The Sounds of VTech

Though some may say the Ides of March evokes a dark mood, VTech and Mochilla couldn’t disagree more (Sorry Julius Caesar).  It’s time to rejoice and cheer, Verocai is here!

 Arthur Verocai with a 36 piece orchestra will be performing live in Los Angeles for the very first time, and you won’t want to miss it.  

For hip hop fans and music lovers alike, come experience Arthur Verocai’s self-titled 1972 debut album in its entirety.

How can you resist this? Opening DJ sets with  Madlib and DJ Nuts. A 36 piece orchestra featuring Brasilian heavy hitters Ivan “Mamao” Conti and Jose Roberto Bertrami from Azymuth, Carlos Dafé (the originally singer on Verocai’s album), Airto Moreira, and more!! 

TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT!

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

7-11pm / All Ages /  $32.50 

The Luckman Box Office +1 323 343 6600
(Please keep in mind that these are assigned seating events - in order to sit together you MUST purchase your tickets together - to view seating chart please go http://luckmanarts.org/seatingchart.php)
*Early arrival is STRONGLY suggested*

Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex
Cal State University Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive. Los Angeles. 90032

Day 1 of rehearsals for Timeless III with Arthur Verocai, was filled with friendly hellos, warm embraces, and old friends catching up.

At 12:30 pm, a white van dropped off the silent giant at the backdoor of the Luckman Fine Arts Complex. Arthur Verocai had landed. One by one, musicians and singers exited the vehicle and instantly the energy level elevated. 

Singer Carlos Dafé  kissed young ladies’ hands as he suavely introduced himself, drummer Ivan “Mamao” Conti sported a rich brown complexion from his recent beach visits, Debora Pill (translator and long time friend of Mochilla) flew in from Barcelona specifically for this show before she heads back home to Sao Paulo, and composer/ arranger Arthur Verocai, towered over all this, and silently took out his camera. He needed photos. 

As the orchestra (originally 30 members, now 36) chatted on stage while tuning their instruments, the moment Verocai stood at the podium, they waited with bated breath for their maestro’s instructions. 

Verocai’s music is beauty personified. From sweeping strings, to the soulful twang of the electric guitar, and the blaring horns, it was truly breathtaking.

For five hours his music rang through the complex, with every head nodding in approval and toes tapping to the beat. 

Break Time

Todd Simon

Airto's music stand

Old Friends: Ivan "Mamao" Conti and B+

Verocai, Aguiar and Bertrami around the piano

Behind the scenes:

Jose Roberto Bertrami and Aloisio Aguiar acting out funny stories to each other in Portuguese.

Ivan “Mamao” Conti and Airto Moreira reiminesce about how long they’ve known each other.

Mamao- “It must be 30-35 years?”

Airto- “Everything for us now is 30 or 35 years!!”

Mamao embraces Airto- ”He (Airto) is like the godfather for Azymuth.”

Percussionist Andres Renteria admiring Airto Moreira’s treasure trove of percussion instruments.

While tapping on Airto’s wooden blocks, he notices a gong and turns it over. ”Hey this one is mine!” laughs Andres.

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (composer and arranger for Timeless II: Suite For Ma Dukes) talks about Arthur Verocai:

Q: How you do you feel about having Arthur Verocai in LA?

M A-F: “I’m ecstatic, overjoyed. I feel very lucky, don’t want it to end.”

Q: How long have you known about Verocai’s work?

M A-F: “Two months!”

A quote from Brasil to her old friend:

“I’ve known Arthur Verocai for many years. He was a longtime friend from my old neighborhood at Posto Seis, a lovely spot in Copacabana. I was happy to see how much he grew as a musician, arranger and composer, unfortunately still underrated for most audiences. Hope this will change now.”  -Joyce, singerBrasilian Singer Joyce (photo by Lizzie Bravo)

** Rehearsal photos by Joy Yoon

On Sunday, March 15th, as the third installment of the VTech and Mochilla Timeless series takes place, Madlib, DJ Nuts, and Airto Moreira are just a few supporting players taking part in welcoming Arthur Verocai to his first ever live performance in Los Angeles. Truly, a can’t miss performance. 

