Are you a foreigner finding it difficult to pick up English? Then you should try Geordie! The Newcastle dialect is a challenge to many Brits, let alone those coming from abroad already entangled in learning a different language and culture. It is a daunting task for travellers and newcomers looking to embrace (or simply grasp!) the city’s noble heritage and customs, such as football (Hoo’s the Toon gannin?) and wet afternoons (Cowld the day, mar!).

Differences between English dialects are much more profound than those between the Portuguese spoken in the various parts of Brazil. Geordie is considered one of the oldest English dialects in the world, and it is deeply rooted in a history stretching back to medieval times. At times it is hardly intelligible for Brits from the South.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Two years ago, a survey of 5,000 people for Travelodge revealed that Geordie is “the sexiest accent in Britain”, closely followed by Edinburgh. I wonder if it was Cheryl Cole’s warbling and Sting’s whining that helped Geordies to secure a place in people’s hearts and pants.

In November 2011 Brazilian entrepreneur Guilherme Afonso moved to Newcastle and was suddenly faced with the strange wonders of Geordie speech. And so he created the iPhone application Alreet Geordie School, a spoken dictionary to help those Brits and foreigners visiting or moving to Newcastle.

The initiative took several months to complete, and was supported by more than 40 local organisations, ranging from museums to night clubs. The project team also included Jorgen McLeman, Steven Hunt, Kerry Harrison and Peter Robson – the last two are authentic Geordies.

The project is UK-only, but there is potential for similar applications in Brazil. A baianês dictionary (Bahia dialect) and the Aurélia (gay dictionary) were once published in Brazil, but these jest-filled books served humorous purposes rather than more functional one. Also, they were simple lexicons with little or no regard to phonology and general characteristics of the cultures represented. Alreet Geordie School is much more than this.

Language is a quickly and vigorously changing field. It’s good that technology is keeping pace with this phenomenon and helping to bring different cultures together.  It is also helping to document unique language traits, shifts and trends –  very useful for linguists and historians. More importantly, it could help you to engage with a Geordie babe and thoroughly enjoy the nuances of their sexy tongue! Ye knaa what ah mean leik?

By Victor Fraga

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Find out more at their Facebook page  www.facebook.com/geordieschool

Or by the app at the Apple Store http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geordie-school/id515823120?mt=8

Following a press conference and photocall in the morning, JungleDrums’s Sofia Serbin de Skalon met Meirelles at the May Fair hotel where he was atending a round table discussion with journalists from 5 different nationalities. This seems appropriate given that 360 is framed around a series of interconnecting stories linking characters from different countries.

Meirelles, when he finally arrives, is vivacious and charming. He sits on a velvet sofa and we gather around him. He’s full of energy, shifting constantly in his seat, twisting around to look at each of us in turn, gesticulating with his arms, overflowing with enthusiasm and vitality. It is hard to believe he’s been at it since early this morning. As the conversation gets underway, you realise just how incredibly busy he is. He mentions one project, then another, and talks about the role that chance can play in the choices we make. It was this idea of chance that attracted him to the script of 360. The film opens with a young Slovakian woman talking about her decision to embark on a new career: “A wise man once said, if there’s a fork on the road take it. He failed to mention which way to turn.”

Meirelles says something similar: “I think you take forks everyday. Sometimes you make a little decision that will change everything, you decide to go to a bar instead of a restaurant and meet someone who will change your life. It’s like the way I got involved in Constant Gardener. I was in London, walking on Greek Street with a friend and saw Simon Channing Williams (Producer) who my friend knew. We sat down and had a coffee and he said he had a script and that I should take a look. That was Constant Gardener. If I hadn’t walked on Greek St that day I wouldn’t be here today. “

360 begins in Vienna and weaves through Paris, London, Bratislava, Rio, Denver and Phoenix incorporating an international cast that includes Slovakian, Russian, French, German, British and American talent in a series of inter-linked stories.

“This was my biggest fear when I got involved. I was always afraid of the film being like a short film festival. Every story is a different place, a different language and with a different tone, so the transitions from one story to the next were very well thought out: they help to feel that this is just one thing.”

