Los Hermanos: Бразильская рок-группа и история успеха "Anna Júlia"

Brazilian rock band

Los Hermanos is a rock band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The group was formed in 1997 by Marcelo Camelo (vocals/guitar), Rodrigo Amarante (guitar/vocals), Rodrigo Barba (drums), and Bruno Medina (keyboards/keyboard bass). Currently they are on an extended hiatus, performing some concerts sporadically. Although the band is Brazilian, the name is Spanish, meaning "the brothers", which would be "Os Irmãos" in Portuguese.

Then students from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Camelo (journalism), and Rodrigo Barba (psychology) formed a band that mixed hardcore influences with the lightness of lyrics about love. In addition, the band had a saxophonist, and, later, the keyboardist Bruno Medina, an advertising student at the same college, was incorporated to the group. When the musicians Rodrigo Amarante (vocals, guitar and percussion) and Patrick Laplan (bass) joined the band, and with the output of three musicians of their formation (trumpeter Marcio and saxophonists Carlos and Victor), they recorded in 1997 their first material, the demos "Chora" and "Amor e Folia." The demos affected the underground scene of Rio de Janeiro and later the Los Hermanos were called to play at the "Superdemos", a great independent music festival from Rio, and festival Abril Pro Rock, in Recife, Pernambuco.

The two demos eventually found their way to the hands of Paulo André, the producer of the Abril Pro Rock festival, in Recife. The band was then invited to perform on one of the biggest alternative music festivals in Brazil, the Superdemo. Their first album self titled album, released in 1999, became a huge seller on the back of the hit single "Anna Júlia". The album's success was driven by the song "Anna Julia" chosen for the record as the first single, for it was a number that resonated among young people, identified with the Jovem Guarda style lyrics, mixed to a musical group influenced by rock, ska and samba. The album was produced by famed producer Rick Bonadio, known for his work with bands that were selling phenomena. According to Bonadio, he had been responsible for convincing the band to put the song in the final selection of the repertoire CD. The single was inspired by a band producer's affair, and brought the band not only to radio stations across the country, but also to various events, such as agricultural fairs and soccer games stadiums and micaretas, and to play for more than 80,000 people in some of the country festivals, even with only one record released. The band was a regular on popular television shows. In just one semester, "Anna Julia" was already included in the top positions of the leading radio stations in the country. Its music video, which featured the actress Mariana Ximenes, was constantly displayed on programs dedicated to both gender in channels such as MTV. In just one year, "Los Hermanos" sold 300,000 copies emplacado and two singles in the hit parade, as the aforementioned "Anna Julia" and the second single, "Primavera". The album also spawned a Grammy nomination in 2000. In the Multishow award, in 2000, the band won the "Best Song" award with "Anna Julia", beating competitors such as Chico Buarque. Camelo said, "Man, I do not even know what to say, I feel embarrassed to win a prize in a category where Chico Buarque is competing.". The runaway success of "Anna Júlia", in some sense, overshadowed the rest of their career, leading some to think they are a one hit wonder, despite experiencing success among fans and critics with other releases. The song has been covered by many different artists, including Jim Capaldi with the guitar solo being played by George Harrison, in his last recorded work.

