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1.) We’re very happy to be speaking today with acclaimed and fast-rising musician Bernardo Corrêa; greetings and salutations, Bernardo! Before we dive into the Q&A deep-end, how has your 2022 been treating you thus far?
It feels like it’s going too fast. I recently turned 40, so maybe I am just concerned about running out of time haha.
2.) Congratulations are very much in order for the recent release of your debut album, Ciclos! Being that this is your freshman album, did you approach it with an eye towards using the “Go big or go home” philosophy? In other words, did you feel any type of trepidation in hitting the ground running with your debut?
It felt like I had to put it out. I had the songs and they sounded good to me, I don’t have many ambitions since it’s really hard to get listened by a large audience. But there’s a lot of truth in the songs, I guess that is clear in the result.
3.) What was the genesis of Ciclos? How did this amazing debut album come into being?
There wasn’t a lot of thinking. The songs kind of came to me in 2019/2020 and when I noticed I had enough songs for an album. I started the arrangements and pre-production with Luiz Lopez @luizlopezbr which got delayed by the pandemic.
4.) Can you introduce our readers to some of the other brilliant musicians who lent their musical alchemy to Ciclos?
To name a few, Leandro Braga is a great Brazilian pianist. He’s a genius and have worked with greatest names of Brazilian music like Ney Matogrosso, Simone and Rogerio Skylab, to name a few.
Luiz Lopez is the arranger / producer – great musician that currently plays in Erasmo Carlos’ band, another Brazilian legend from Jovem Guarda, knowm as many hits with Roberto Carlos.
Elena Ravelli I found on the internet. I needed a woman’s voice on Tá Tudo Bem track and the person that was originally going to sing on it just said she could no longer do it and I started to look for something special. In the end it brought the charming Italian accent which made the song even stronger.
5.) Who was your producer on Ciclos and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like in the studio?
Luiz Lopez produced it and worked on 99% of the arrangements. We usually would discuss a little bit before he started working on a track and I would give him some pointers.
Because he was involved so deeply in the arrangements and pre-production, being on studio was a mere formality. We knew what to do and we just executed it.
6.) We’re absolutely in love with the last track on the Ciclos album, A Dona. Can you take us behind the story on how this particular gem of a tune came into existence?
The entire album is about one relationship. I had all 8 songs ready and then I had this break up and I wrote two more songs: Para Nunca Mais and A Dona. A Dona is saying goodbye to that person and closing the album saying that there is not much more to sing or say about it. It’s the end of the cycle (Ciclos in Portuguese). I wrote it on the guitar, it came to me real quick and I knew from the very beginning I wanted an accordion and Luiz added the piano and bass.
7.) Ciclos weighs in at a healthy ten songs with a total run-time of just over 32 minutes. Was there any music that didn’t make the cut onto the Ciclos album that we might hear at a later date?
Two songs didn’t make it. I am probably releasing one of them as a single before the end of 2022. And I think I’ll be releasing singles instead of albums at least for now. An album is a lot of stress and you end up losing your breath while doing it.
8.) What do you hope listeners walk away with after giving the Ciclos album a couple of dozen spins on their hi-fi systems?
I think is a relaxing album. An album to listen to while thinking about someone, to remind people of previous relationships and bring back the good memories of those. I imagine people dimming the lights and having some wine while listening to it.
9.) On the heels of the release of Ciclos, can fans look forward to seeing you on the touring circuit in the weeks and months to come?
I am not sure if I am touring. I plan to have a few nights for friends and family.
10.) As a prolific singer and songwriter, which comes first for you – The lyrics or the music?
They usually come together but if something has to come first, it’s definitely the melody. To me, the melody IS the music, is what people sing of whistle, is what comes to people’s mind first.
11.) Musically, who inspires you?
It’s weird because most of my life I played in pop rock bands. And mostly electric guitar. I haven’t played guitar in Ciclos. If there’s a guitar on a track it was recorded by Luiz.
I am deeply inspired by George Harrison, Mark Knppfler, Jeff Beck, Django Reinhardt and most classic rock bands. It doesn’t always reflects into the music you make. Some great Brazilian song writers as Chico Buarque, Paulinho da Viola, Marcelo Camelo and others have influenced me a lot in the past years.
12.) You were born and raised in Rio De Janeiro. How do those roots inform you as a musician and as a person?
Rio is the city of Samba. I grew up very close to a Samba School named Vila Isabel, same name of the neighborhood. It didn’t get much into my music until few years ago, but I just developed this taste for Samba and I think some of it is really present in Ciclos.
As a person I taught me to think about the inequalities in a society. There are realities that are so distant in a way and so close physically which can explain the high rates of violence. It made me be someone that try to care for the less privileged in a world that only cares about winners.
13.) Final – SILLY! – Question: When and where were you the happiest?
Anywhere with my son. That’s when I am happiest.
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