Meirelles, along with his casting director, carried out an extensive search in order to find the right actors from each country, and in the film there are many dialogues when they speak in their native language. Meirelles says this was not a problem when it came to directing “The only one who didn’t speak English was Vladimir Vdovichenkov. He had a translator, which was hard. But even when I’m directing the actors to speak in their own language, you know when a take is good. There’s something about the body language.”

Earlier in the day Meirelles had answered a question about the reactions to his films and how they vary depending on the country they’re seen in. He discussed his experience with his last film Blindness, released in 2008, which flopped in the US and Europe but succeeded in places such as Korea, Mexico and his home country, Brazil. He admits this was a consideration when he has to decide what to include and what to leave out of 360:

“There was one scene. It’s cut, not the way in which I’d like, but this time I was convinced by the Brits. It’s the scene with Jude and Rachel when they are in bed. They are talking about getting a dog. I liked the tone and their behaviour and the emptiness between them but there was something in the dialogue that the Brits just couldn’t take so it had to go.”

The interwoven multiple stories in the film bear similarities to other ensemble films such as the collaborative Paris Je T’aime and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s Babel. Like Babel, three are subtitles for the scenes in which languages other than English are spoken. Given that both Meirelles and Iñarritu are from Latin America I ask whether this is an influence on their filmmaking.

“I’ve never really thought of it that way, but I guess the fact we don’t come from the big centres of the world, London or New York, makes us see ourselves as something else, something outside. But we can also see better, it gives us a different perspective. In Brazil we have so many different cultures, Korean, Japanese. Italian. It is a bit of a melting pot. It is not as cosmopolitan as somewhere like London, but there is something interesting in Brazil, every wave of immigration that came during history, after one or two generations, they were completely mixed. In Brazil we don’t have national conflicts or ethnic conflicts, the conflicts are social: if you are poor or if you are rich. In that sense City of God was a journalistic film. It showed two societies in one country.”

Asked if he will make another Brazilian film, Meirelles mentions the novel Devil to Pay in the Backlands (Grande Sertão: Veredas) a classic of Brazilian literature, often compared to James Joyce’s Ulysses and written by João Guimaraes Rosa which Meirelles has always dreamt of bringing to the big screen. But he also says that he’s afraid the novel is so great, that he doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to make the film. For now, his eyes are on his next project, Onassis, a biopic of Aristotle Onassis based on the controversial novel Nemesis, by British writer, Peter Evans which will, no doubt, bring him back to London.

Like the subject of his films, Fernando Meirelles is global in his nature. This is how we live today.

by Sofia Serbin de Skalon

You can find all the Latin American films showing at the BFI London Film Festival here: jungledrumsonline.com/whats-on/cinema/latin-american-films-at-london-film-festival

Trailer for 360:

A lot of people know you as a Brazilian jazz singer that is based in New York. However, only a few people might know that you were something of a child prodigy. Tell us a bit about your story and how music has been part of your life since you were young.

I grew up in a very musical family. My mother played classical piano but had a great connection with jazz. Being from Brazil, I also grew up listening to lots of Brazilian music, especially bossa nova, which was huge at the time. I started studying piano at the age of seven, and when I turned 13 I was accepted by one of the best – if not the best – Brazilian music schools. I devoted myself a lot to developing my piano skills and at the age of 15 I was already teaching. I even learnt classical piano but I was in love with jazz since a very early age, always transcribing songs from different pianists such as Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock.

When did your love for music become professional? What was the starting point for your career?

My love for music was always there. By having great feedback from teachers since an early age, I was naturally convinced that I was good. So becoming a professional was a clear consequence of being a child prodigy. The kick start for my career came after I was already playing in some jazz clubs in Sao Paulo. I was invited to join the bossa nova legends Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes in their upcoming tour. I ended up touring and working with both for three years, which was a magnificent experience as I was learning bossa nova straight from the creators of the rhythm. But my dream to move to New York and the desire to become a jazz pianist were very strong and I wanted my career to follow that path.

You worked a lot with important and famous people, such as Oscar Castro Neves and Michael Brecker. Who else did you work with and what did these partners represent to the growth of your career?

When I moved to New York I ended up working with lots of great people like Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez, Mingus Dynasty, Buster Williams, Randy Brecker, Herbie Hancock… so many good people. And also I have worked with some top Brazilian musicians as well as jazz players, which all contributed to the growth of my career and to shape my music style. Every person you play with tends to bring a new or different element that can be incorporated to your own music, so it was definitely a good move to have gone to New York and played with all those great names.

