It is a cloudy, chilly winter’s day in Paris when Vinhal joins me via Skype to recount his adventures in music from a place that could not be further away from the French capital, both culturally and temporally. Vinhal himself is no stranger to Paris, having spent time studying here. It’s where he even picked up one of his current jobs. But on this day our winter is his summer.
Vinhal works for X5 in Brazil, a compilation service with offices in Stockholm and the US as well, which takes catalogues from labels and repackages them for sale. It was this job that started during his Paris days, and he kept after he returned to Brazil. Yet his focus and passion for Brazilian music go much deeper, which is evident in his other jobs: supervisor at the CCBB, or the Cultural Centers of the Banco do Brasil, where he is currently organizing the Bahai Invasion music showcase. there are three CCBBs, in São Paulo, Rio, and Brasilia, and together make up one of the most visited museums in the world. Remember, Brazil is a huge country.
Working in a cultural center would give anyone the credentials to discuss their country’s culture, but Vinhal is more of an authority than that. He is the founder and one of the editors of Fita Bruta, a website that has covered and followed Brazilian and international music for the past three years. Fita Bruta literally means “raw take” or the recording of a track before it is mixed and mastered. Fita Bruta has rapidly grown to be a site of reference for the Brazilian scene.
When asked where Brazilian music is making inroads internationally, Vinhal first mentions the holy grail: the US, where trending artists like Tyler the Creator and his crew — as well as groups like Vampire Weekend — cite Brazilian music as a cool source of inspiration. There is also the recent release of The Existential Soul of Tim Maia, a compilation created by Luaka Bop (David Byrne’s label) especially for the US market:
Vinhal also points to Portugal, which inhales Brazilian music, something that might be expected, however he notes that not very much Portuguese music makes it down to Brazil. “It’s just that Brazil is so big!” And finally, Spain is an interesting market for new Brazilian indie music. Of course, there is also “Ai Se Eu Tu Pego” which, for better or worse, at least created a worldwide sensation that put Brazil a little more front and center in the world music scene.
As for the future, Vinhal and his crew hope to professionalize Fita Bruta this year, continuing with their mission. To keep up with the latest tracks that Vinhal finds, subscribe to him on Whyd, and make sure you connect with Fita Bruta too if you’d like to learn more about what’s rocking Brazil at the moment.