Frode Gjerstad (N) – alto saxophone
Paulinho Bicolor (BR) – cuíca
Negro Leo (BR) – vocals, electric and acoustic guitar
Felipe Zenicola (BR) – electric bass
Paal Nilssen-Love (N) – drums
Imagine a meeting between Ornette Coleman’s electric band and Hermeto Pascoal. Very electric, quite danceable, wild and rapid-changing grooves with clear links and references to samba and samba rock.The band met and played their first concert in 2018 at Roskilde Festival in Denmark, performing in front of an enthusiastic audience of 2000 people shaking their asses and dancing through the course of the band’s 50-minute concert. The concert in its entirety is released on CD on PNL Records
Although the band is run by Nilssen-Love, the music is free improvised and all members are equal. The band members were chosen by Paal because of their individual qualities and his own musical relation with them. Frode Gjerstad, the oldest member of the group, took Paal on his shoulders when Paal was only 16. Since then, they´ve worked off and on in large groups but mostly duo and trio. Frode Gjerstad has for years and years sought out free improvisation as his means and remains the strongest figure of free music in Norway. Felipe Zenicola is a new figure on the scene of improvised music and is mostly known for his work with Chinese Cookie Poets. He plays the electric bass like no one else: full of energy and with quite a stamina. He´s in it for the long run. Paulinho Bicolor is somewhat a rare figure on the scene in Brazil. He knows all the various percussion instruments of Brazilian music, not least the string instrument cavaquinho. But Paulinho decided to focus on the cuíca only. He has mastered the instrument which is actually a friction drum. He is continuously pushing himself, the instrument and in fact, the instrument´s traditions to another level.New in the band is Leonardo Campelo Gonçalves, stage name Negro Leo. A singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who stands out from Brazil’s flourishing experimental music scene. By adding elements of free jazz, no-wave, African-noise tropicalia, and floating psychedelia, he gives Brazilian pop music a whole new and surreal dimension. With lyrics addressing delirious images of everyday life, Negro Leo’s quirky take on samba is a bold representation of Brazil’s bustling society of nowadays.
Be prepared for a new take on what Brazilian funk and improvised music can be, NOW!
Music of PNL New Brazilian Funk | Video of PNL New Brazilian Funk | Photos of PNL New Brazilian Funk