Who plays with you at the moment? Talk about the members of your band and how you all ended up playing together.

For the past 24 years I’ve been playing with one of the best bass players in the world, Mark Johnson. We work together, he is also my co-producer. When I’m doing Brazilian music, I play with a drummer called Rafael Barata. There are also two guitarists involved with the Brazilian projects: Rubens de la Corte and Ricardo Volpe. But when I’m playing jazz I use different drummers because it depends on what time of music project we are doing at the time.

What are your biggest musical influences and why?

As I was born in Brazil and exposed to a great variety of music when I was young, I used to love anything from R&B, Rock, Pop, Bossa Nova to my beloved Jazz. I believe a good tune is a good tune, no matter what style of music that is. My main influences were definitely the jazz pianist I mentioned before, such as Oscar Petersen and Herbie Hancock. But the singing influence comes from Brazilian music.

What kind of feedback have you been getting from people about the album? And what are your personal expectations with Light My Fire?

I am very happy with the response for Light My Fire. Even the record label called me to say how glad they were that this CD was actually winning everyone over, from the jazz critics to the pop critics. The album has been receiving glowing reviews from everywhere and had a great debut, at number three on both iTunes and Billboard. It is wonderful to see the acceptance to your work.

Gilberto Gil appears on three tracks on Light My Fire. Have you guys been collaborating for a long time? What is you relationship with other Brazilian artists and musicians?

Gil and I have known each other for a long time. We’ve been playing together in many concerts and working together on the backstage as well. It was wonderful to have Gil in the studio with me as he is one of the most beautiful voices and most talented musicians in Brazil. I have also worked with a number of other Brazilians artists, but listing them here would take too long.

How long have you been living outside Brazil and why did you decide to live abroad in the first place? Did that change your relationship with the country, the people and Brazilian music itself?

I moved out of Brazil more than 30 years ago but my relationship with the country and the people still exists quite strongly, as I go there every year and my family lives in Brazil. But it is the music what keeps me more attached to Brazil, as I keep playing bossa nova and presenting authentic Brazilian music to the rest of the world.

Can the European public expect to see you performing live at any time soon? Any plans for a world tour?

I am on tour on the West Coast of the U.S. right now [this interview happened in September]. I just came back from France and Colombia as well. Earlier this year I was in Europe actually. I am constantly on tour to be honest. Late October I will be in Asia, then America agin, maybe Europe… anyway, my life is that, it is devoted to music!

Interview by Eduardo Pagnoncelli

Light My Fire is available to buy at Amazon and iTunes.

Wagner Moura is a household name in Brazil. Already established by the time he came to make José Padilha´s hard-hitting Elite Squad in 2007, he made the leap to super-stardom following its release, cementing his reputation as one of Brazil’s best young actors. Three years later, Moura reprised his role as Captain Roberto Nascimento, the head of Brazil’s notorious BOPE (the special forces military police) for the sequel, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within aka Elite Squad 2. This time we see him move from the streets of Rio to become Sub-secretary of Intelligence at the State Department, where his over-zealousness in tackling the city’s drug problems gets him caught up in something much darker than he could ever have imagined.

Elite Squad 2 has become the most successful Latin-American film in history, achieving over 12 million ticket sales in Brazil alone. From his hotel room in Vancouver, where he is shooting Neill Blomkamp‘s new film Elysium along with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, Moura talks about what attracted him to the Elite Squad project, the creation of Nascimento, international audiences, fascism, Brazilian film-making and his two young sons.

On becoming involved in the Elite Squad films

“Lula Carvalho (cinematographer) is a good friend of mine and he told me to do the film (Elite Squad). I’d seen José Padhila’s documentary Bus 174 and I was crazy about it. José asked me which character I wanted to play, and originally [he] wanted me to play Nato, but I felt too old for that part. Nascimento was a small character but I saw a conflict there that appealed to me: it was typical of a Greek tragedy. We did a lot of improvisation and the script changed. By the time we came to edit the film Nascimento’s role had taken on a bigger space.

With the second film we already knew what we wanted and why we wanted to do it. Nascimento is much more mature in the second film, and the main reason for this was that we decided he should have more conscience in the film. We wanted him to be conscious of the tragedy of his life. It’s a fucking tragedy! In the second film he becomes aware of it.”