Arthur Verocai

For those still unsure about the power of Arthur Verocai’s self-titled 1972 debut album, 36 years later, his influence remains throughout the music world, especially in today’s hip hop culture.

Arthur Verocai album

“Arthur Verocai is a genius, one of the finest“ -Quantic, DJ and Producer

“I could listen to the (Arthur Verocai) album everyday for the rest of my life” - Madlib, hip hop producer

“Em 1972 falaram que ele estava maluco… sua musica é agora.” - DJ Nuts

“When I listen to Arthur’s music it makes me glad to feel alive. It doesn’t get any better than this,”  -Harmonic 313. 

“Arthur Verocai is living proof that soul transcends generations, races, and creeds. If you are a producer and don’t know who this guy is……. then you don’t know soul music at its best….. Welcome to Brazillian Soul……………. meet Arthur Verocai”  -9th Wonder, hip hop producer

“When I listen to Arthur’s music it makes me glad to feel alive. It doesn’t get any better than this” - Mark Pritchard/ Troubleman

“Of all the Brazilian music I have encountered, this is my favourite record” -Yoshihiro Okino, Kyoto Jazz Massive

“A touch of folk, more than a hint of funk, jazz-style solos, amazing 20-piece string arrangements, and a blending of electronics and keyboards with organic sounds and social commentary… You could easily get laid to this stuff.”  -Water Magazine

“With influences stretching from Milton Nascimento and Herbie Hancock to Frank Zappa and Jimmy Webb, Verocai was very much a product of the Tropicalia era, drawing on the music of the exterior to speak to the oppressed youth. Touching on folk, jazz cinema music and early electronica Verocai’s self-titled album is a stunning piece of work and worthy of comparisons with the lo-fi sound of Shuggie Otis and the orchestral soul of Charles Stepney. A wonderful discovery.” -Straight No Chaser

“Verocai’s self-titled album from 1972 is an amazing album full of psych-funk arrangements and jazz-pop sounds that continue to be a landmark for the music of post-Tropicalia Brazil…it’s one of my favorite albums of all time!” -Lin Yee Yuan, Associate Editor at Theme Magazine

 “The name Arthur Verocai may not ring a bell with even the keenest Brazilophiles, but this 1972 debut has been reissued principally because internationalist DJs like Rainer Trüby and Gilles Peterson have worked it into their sets, sprinkling their cool dust on it. Verocai had a pop-jazz-symphonic vision, employing sad, soaring melodies and advanced harmonyh, similar to Milton Nascimento’s early collaborations with Lo Borges and Fernando Brant.” -Ben Ratliff, Tracks

“Arthur Verocai was an accomplished producer and arranger when he released this long-lost 1972 album that still sounds like nothing else. It turned out to be a crucial bridge between the experimental pop of the 1960s Tropicalia era and the deep funk that followed.” - Aaron Cohen, Downbeat Magazine

Take Brazilian producer Arthur Verocai’s music on its face, and you can group him with David Axelrod, Charles Stepney, and oter Maerican studio wizards from the ‘70s who wrangled psychedelia and orchestral arrangements into an R&B context. But unlike Axelrod or Stepney, Verocai did his thing under a military dictatorship that regularly jailed artists, censored lyrics and banned suggestive stage dancing. LuvN’Haight’s reissue of Verocai’s rare, eponymous solo album from 1972 offers a snap shot of a sonic craftsman working in- and subtly commenting on – a political and artistic environment controlled by the badge and the gun.

