Maracatu atomico chico science biography
Chico Science
For the Filipino rock group, see Chicosci.
"Loustal" redirects here. For the French comics artist, see Jacques de Loustal.
Chico Science | |
|---|---|
Chico Science in 1993. | |
| Birth name | Francisco de Assis França |
| Born | (1966-03-13)March 13, 1966 Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil |
| Origin | Olinda, Brazil |
| Died | February 2, 1997(1997-02-02) (aged 30) Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil |
| Genres | Manguebeat, post-punk, brazilian rock, punk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument | Voice |
| Years active | 1980–1997 |
| Labels | Sony Music |
Musical artist
Francisco de Assis França (March 13, 1966 – February 2, 1997), better known as Chico Science, was a Brazilian singer and composer and one of the founders of the manguebeat cultural movement. He died in a car accident in 1997 in Recife, Pernambuco, at the age of 30.
Biography
Francisco de Assis França was born in the Rio Doce neighbourhood of Olinda, Pernambuco, in Brazil's Northeast Region. As a little boy he would sell crabs that he caught himself in the city's mangrove swamps.
He became the lead singer and major creative driving force of the groundbreaking Mangue Bit band called Chico Science & Nação Zumbi (CSNZ). Influenced by such musicians as James Brown, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow, their music cleverly fused rock, funk, and hip hop with maracatu and other traditional rhythms of Brazil's Northeast. World music critics found his music "original and distinctive of his region." Chico had a powerful stage presence that was compared by some to that of Jimi Hendrix.
Around 1991, Chico Science, along with singer Fred 04 of the band Mundo Livre S/A, founded the Mangue Bit cultural movement in response to dire economic and cultural stagnation in Recife and Olinda. CSNZ made their US debut at New York's Central Park Summerstage in 1995, opening for Gilberto Gil, with whom he collaborated during the encore. While in N
Unless you are a Brasileiro or follow modern Brazilian music you probably don't know who Chico Science was but he was a favorite of mine. In fact his band, Nação Zumbi, have continued to tour the world and make fresh albums mixing samba, psychedelia, funk and hard rock, along with regional folk styles of Northeast Brazil.
Francisco de Assis França was born in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco, literally coming out of the swamps ("mangue"), and he helped found the manguebeat movement in Recife, a collective identity that nurtured the highly original arts and music scene that was on the upswing in the region. Forming around '91, Nação Zumbi play a heavy rock-meets-hiphop-meets-funk-meets-electronica hybrid that assertively included Brazilian folk rhythms (especially the maracatu).
Chico was the leader and frontman of this unit that traveled heavily in Europe (and the USA for a tour) spreading the word about this new scene in Brasil. Chico Science & Nação Zumbi had a sound and style that took in influences such as Public Enemy, Kurtis Blow, Pink Floyd, James Brown, heavy metal and samba. By all accounts, Chico was an intense front man. I wouldn't know from personal witness because I never got a chance to see him, given the car accident that took his life in '97. But NZ continue to be one of the best bands from the South American continent.
While I also seriously encourage you to check out the music Nação Zumbi has made (and continue to make) since Chico's passing, we're going to focus on a few nuggets of the early years involving his fresh and energetic command:
Here's the band live in concert in Recife in '94:
Here is the video for the classic "Maracatu Atômico":
From an MTV special:
Here's a heavy DJ Soulslinger remix of "A Cidade":
Tagged: Celebrate Icons, •Chico Science, •documentary, •dub, •edit/remix, •latin funk, •metal, •Nação Zumbi, •official video, •psych, •p JCV: I’m Juliana Cantarelli Vita SW: And I’m Schuyler Whelden. JCV: This is Massa, a podcast about Brazilian music and culture. SW: Juliana and I are music professors and musicians. In each episode we dive into a specific genre, song, artist, or issue in Brazilian music to try to understand how it works and what it means. JCV: Schuyler, I’d like to start today’s episode with a song by Chico Science & Nação Zumbi. SW: Wait, really? Didn’t we just do this? Is this Groundhog Day? Déjà vu all over again? JCV: It’s a different song from last time, though... SW: Wait, so the topic is maracatu again? JCV: Yes, today we are discussing maracatu, but not the same kind as last time. Today’s topic is maracatu de baque solto. SW: Aha, that might explain why that didn’t really sound like the form of maracatu we discussed last time. JCV: Right! This recording actually draws on a different form of maracatu, one called maracatu de baque solto. Here’s an even better example of a popular artist that draws on baque solto. This is the group Ticuqueiros, from the city of Nazaré da Mata in the state of Pernambuco. SW: Okay, there is something in common with these two recordings having to do with that driving snare drum rhythm. JCV: For sure. That’s a critical element to the instrumental ensemble in maracatu de baque solto. There are some other elements that recall baque solto, but maybe we’ll save those for a bit later in the episode. SW: Okay, that sounds good. How do we want to start then? JCV: Well, Schuyler, what would you say, from your perspective, is the most important holiday in Brazil? SW: For a lot of people it would definitely be Brazilian band Nação Zumbi (formerly Chico Science & Nação Zumbi) is a Brazilian band formed by Chico Science. They have been hailed as one of the most important groups to come out of the manguebeat movement in the 1990s. The musicians of the group continued as Nação Zumbi after Science died in a car accident on February 2, 1997. In their songs they experiment with mixing of rock, punk, funk, hip hop, soul, Pernambuco's regional rhythms and Brazilian traditional music, with heavy use of percussion instruments. They released two albums before the time of Chico's death, Da lama ao caos (From Mud to Chaos) in 1994 and Afrociberdelia in 1996. Both received critical acclaim. In 1996, Nação Zumbi contributed Maracatu Atômico to the AIDS-Benefit Album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization. 7. Maracatu de Baque Solto — Music & History
Introduction
Audio: Som da Massa, “Transcontinental Baião”
Audio: Chico Science & Nação Zumbi, “Maracatu Atômico” (YouTube)(Spotify)
Audio: Ticuqueiros, “Lá no Engenho” (YouTube)(Spotify)
Nação Zumbi
Members
Current members
Former members
Touring and session musicians
Discography
References
External links