Creating the character of Captain Nascimento

“It was the craziest film process. José wanted to make a documentary. He didn’t do it, because he wasn’t going to be able to get the police to say they torture and kill and are corrupt. So he decided to make a feature film in a documentary fashion. The way the characters behaved had to be realistic. I spent 15 days with BOPE. It was insane. Those guys didn’t care. They didn’t give a fuck if I was an actor. They are very proud of what they are, and they wanted me to be exactly as they are. So I went through some of the things the rookies go through in the first film. It was very intense.

What really made me able to do the film was all the political stuff in the film. José Padilha is a political film-maker. I’m not saying that politics and art should always go together, but when it happens like with José is a very strong calling for me. He is a political artist; he is interested in what is happening in his country. That’s why the film was such a huge hit in Brazil, people felt connected to it.”

What did international audiences get from Elite Squad?

“I understand why Neill Blomkamp (director of Elysium) gets what we were talking about in the film because he comes from South Africa. But at Sundance and Berlin (film festivals), I was really surprised by what the journalists got from the film. They got that it was a strong political film. The fact that the films have a lot of action is great, because that’s one of the things that makes people want to see them. But both films try and understand violence in Brazil through the point of view of the policemen. In Elite Squad 2 we went deeper. We wanted to show the way politicians manipulate institutions in order to keep the power they have, especially through the police force.”

Accusations of fascism

“I think Elite Squad was very misunderstood. It was considered a right-wing film. You should understand that José is not like that at all. I felt very offended by that. What the film is really is realistic. The police do not exist to protect people in Brazil, they exists to protect the state. The state is mixed up with people who are in power. The police are used and manipulated by people who have power. Poor people don’t see that police are there to protect and defend. The films wanted to show the police as it is. That doesn’t mean that we support that position. So it was crazy when people were saying that we were fascists. We wanted to give witness of an unfair way of life. We wanted to show how it is. It is really shocking, even for us, the people there making the film. We know this is the way things are but when we see it, it is really really shocking.”

Brazilian film-making

“In Brazil we have been making political films since the 1960s, films that are trying to understand the country, the issues and the poverty. Brazil has this tradition that Elite Squad and City of God come from.

Now we are changing focus and being able to produce new things and I think this is good. Elite Squad was independent of government financiers. Part of the film was paid by investors, people who wanted to make money with the film. Which is very important considering the filmography that came before. Its pretty new to make films now. To make profitable films in Brazil is an important thing, films that are not so dependent on the government. People are going to see films in Brazil, which is also very important. Keeping an audience in our country is very important. We have to think about generating jobs and making it a business so that people can support their families.“

How he got through the shoots

“It was a strange coincidence but both my sons were born during the shooting of the Elite Squad films, the eldest with the first one, and the youngest during the second. So after a heavy atmosphere on set I had a very happy place to come home to.”

by Sofia Serbin de Skalon

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within is released in UK cinemas on August 12th.

Since opening on Broadway in 2008 Fela! has become one of the most popular contemporary musicals, fusing music, spirituality and dance with Fela’s life and the political story of Nigeria in the 1970s. In 2010 the show won three Tony awards, and is now touring theatres around the world. The applause is still resounding and it is no surprise that lead actor Sahr Ngaujah, who plays Fela, is humbled by the experience of bringing Fela’s story to life.

When we speak, Ngaujah sounds a little sleep deprived, no doubt from his gruelling schedule, but he is good-humoured and animated when we talk about Fela’s music and reflect on the impact the musical has had on his career.

Has starring in such a magnificent show had a big impact on your career?
It is by far the most exposure I’ve ever had as an actor and as an artist. Many people have seen my work over the years, but now I’m performing for between 1200 and 3000 people a night for the last two years and amongst these are an ‘A list’ of Hollywood and music stars. We have even performed for the Prince of Wales and the Prince of Holland. I never would have imagined I would be doing that.

What process did you go through to capture Fela’s mannerisms and persona?
It was challenging you know? Fela was a very specific person; he wasn’t a ‘type’. He really was a guy who had his unique way of walking and talking. The way he used his fingers and his eyes, the way he chilled, the way he said “Yeahhh.” (drawn out and exaggerated). All these things about him were so specific. So it was a challenge to embody all of that, but it is also why he was so interesting to me as a character, and what made me want to engage in the project in the first place.

