of São Paulo than in Pernambuco. What happens is the following: Forró for a long time was very popular in the 50'S with Luiz Gonzaga and afterwards Jackson do Pandeiro. The charts were topped by Luiz Gonzaga, Jackson do Pandeiro, Adimil de Fonseca in the 50's. This music was considered the music of the poor who worked in civic construction, the house maids…It was music for the poor without refined music taste. I think that towards the end of the 80's until the early 90's there was a boom in the CD industry. A lot of people here in Brazil because of promotions and so forth, people could afford CD players and become CD consumers. People who didn't have the buying power before now acquired this power. And again the poor could have decisive strength and influence the market through their taste in Brazilian music and now with buying power. And forró, not just forró but Sertaneja music (cowboy music from the NE desert Sertão region) ex. Chitãozinho and Xororó and others, this music that was heard by street workers, in the maids' quarters was leaving the work area for the living rooms of the middle and upper class Brazilians of São Paulo, Rio, and Belo Horizonte, Curitiba. The big Brazilian cities….A faction of the refined thinking well-educated youth of the bigger cities. Especially São Paulo, experienced through artists - Northeastern artists not who necessarily did forró - Chico Science, my own work, the work of Lenine - experienced a positive curiosity with the music of that region….I believe that our generation created a bridge. Between what a segment of the well-informed educated youth listened to, and the music of our region. This was I believe a characteristic of the resurgence of forró with the urban youth.

JK: What was it that the middle class people found in forró?
CC: Before, there was a prejudice against forró. But then comes a manifestation of self-awareness in Brazilian music. And many of these young people are now taking vacations in Salvador, to the beaches in Southern Bahia. During the holidays they dance forró and return , when classes are in session, bringing the sounds of forró, the skirts of forró, the tops of forró, and forró in their heads.

JK: What do you think it means to them, what does forró have that nothing else has?
CC: I don't know! (laughs) Something very curious about forró for young people, teenagers is the possibility for physical contact. Sensuality a sensuality that you can't express with rap and rock. This thing of being able to hold onto each other. This I believe attracted the youth. I personally think that the most sensual Brazilian woman these days is one from São Paulo who vacationes in the south of Bahia and comes back to dance forró. Her hair, her skirt, the piercings, it's a type. (Laughs) To an extent the industry came to forró after the fact, discovered the scene, took advantage of it, invested in bands that grew out of this forró universitário for example Falamansa.

SB: Earlier you mentioned "thought -out" music, conscientious, what do you mean by this?
CC: MPB, that is influenced by Maria Bethânia, Chico Buarque de Holanda, João Bosco. This current is principal in Brazilian music…. This principal current will always survive. Other types of markets will be axé for a while, forró later etc. We build a career for the rest of our lives.

JK: Tell me about MPB.
CC: The movement from Caetano Veloso, Mutantes, etc. In the 60's there was a liberty to mix classical music, popular music, Brazilian rhythms etc. They directly influenced my generation and for me.

JK: You spoke about the influence of MPB artists- where have you taken MPB?
CC: My generation of Lenine, Fernanda Abreu, Daude have expanded. We have more interaction with international artists, Daboun from Japan. Pedro Asna from Argentina, Pedro Aliger from Spain, Railema from Africa. Lukokansa. We can communicate quickly with the people and bring them all in contact with our music. We are influenced by them as well.

SB: Who have you done direct collaboration with?
JK: Pedro Asna from Argentina, Lokua Kanza (from the Congo), Nela Deira from Portugal. My most recent CD is produced by Will Mowat from England who produced Soul II Soul, Fernanda Abreu, Daniella Mercury etc. Recorded in London, Pernambuco, Salvador, São Paulo. Nina Miranda from Smoke City from England participated, and so did Chico Buarque, Naná Vasconcellos, Carlinhos Brown.

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