
Zé de Teté
Poetas da Mata Norte 4: Coco de roda
2005 Independent with funding incentives related to the
Lei Federal de Incentivo à Cultura aka Lei Rouanet
01 – Dei um brado
02 – Ai, ai meu Deus
03 – Campo verde bonito
04 – Os serrotes
05 – Um preso na detenção
06 – Letra m
07 – As obras da natureza
08 – Canto ruim de morar
09 – Machadeiro Moacir
10 – Sos
11 – Votei tanto que cansei
12 – Tá solto no meio do mundo
Produced by Siba (Sérgio Veloso)
Recorded between December 2005 and March 2005
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It’s about time I shared some of the wonderful series of records released as “Poetas da Mata Norte,” and this one is just barely in time for the São João holiday. Ironically, Zé de Teté is the artist I know the least about out of the handful presented in the series, but it seems appropriate to start here given the time of year. If you look up northeastern “coco de roda” on the internets you will likely find things about dancing in circles, call-and-response singing and accompaniment with hand claps and wooden sandals, an array of percussion instruments, but precious little about the singers without whose words nobody would be dancing or singing along. Hence the importance of the “oral poet” to this music and many other strains in the many-threaded tapestry of Pernambuo’s cultural patrimony. Coco de roda is still found in its more raw form like that sung by Zé de Teté, Galo Preto, Dona Selma de Coco, Raízes do Arcoverde and others, but it has also influenced more mainstream artists, mostly famously Jackson do Pandeiro who was proficient in the style, and others like Alceu Valença (who really absorbed it via Jackson). “Coco” is typically associated with the sertão (semi-arid hinterlands) and agreste or scrubland regions of the interior but can be found further east all the way to the coast. Zé de Teté is from the city of Limoreiro in the agreste. With his strong and strident voice he brings us tongue-twisting word salads like “A letra M,” reflections on surviving in a tenuous relationship with nature (Canto ruim de morar, Campo verde bonito), a somber portrait of life inside a jail cell (Um preso na detenção), and the humor-cum-social-critique of tunes like “As obras da natureza” and “Votei tanto que cansei,” or “I’ve voted so much that I’m sick of it,” in which the singer expresses his disgust at the manipulative promises of politics and vows that he’ll only vote again if Jesus runs as a candidate. And of course there are songs of just the sheer pleasure of singing and making music, inviting all of us to the party.
Visit Zé de Teté’s website (has not been updated in a long time..) here
Mais um grande acerto da sua parte, Flabber. Como sempre você tomou todos os cuidados possíveis pra oferecer a máxima qualidade possível, em especial colocar o vídeo do grupo em estúdio foi um adicional muito interessante.
Estou gostando muito do disco (que bom que eu entendo português pra aproveitar ainda mais) e se você pretende postar mais desses durante junho eu já vi que vai ser um mês ótimo.
E que foto bonita essa última que você colocou. Aquela casinha tão simples… nem sei ao certo. Obrigado.
Can't wait to listen to them! I'm a huge fan of Siba, who is really the greatest musician in activity from Pernambuco for me, with Lirinha maybe.
About this publicity of root music of Pernambuco, I got a copy of anthologies made by Pernambuco state. The friend who gave me said they ve be made to distribute to world music networks or stuff like this. They have a website, http://www.musicadepernambuco.pe.gov.br/ but the anthologies are not commercialized, as far as I know.
I can rip for you the one with traditionalist musicians, which is clearly the best one.
I comment again to thank you after listening to this great album. Zé de teté is featuring on the compilation I was talking about, as well as others poetas da mata norte artits (Antônio Caju e Caetano da Ingazeira, João Paulo e Barachinha)… and this music is good, I really can't wait for you to upload their LPs!
boebis thank you for the comments, and my apologies for not responding to your first one! I haven't had time to look at the link you sent me and I wanted to do so before responding. But I would be happy to receive any compilations you want to share. I didn't realize all those guys were collected on a compilation. João Paulo and especially Barachinha are close friends of mine, they are amazingly talented artists. I plan to post the maracatu stuff sometime *after* June, because its not typically music you hear during the 'Festa Junina' cycle. Maracatu "season" starts around August and goes until Carnaval. Up next will be some ciranda from João Limoeiro and Zé Galdino (who already has a disc on this blog but the links may be dead.. I'll check!) Oh yeah, and Siba is the real deal, he's super talented and prolific as well. I respect Lirinha as a lyricist but I was never too into the sound of Cordel de Fogo Encantado, although I saw them play life. I still haven't heard his new 'solo' material. Um abraço
Here's the link! http://www55.zippyshare.com/v/67006535/file.html
I love the sound of the cordel, which is so different from anything I heard before, not close to other manguebeat associated bands, and the solo album of Lirinha is also great, with a very different sound, many electronic piano and the same great lyrics as far as I understand them. That's awesome that you know Barachinha and Joao Paulo, you're living there?