Impact, curiosity, and a five-minute pause.
Anyone who passed through any of the 10 stations of the São Paulo Metro yesterday is bound to have noticed the first day of the Red Bull Sounderground – 1st International Metro Musicians Festival, especially at rush hour. Have a look at the highlights of the performances that happened between 5pm and 7pm.
Rock, chorinho, and a few more things
There weren’t many commuters in Brás Station when Rafael Masgrau picked up his guitar and started strumming some chords. The public would walk past and turn their heads, curious to see what was going on. Little by little, a small group gathered round the guitarist, who played his instrument with determination. Masgrau’s audience was mainly made up of men wearing rock band t-shirts. Points to Rafael, who faithfully played the solos of the artists he worships. Names like Deep Purple and Pantera were amongst Masgrau’s musical journey at Brás Station.
After recognising one of the songs Rafael was tearing up on his guitar, one passer-by shouted and came over to compliment the performance, giving him the traditional “metal” sign with his hands. Meanwhile, 18-year old office runner Danilo Caxias, who watched the entire performance, told us of his band: “To see a performance like this on the metro has inspired me to carry on, maybe one day I’ll be the one playing!”, said the aspiring musician, daydreaming out loud.
With his solos and distorted guitar sounds, Rafael Masgrau’s impassioned performance has shown us that rock isn’t dead. On the contrary, it’s more alive than ever.
Musical eccentricity
In the middle of a crowded Ana Rosa Station, the American duo Tribal Baroque were getting ready for their performance. The curious crowd weren’t quite sure what was going on, but many would stop to take a peek at the two figures in strange costumes.
On top of their odd appearance, Lila’Angelique and Thoth’s caught the attention of everyone that passed through there with their repertoire and choreography. Some of the musicians’ garments are made up of a kind of maraca attached to each of their ankles, making their violins sound even more ethnic, poignant and curious for those with untrained ears.
48-year old real estate agent Lúcia Silva, on her way to Guilhermina from Jabaquara, stopped to check out why there was such a big crowd of people in the middle of the station and was amazed with what she found. “I’m always in a rush, it was incredible to see such a beautiful performance in the middle of São Paulo’s chaos”, Lúcia shared with us. Meanwhile, Tribal Baroque played a wonderful and moving set which, thanks to the station’s microphones announcing passenger safety, was graced with a contemporary feel. Baroque will never be the same again.
Happy Chorinho
To finish off the first day of the Festival, the band Vibrafone Chorão performed at Vila Madalena Station, surrounded by many people on their way home from another day at work. The crowd watched the lively performance of the band consisting of musicians Wesley Vasconcelos, Ricardo Valverde and Luis Felipe, who played with huge smiles and in complete musical synchronicity. Along with the large vibraphone catching the attention of many spectators, the trio’s sound filled the station with joyful and inspiring melodies and got the public dancing and clapping their hands to the chorinho rhythm.
“It was a great performance. Even though the crowd didn’t know us, they responded very warmly, a lot of people stopped to watch us,” said Luis Felipe proudly, grasping his mandolin. Get your moves ready for today because there’s much more to come.
Check back in to Red Bull Sounderground for the next update from Brazil soon
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