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music,
because Brazil was close, and not in the middle, of
everything: to us it seemed very natural to listen to and love all types of music, from
the Beatles to Folk, up to John Cage. Maybe it's because of this, that I am what I
am." This is how, Arto Lindsay , genial artist of New York, originally Brazilian,
introduces himself after the release of his album "Noon Chili" in November
’97, and the recent collaboration with the Italians of La piccola Orchestra Avion
Travel, for whom he is producing their next work, that should be ready after summer. Being
the delightful person he is, he has accepted with good humor to talk about himself.
In your last
records - " O corpo sutil", "Mundo Civilizado", "Hype
Civilizado" and "Noon Chili" – you have worked with many different
musicians: for example Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, DJ Spooky and Nana Vasoncelos, Brain Eno,
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Vincius Cantuaria. How have these collaborations started?
"For many
years I've been wanting to make a Samba record in English. Until, one day, Ryuichi
Sakamoto (who then had a recording contract with For Life, a Japanese label) asked me if I
wanted to make a bossa-nova album for them. I replied that I would be inclined to work at
a record of ballads, peaceful and meditating: and out came " O corpo sutil". I
was so enthusiastic that I soon completed the successive recording, "Mundo
Civilizado" in which I was able to have a profitable collaboration with Vinicius
Cantuaria, an extraordinary composer of bossa-nova. That’s all."
There seems to be
a special feeling between you and Vinicius…
"That’s
right. I’ve known him for many years, and have always felt that as a guitarist and
composer he was absolutely excellent. But the real turning point happened just a couple of
years ago, when Vinicius came to New York for a concert. We immediately hit it off and
started planning projects: the three records by my name and "Sol na cara", his
first international album. It's an authentic work of art, I’m more than sure."
I must agree with
you, but let’s get back to "Mundo Civilizado": how did you come about this
title?
"Because to
my eyes, the so-called " civilized world" seems more like a completely
uncivilized world. Elementary, I believe."
"Do you have
any curious anecdotes that happened during the recordings of these albums, you'd like to
tell me about?"
"Well,
starting off was quite difficult , for many years have passed since I’d worked as a
soloist. So, I remember having spent a lot of time recording the first six songs, which I
later threw out because I wasn’t satisfied with them. And I can assure you it became
even harder… working with the rest of the budget and the remaining time. As far as
anecdotes, I remember giving the lyrics of a song to Caetano Veloso so he could write me a
melody. He took a long time, and in the end he sent it to me in cassette…but DHL lost
the package. So I had to call Caetano by phone and record the song as he sang it to me on
the phone!"
What about Brian
Eno?
I remember that
while I was recording my new album in New York, he was in town doing an album for David
Bowie. So, every day after working with Bowie, he would come to my studio to relax and
chat. Until one day I jokingly said, "You relaxed enough, now let’s get down to
work! " So for the next five or six hours, he took the tapes of my new album and
transferred them on the effect desk, transcribing them on different tracks. When he
finished, he said, ' now do whatever you want with them.' All said and done."
Everyone tells me
you have great esteem for Curzio Malaparte…
"That’s
right. The song "4 Skies" inspired me to read his novel "La pelle"
(the skin). I’m always fascinated by his charm, and still today I can recall
perfectly shots of his home in Capri, when they used it for Jean-Luc Godard's, "IL
Disprezzo". But I must say that also reading Roberto Calasso’s book,
"Ka", gave me many ideas."
In any case, the
melodies in your latest recording maintain a role of fundamental importance: completely
different from when, during your youth you played with DNA, the Lounge Lizards and the
Ambitious Lovers…
"Even then
with the Ambitious Lovers we used to make ballads, but today, I love even more the calm
and quiet sounds, as long as they have the right inner intensity. That’s why I love
the Miles Davis of the years of "King of Blue" and "In a Silent Way".
For the same reason I adore Joao Gilberto, the Brazilian Davis. His music, indeed,
doesn’t say everything, but implies an infinity of things. In certain songs, played
only on guitar, one can hear the moving rhythms, seemingly strong: in reality these only
exists in the mind of who is listening. This is just fantastic! Absolutely
marvelous!"
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