Paulinho da Viola

Paulinho da Viola is a musician who stands for a particular realm in Brazilian culture. Experiencing his music is to realize the presence of a new dimension, to feel identified with it and becoming aware of the fact that Brazilian cultural identity is never homogeneous: there is always something special in each of its expressions.

To try Paulinho da Viola's music is to find a link that some people judged to be lost. A fruit of encounters and amalgamations, his work comes from an uncommon event: the interaction of two cultural phenomena seen as antagonistic. The aesthetics and sophistication of the middle class living in the southern area of Rio de Janeiro in the 50's and 60's, along with the vibration of the carioca suburbs, resulted in a new form that crosses the times without altering his essence and embraces the modernity. This work immediately involves us with the ability to make the concern about the chronological aspect of events. In Paulinho's work, there is no beginning, middle or end. There is an essence defined by the meeting of sounds that harmoniously combine, creating unique forms and contents.

Paulinho composes sambas, choros and experimental music. The samba is the main and maternal form of the artist. The choro is the form inherited from his father, a sophisticated instrumental style, almost classic. The experimentation appeared as an answer to the desire of expressing a yearning to search for new forms, a common trace of the artist and his generation.

[Source: Paulinho da Viola Website]

Visit Paulinho's website to get a taste of his music. On the link 'Radio through time' you can listen to various songs of the different stages of his career.