After the success of their first album, the band released Bloco do Eu Sozinho in 2001, leaving behind the hardcore sound that characterized their debut, instead favouring a mix of rock, samba, and other Brazilian rhythms. Some of the songs on this album were played at Rock in Rio III. The band lost bassist Patrick Laplan, who cited musical differences and started his own band, Eskimo. "Bloco " surprised much of the public by being an album with (almost) no resemblance to its predecessor. The euphoria of the first CD was not repeated in sales, and the band went on to play in smaller venues, with the decrease of their audience. But from that point, the band gained a major ally in their walk: the public, which showed itself always more faithful. Songs like "Todo Carnaval tem seu Fim" (first single), "A Flor" and "Sentimental", became minor hits, despite not much airplay. After the release of the album, the critics begin to praise it. It later gained some more notoriety, in the wake of big divergences between the band and their label. The guitarist Rodrigo Amarante, now had more space in the band, with compositions like "Retrato Pra Iaiá", "Sentimental", "Cher Antoine" and "A Flor" (this one with Marcelo Camelo). Their road back to a bigger audience was followed by their participation in "Fordsupermodels" (the band played on a stage, doing the soundtrack for the fashion show) and Luau MTV, a MTV show on which were included, in acoustic versions, songs from the first and second CDs, to later be released on DVD. Bloco do Eu Sozinho, in spite of being considered (nowadays) as one of the best Brazilian rock albums of all time, did not have much impact in the media, mainly due to the conflicts with the label Abril Music.

The follow up to Bloco do Eu Sozinho, Ventura, was released in 2003, and the band's sound was even more influenced by samba, choro and bossa nova. Although these albums weren't as commercially successful as Los Hermanos, they were acclaimed by critics and generated a strong cult following which propelled the band to be regarded as one of the defining alternative rock acts in Brazil, mainly because of their elaborate lyrics and their mixture of Brazilian rhythms with rock. The year 2003 arrived and already in BMG (now Sony Music), the Hermanos released the album "Ventura". Called "Bonança" at first, it was the first Brazilian disc to virtually "leak" in its pre production phase. The third album featured a multi faceted Los Hermanos. Of "Samba a Dois" to the pop rock of "O Vencedor", or with the dialogues of "Conversa de Botas Batidas" and "Do Lado de Dentro", "Ventura" was the album that consolidated the band on the national scene. The first single, "Cara Estranho", had good presence on the radio and was nominated to some music video awards. Then came "O Vencedor" and "Último Romance", the latter composed by Rodrigo Amarante, who wrote five of the 15 songs on the CD and started to stand out as a songwriter. The singer Maria Rita, in her eponymous album, recorded three songs of Marcelo Camelo: "Santa Chuva", "Cara Valente" and "Veja Bem, Meu Bem". The shows began to house a legion of fans who had become the trademark of the band. It was on the tour of "Ventura" that it was shot the concert that became the DVD "Live at Cine Íris". Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, it contained predominantly their latest CD's repertoire. The band also recorded the soundtrack for the short film "Castanho", by Eduardo Valente, where the disco style was very evident in the early version of "Talk " and the song known only as "Tema do Macaco". In the presentation of the band in the VMB 2003, they were presented by singer and composer Caetano Veloso. In announcing the band, Veloso put a fake red beard, like all members of the front rows of the awards. The action was classified as "embarrassing" by keyboardist Bruno Medina. In January 2004, the band performed in Domingão do Faustão, a famous TV show in Brazil. During the show, the band played the song "Anna Julia", due to the insistence of the presenter Fausto Silva, who said that the band "never played" the song. The band received an e mail from a fan, questioning and criticizing the presenter. This criticism was refuted by keyboardist Bruno Medina, at the very site of banda. In July 2004, the singer Marcelo Camelo was assaulted by Chorão, vocalist of the band Charlie Brown Jr. The attack occurred in the arrivals hall of Fortaleza airport and the aggressor came to be arrested by Federal Police. Even after a note apologizing for the event, Chorão was sued by Camelo and had to compensate the singer for moral damages and reimbursement of canceled commitments. The attack occurred because of statements from Marcelo Camelo and Rodrigo Amarante, in the OI magazine, on the then recent advertising campaign for Coca Cola soft drink brand. On the occasion, Charlie Brown Jr. was contracted and, in the video, questioned a boy who did not agree with the items offered in commercial. In 2008, both Bloco do Eu Sozinho and Ventura figured in Rolling Stone magazine's list The Top 100 Brazilian Albums of All Time, placing 42nd and 68th, respectively. To commemorate the occasion, the band released the first new single in 14 years, "Corre, Corre"''''.