Bebel Gilberto – Memento
Bebel Gilberto is back with Momento, her third solo album, presenting some of her most elegant and personal musical statements since bursting on the scene in 2000 when her Grammy nominated debut album Tanto Tempo took the world by storm and conquered audiences worldwide.
Momento is about a moment in time and living in the moment, an apt title for these times of fast but shallow information. The album draws on the graceful, low-key electronica of Tanto Tempo and the enchanting, acoustic simplicity of her second self-titled album. Gilberto’s voice is presented in a variety of settings that showcase her magical delivery and subtle, powerful emotions. On Momento Gilberto also comes into her own as a songwriter, writing or co-writing the majority of the songs, and delivers three impressive covers: Caçada (written by her uncle and famed songwriter Chico Buarque); Tranquilo (written by young Rio producer Kassin) and a heart-stopping bossa-jazz version of Cole Porter’s classic Night And Day.
“I take total responsibility for this album,” Gilberto says of Momento. “I took a lot of risks: trying different approaches, experimenting with sounds and getting away from the perfectionism of the studio. This one is more about my feelings and views. It reflects who I am now, as a person and as an artist.” Momento was made with the help of four diverse producers, including the artist herself, and recorded in three of her favorite cities: London, Rio de Janeiro and New York.
“I have some strange karma with London,” Gilberto says. “It brings me concentration and focus. There’s a feeling in London that makes me lonely, yet complete.” In London, Gilberto worked with acclaimed British producer Guy Sigsworth who also produced Cada Beijo on Gilberto’s eponymous second album. “Guy and I worked in the studio from 11 am to 9 pm every day,” Gilberto explains. “I got up early, warmed up my voice and went to the studio to work. Sitting down and writing with Guy was both challenging and inspiring. I was in the middle of a tour and wasn’t sure if I was in a creative mood, but he got the album started before I even knew I was writing an album. Bebel and Guy created and recorded the songs Momento, Azul, Close To You and Cadê Você in London in a few different trips.
“Working in New York with the band Brazilian Girls on Bring Back The Love was entirely different. Those sessions had the craziness and the sincerity I want, without obsessing about perfection, just finding the right emotion for the right moment. It was great to work with old friends of mine.”
"Caçada was recorded in Rio at a small studio with an ocean view with some of the musicians from my band as Mauro Refosco and Jorge Continentino, who also have their own band Forró In The Dark. Keyboardist and producer Didi Gutman completed it in New York. “The Tranquilo sessions were really magical. We had a live set up with the innovative 19-piece Orquestra Imperial playing along while I sang.”
The music on Momento is as forward thinking and dynamic as we’ve come to expect from Gilberto, an artist with an omnivorous creative bent. The title track was a spontaneous creation, written by Gilberto and Japanese guitarist Masa Shimizu. Shimizu has been in Bebel's band since the beginning, and has collaborated with her since her second album. It’s a hypnotic tune with the bass supplying a constant heartbeat, while Guy Sigsworth’s layered keyboards produce rich, subtle colors. Sabina Sciubba and Didi Gutman co-wrote Bring Back The Love with Gilberto. The rest of the Brazilian Girls supplied the backing track, a funky amalgam that blends '70s wah wah keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass heavy dance beats and samba percussion accents. “I let the band find their own groove on this track” Gilberto says. "Didi has been on the road and played keyboards with me for almost three years before founding the Brazilian Girls with Sabina who is also a great friend of mine.”
Os Novos Yorkinos is another tune co-written and produced with Gutman and Sciubba. The syncopated handclaps and acoustic guitar give the tune a feel that’s both urban and pastoral. “It’s a tribute to the city we all love,” Gilberto says. “We feel free here. Things happen in New York that could never happen anywhere else. It’s a place artists from all over the world identify with, vagabonds who love being creative and don’t feel guilty about staying up all night. The title of the song is an homage to the '70s Brazilian band Novos Baianos who played Brazilian funk, rock and psychedelia.”
Other standout tracks include Caçada (The Hunt) a song written in the early '70s by Bebel's uncle Chico Buarque. Caçada has a distinctive forró taste (a musical style popular in Northeastern Brazil) featuring the pífanos flutes and the powerful zabumba drums plus acoustic and steel string guitars. Tranquilo features a hybrid Latin-Brazilian vibe provided by Rio’s Orquestra Imperial, and is an extremely positive song with lyrics about going through life with tranquility and peace.
Night And Day, co-produced by her long time friend and Ziriguiboom A&R Béco Dranoff, is the Cole Porter standard that she’s loved since her youth. “It was recorded in New York with all the horn players that I’ve toured with over the years, to create a subtle late night ambiance on the song.” The tune has an aching and extremely romantic, bossa-blue mood.
Gilberto co-produced all the tracks on Momento. “In the studio today you can play, edit, double tracks or delete them. It was a big challenge, but big fun too.”