A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
VIDEOS
Followers
ABOUT
On her first solo album, Brazilian singer-songwriter Ully Costa asks a simple, yet far-reaching question: Who am I?
Born in Capão Redondo, on the outskirts of São Paulo, Ully has been immersed in music since her very early years. Her unique approach to music is defined not only by the familiar bossa/samba background but also by Afro-Brazilian roots, filtered through such references as rap and Brazilian soul.
The album is a delicate parade of rhythms and chants (urban, traditional, ‘mestiza’), with a special reverence for the sacred and the soulful.
“My grandmother, Cícera, was the daughter of native Indians of the Brazilian northeast. My grandfather was the grandson of enslaved Africans and has always lived in the countryside, in Minas Gerais, where we used to gather to listen to him playing the accordion. I frequently hung out there with my uncles, playing viola and singing traditional songs. I feel strongly connected with this profound part of Brazil. At the same time, I grew up in São Paulo, so inevitably my music also bears lots of urban and contemporary elements,” says Ully.
The album’s title was inspired by an eponymous song on the rare and revered album Krishnanda, from Pedro “Sorongo” Santos. “That was the first song we recorded for this album, and it was my only certainty at the beginning of the project. The lyrics are very powerful and have a lot to do with everything that I’ve been through lately,” says Ully.
The well-known Cuban musicians Pepe Cisneros and Yaniel Matos helped build a new arrangement, subtle and minimalist, for the title song.
Other beautiful compositions emerged throughout the process, such as “Festa do Rei Nagô” (Jairo Cechin), an “Ijexá” (traditional Afro-Brazilian rhythm) with a heavy afrobeat influence, featuring guest participation by DJ KL Jay, from Racionais MC’s, Brazil’s leading rap act.
“Capoeira de Oxalá” (Luís Carlos Sá), a samba-jazz piece that seems to have materialized directly from the 1960s, echoes two important cultural elements: the ‘capoeira’ and the ‘candomblé’.
In “Pindorama” (Erico Marco), Ully sings about the cultural richness of the people who used to live on the land of Pindorama, later known as Brazil. The electronic textures are mixed with organic sounds, such as PVC instruments (plastic tubes) and body percussion. Produced by Leonardo Mendes, son of the singer and songwriter Roberto Mendes, “Quem Sou Eu” was carefully built around Ully’s origins and inner, affective relations to music. A gift to herself and our senses.
Born in Capão Redondo, on the outskirts of São Paulo, Ully has been immersed in music since her very early years. Her unique approach to music is defined not only by the familiar bossa/samba background but also by Afro-Brazilian roots, filtered through such references as rap and Brazilian soul.
The album is a delicate parade of rhythms and chants (urban, traditional, ‘mestiza’), with a special reverence for the sacred and the soulful.
“My grandmother, Cícera, was the daughter of native Indians of the Brazilian northeast. My grandfather was the grandson of enslaved Africans and has always lived in the countryside, in Minas Gerais, where we used to gather to listen to him playing the accordion. I frequently hung out there with my uncles, playing viola and singing traditional songs. I feel strongly connected with this profound part of Brazil. At the same time, I grew up in São Paulo, so inevitably my music also bears lots of urban and contemporary elements,” says Ully.
The album’s title was inspired by an eponymous song on the rare and revered album Krishnanda, from Pedro “Sorongo” Santos. “That was the first song we recorded for this album, and it was my only certainty at the beginning of the project. The lyrics are very powerful and have a lot to do with everything that I’ve been through lately,” says Ully.
The well-known Cuban musicians Pepe Cisneros and Yaniel Matos helped build a new arrangement, subtle and minimalist, for the title song.
Other beautiful compositions emerged throughout the process, such as “Festa do Rei Nagô” (Jairo Cechin), an “Ijexá” (traditional Afro-Brazilian rhythm) with a heavy afrobeat influence, featuring guest participation by DJ KL Jay, from Racionais MC’s, Brazil’s leading rap act.
“Capoeira de Oxalá” (Luís Carlos Sá), a samba-jazz piece that seems to have materialized directly from the 1960s, echoes two important cultural elements: the ‘capoeira’ and the ‘candomblé’.
In “Pindorama” (Erico Marco), Ully sings about the cultural richness of the people who used to live on the land of Pindorama, later known as Brazil. The electronic textures are mixed with organic sounds, such as PVC instruments (plastic tubes) and body percussion. Produced by Leonardo Mendes, son of the singer and songwriter Roberto Mendes, “Quem Sou Eu” was carefully built around Ully’s origins and inner, affective relations to music. A gift to herself and our senses.
OTHER LINKS
Profile created by