You can’t exactly call Verocai an outright renegade; he both produced largely uncontroversial Brazilian artist of the time like Jorge Ben and Gal Costa and composed TV themes. But he generously sprinkles Arthur Verocai’s pop-soul casserole with the kind of intriguing flavors that would later on current retro-experimentalists like Stereolab and Zero 7: snarling horn-section lines, sharp string-section stabs, and the twinkling electric-piano solos. - Ron Nachmann (SF Weekly)

“Timeless has showcased legendary composers’ lasting mark on hip-hop music in each of their own unique ways. The response that these artists have received has been remarkable and illustrates their relevance to every generation. We are thrilled to have Arthur Verocai headline our third concert in the series.” -Tom Bacon, VP of Marketing, VTech Communications. “

Arthur Verocai is something else again- a lost slice of Brazilian psychedelic samba-pop from 1972 that shows hippie-era culture from another angle. -Entertainment Weekly

This Sunday, March 15th, 2009, VTech with Mochilla are proud to present opening DJ sets by Madlib and DJ Nuts. A can’t miss opportunity for hip hop lovers, Brasilian funk feelers , and down and dirty crater diggers.

MADLIB

Madlib (photo by B+)

From the unlikely beach town of Oxnard, 40 miles north of Los Angeles, the multi-dimensional Madlib quickly rose to prominence as one of the most interesting figures in late-’90s hip-hop. With his childhood buddies in the Lootpack, Madlib quickly made a name for himself as a rapper, producer, and DJ. In particular, his expansive style and deft touch for composition made him one of hip-hop’s most sought-after producers. An enthusiastic crate digger, with a deep reverence for jazz and soul, Madlib branched out into a number of ambitious, engaging solo projects.

Along with DJ Romes and Wild Child, Madlib formed the Lootpack in their hometown of Oxnard. The trio made their debut on tha Alkaholiks’ 21 and Over in 1993. They continued doing work for tha Alkaholiks and other artists before releasing their full-length Soundpieces: Da Antidote six years later. The album earned solid reviews but went largely unnoticed. Madlib did not, however. After hooking up with Los Angeles DJ Peanut Butter Wolf, Madlib did a lot of production for Wolf’s Stones Throw label. In 1999 the label released Quasimoto’s astonishing The Unseen LP. Doubling as himself and his alter ego Quasimoto, Madlib handled vocals and production duties on the album, a huge critical success.

Not resting on his laurels, Madlib followed The Unseen a year later with his Yesterday’s New Quintet project. Madlib played all the instruments himself, infusing his exploration of jazz with both style and substance.

While continuing on with a massive release schedule and work load, Madlib completed a remix/reinterpretation project for Blue Note, a collaboration with Jay Dee under the Jaylib alias, a collaboration with MF Doom, produced 1/2 of fellow Lootpack member Wildchild’s solo record and many other remix and producer tasks all in 2003.

Never one to slow down, the next few years brought a myriad of new releases, including Jackson Conti’s Sujinho, a collaboration with Azymuth’s Ivan “Mamao” Conti, who will be playing drums at Verocai’s L.A. debut this Sunday. 

With each year Madlib has continued to expand his abilities beyond the core hip hop that he is known for.

“I could listen to that (Arthur Verocai) album everyday for the rest of my life”  - Madlib

www.myspace.com/madlib

DJ NUTS

DJ Nuts

DJ Nuts is the foremost turntablist living in Brasil today. His skills mixed with the depth of his crates makes him unique in his home country. As a youngster in the late eighties he became fascinated by the burgeoning Sao Paulo hiphop scene. Graduating from the school of “Yo MTV Raps” - he began Djing under the tutelage of Macello 2the Bone (producer of Racionais MCs) in 1991. In 2000 he became the tuntablist champion of Brasil. As a producer he was done albums for Marcello D2 (Sony Music) as well as working with Brasilian music legends Gilberto Gil, Planet Hemp, Joao Donato, Trio Mocoto, O Rappa and Dom Um Romao.

In 2002, DJ Nuts was a tutor at the Red Bull Music Academy in Sao Paulo. He became the main consultant and DJ for Brasilintime: Batucada com Discos- the Mochilla sequel to Keepintime,  on the relationship between Brazilian music of the 1970s and hip hop and funk. 

