Converse Music

Théâtre Fairmount

Look Vibrant

You’re a solo artist but you’ve brought some companions along. Who are they? Gabriel Coelho - Yes, I do have a solo project but I invited some friends to join me today.  Their band is called Universo Relativo. Tell us about your music, the project itself.

GC - It all started suddenly. A good friend founded a recording studio, he needed some work for his portfolio and I already had some tracks ready. I started getting a good response from those releases. That was a good push for me to keep working on new tracks, better production. This year in July I'll release my first album, named 'Tempestade'. Like I said, it all came from nowhere but it has been very successful so far.

You’ve had plenty of previous experience in music, right?

GC - I started playing in bands when I was 11 years old. I went through hardcore, got stuck for a few years playing Brazilian indie rock. I played in many bands before going overseas to play and live for a while. Besides that, the main band I played with was called 'Radio Vinil'. We toured all over Brazil.

How would you describe your solo music style? GC - Man, so hard to describe it. It's MPB.... Pop MPB! Yeah, that's it. Pop MPB because it's not the sort of boring MPB and same time it's not the fake, commercial pop music.

Tell us a bit more about your collaboration today with Universo Relativo.

Fulano (Blank)  - Yes, we are very excited about Gabriel's invite to do this session together. He's a long term friend of ours, we’ve done lots of stuff down the road together.  Universo Relativo has been playing together for a long time, we came back early last year after an hiatus to record an album called "Reflexo". We are deeply connected with rock but always finding room to place some Brazilian rhythms.

This is your very first recording under your own name? Are you releasing it as a single?

GC - Yeah, the track I recorded today, "Frame a Frame”, is part of my first official work as Gabriel Coelho. For sure - we're aiming to shoot a video clip later this month.

What are your plans for future shows?

GC - When I was with Radio Vinil I learned that touring is awesome for getting stage experience, but sometimes you play for no one.  When I started this solo project I didn't want it to be this way. I want to expand my audience before performing live.

Introduce us to Riviera. 

Vinicius Coimbra (vocals/guitar)  – We’re Riviera from Belo Horizonte, MG. Our plan for this session was to record a brand new single called ‘Do Céu ao Mar’ - we managed to do bass, guitar, drums and some of the vocals. Only a few details left, we’ll take it back home to finish. 

What’s the scene like in Belo Horizonte right now? 

VC – There is a lot of bands as usual but we noticed it’s getting even bigger lately. The bands are becoming more professional.

Breno Machado (guitar/vocals) – Yes, I noticed a stronger bond between bands too.

Túlio Braga (drums) – Standards are getting higher. I feel like only the good ones will remain. It’s like Darwin and natural selection. (laughs)

Has Riviera released any material before?

VC – Actually this month we’re releasing our first EP as Riviera. The band itself started back in 2013 when I created a recording studio on my own back at home. Before that I was living in Brasilia and when I moved back to Belo Horizonte I called the boys to start a band. 

We played some live shows but I had some personal issues that took me back to Brasilia. Having me away was the click to start the recording process, which is ending now that we’re releasing the EP.

Did you record those tracks in your home studio?

VC – No, I went to a professional studio and said ‘Hey guys, I have a bunch of tracks I want to record with an acoustic guitar’. They realized they were good enough and made me record it with a proper band. 

I used the studio’s musicians to help me out there. It was my first time in an actual studio. It was a big thing for someone who just wanted to record some tracks. Lot of learning though. After we did it, tons of opportunities in the local scene started popping up.

Was it your first time recording the way you did today?

Rafa Garcia (guitar) – Yeah, we’ve never recorded all the instruments live before.

BM – Also it was the first time we stepped into studio with something very solid prepared. It was way more mature than the last few times. 

Did you record the EP back in Belo Horizonte?

VC – No, they all took some time off from their jobs and went to join me in Brasília. In fact, it was overwhelming. One week, 15 tracks, 12 hours a day. We gave up on the idea of the full album. We realized we were not ready yet for the challenge.

TB – Actually, we didn’t give up on the full album! It was only postponed.

VC – Yes, we want to go back to it after the new lineup is settled. I think that we will go through a different way.

After lots of changes in the band, the project seems to be more solid now. How was your session today?

RG – It was a day of dreams.

BM – Another thing we should mention is how comfortable and free the staff made us feel today. Even though the staff is way more experienced than us, they didn’t try to change the way we do things. They said ‘First of all, play it and then we’ll figure it out the best recording process’.