DJ Dolores

DJ Dolores (aka Helder Aragão) has been active in the ebullient musical scene of his hometown Recife since his collaboration with Mangue Beat originators Chico Science and Nação Zumbi in the late '80s. He then worked as a graphic designer, TV documentary producer, soundtrack composer for films and theatre before adopting the turntables and sampler as a means of expression. He has remixed tracks for Gilberto Gil, Tribalistas, Fernanda Porto, and Taraf de Haïdouks, was invited to take part (alongside David Byrne and the Beastie Boys) in Wired Magazine's Rip, Mash, Sample, Share project in support of the Creative Commons licenses, wrote and recorded soundtrack music for Brazilian films A Máquina and Narradores de Javé, and has won several awards in Brazil and abroad (including the 2004 BBC World Music Award, in the 'club global' category). His previous albums came out in 2002 (Contraditório) and 2005 (Aparelhagem). DJ Dolores is definitely at the forefront of a new movement which reappropriates some of the country’s neglected traditions, especially those popular styles traditionally shunned by the establishment, and brings them to a wider audience, thus bridging the gaps between poor & rich, young & old, and showing that there’s an amazingly rich musical world beyond samba and bossa nova.