„Em 1972 falaram que ele estava maluco… sua musica é agora.” - DJ Nuts 

www.myspace.com/djnuts

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
7-11pm / All Ages / $22.50 Limited Presale / $32.50 After
*Presale Tickets Available @www.ticketmaster.com and
The Luckman Box Office +1 323 343 6600
(Please keep in mind that these are assigned seating events - in order to sit together you MUST purchase your tickets together - to view seating chart please go http://luckmanarts.org/seatingchart.php)
*Presale + early arrival is STRONGLY suggested*

Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex
Cal State University Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive. Los Angeles. 90032

Feb 22nd 2009
VTech, Mochilla and ArtDontSleep present

Suite for Ma Dukes : Miguel Atwood- Ferguson & Carlos Nino with a 40-piece orchestra.

James Yancey will be forever be known as J Dilla.  He was born in Detroit. His music was the most revered sound in hiphop from the mid-nineties until today.  He had worked with everyone from Tribe called Quest to Busta Rhymes, De la Soul, Common even Janet Jackson. His two solo albums for BBE records are classics and his Donuts album for Stones Throw is considered genre defining. Donuts, his final album,  was completed during one of his extended hospital stays. Dilla suffered from Lupus. It was released on February 7, his 32nd birthday. Three days later, while at his Los Angeles home with his mother (MaDukes), he passed away.

Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood Ferguson have chosen to pay tribute to Dilla by interpreting his music in a contemporary chamber music style that they been developing.  Their EP “Suite For Ma Dukes” will be released and performed live for the first time.  Very special guests to be announced.

Opening Dj Sets by J.ROCC and House Shoes
Very Special Guests TBA

Sunday, February 1, 2009
7-11pm / All Ages / $32.50

*Tickets Available via WWW.TICKETMASTER. COM

Presented at The Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex located on the campus of Cal State University Los Angeles. 5151 State University Drive. Los Angeles. 90032

March 15th 2009
VTech, Mochilla and ArtDontSleep present:
Arthur Verocai with 30 piece orchestra featuring Airto Moreira, Ivan “Mamao” Conti, Jose Bertrami, Carlos Dafe and many more…

Folk-jazz composer/arranger Arthur Verocai was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1945.He has created challenging arrangements and compositions for Brasilian artistsfrom Jorge Ben (Negro é Linda) to Ivan Lins (Agora) to works from Leny Andrade and Gal Costa. Verocai is best known however for his eponymous 1972 album. It is a stunningly innovative effort.  It puts Verocai into a rarified field with the heavy string oriented music of Charles Stepney and David Axelrod. Released in a dark period of Brasilian history, the album fared poorly. Subsequently the album has become an oft sampled highly influential classic - see Ludacriss and Little Brother.

Opening sets by Madlib and Dj Nuts
Very Special Guests TBA

Sunday, February 1, 2009
7-11pm / All Ages / $22.50

*Tickets Available via WWW.TICKETMASTER. COM

Presented at The Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex located on the campus of Cal State University Los Angeles. 5151 State University Drive. Los Angeles. 90032

April 5th 2009
VTech, Mochilla and ArtDontSleep present:

The Music of David Axelrod live with 26 piece orchestra.

Born in Los Angeles, David Axelrod defines composer/arranger. He was a Grammy winning producer for Capitol Records in the 1960s and ’70s.  He has recorded everyone from Stan Kenton to Lou Rawls from the Electric Prunes to Cannonball Adderley. David Axelrod has forged a distinctive dramatic musical style.  His music lives and breathes Los Angeles.  His pair of solo albums based on the visionary, mystical poetry of William Blake (Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience) have influenced so much of hiphop.  His string heavy sound has been sampled by everyone from Dr. Dre (Next Episode) to Lauryn Hill and Lil Wayne (Dr Carter).

Opening sets by J.ROCC
Very Special Guests TBA

Sunday, February 1, 2009
7-11pm / All Ages / $32.50

*Tickets Available via WWW.TICKETMASTER. COM or please call the Luckman box office.

Presented at The Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex located on the campus of Cal State University Los Angeles. 5151 State University Drive. Los Angeles. 90032