Do you ever find yourself slipping into “Fela” mode in real life?
What, you mean walking down the street like “yeah yeah, come here I want to marry all of you?!” No, it’s a character, but I guess there are aspects that do rub off. The physical training is quite intense and that is definitely in my body. I actually trained in a particular way, not just to play the role but I would train different muscle groups that helped me fit into Fela’s stance, his walk, his way of moving, so in that way it’s very close of course. But I don’t lapse into Fela at the checkout counter.

Were you a Fela and Afrobeat fan before you got involved with the project?
Yeah, I used to listen to Fela when I was a kid. My father was a DJ back in the 80s while he was studying for law school. In the daytime he would study and at night he would DJ at African parties; Ethiopian parties, Nigerian parties Ghanaian parties. Everyone used to listen to Fela, so I was listening to Fela too.

Has his music developed greater personal significance for you, now that you know his story?
Oh yes. Absolutely. From the time I was a kid I found Fela extremely fascinating. The first time I heard “I.T.T (International Thief Thief)”, I was really taken aback because I had never heard that type of language usage, this type of meaning that can cross cultures. What “Thief” means in the west and what it means in Africa are two different kinds of ideas. When you hear “thief thief” in Afirca you think of someone being chased, so when I first heard that song as a kid it blew my mind. But now to learn so much more of his story, understanding more about what was happening in the periods when he was writing a lot of these songs is fascinating. He was a very interesting and courageous individual.

And has this been the most challenging role you have had so far?
Yes, it is the most challenging so far for a number of reasons. I’ve been fortunate in the fact that I have been acting for about seventeen years and been directing for about fourteen, and what I have always hoped for is that whatever my next project is, it is more challenging than the last, and this definitely is. To me that’s part of the journey, it’s the craft.

Returning to the Fela! show, how have audience responses differed in the US and England?
Of course Americans and the English have a different type of character. Considering that there is still an equal level of enthusiasm and excitement for the show, it’s just that the way it is expressed is just a little different.

Where is the show going after after London?
Next is back to North America and to Canada. Then we will tour Europe again and after that Africa and parts of Asia.

Why should people come to the show?
The show is enjoyable for everyone. Hopefully when people leave they will have come face-to-face their own humanity and therefore have the courage to face their fears.

And finally, what is your all time favourite Fela track?
“Confusion Break Bone”

Interview by Fola Odumosu

Fela! is at Sadlers Wells from 20th July until 28th August 2011 sadlerswells.com/show/Fela

José Padilha also directed hard-hitting documentary Bus 174, exploring the makings of a criminal in Brazilian society, and produced the sensational Estamira, a film about a schizophrenic woman who lives in a garbage dump in Rio de Janeiro. But Elite Squad is a transcendental work. It made such an impact in Brazil that it’s even changed the way in which drugs traffickers treat the police in the favelas of Rio.

In this frank conversation with JungleDrums, the director talks about the Golden Bear award, the roots of urban violence and the praise and criticism he’s received since 2007. Tired of people drawing the wrong conclusions, he reveals that he feels very uncomfortable when people call Elite Squad “fascist”; the interview
was tense, but Padilha didn’t hold back.

City of God is still one of the best-known Brazilian films here in Europe and the press have compared Elite Squad to it.Do you think that’s a fair comparison?
Both films have certain things in common, but in other ways they’re very different. For starters, they deal with different subject matters. City of God is about the war waged between different gangs in a favela. It’s a film that looks at how the drugs trade came about and is almost exclusively centred on trafficking. Elite Squad takes place in the intersection between four different realities. One of these is the reality of the traffickers, the other is life for a conventional policeman, with their aggressive tactics and disrespect for human life, and, finally, the world of university students who take drugs. The film shows how these four very different realities interact with one another.

The way in which the two films were shot is totally different as well. My film was shot using hand-held cameras, which springs from my experience as a documentarist. Now both films share the theme that they deal with social problems without ever distancing the viewer. They both have unethical, misguided characters played by very charismatic actors who enable the public to empathise with the people they’re depicting: in the case of Elite Squad, it’s Captain Nascimento, and in City of God, it’s Lil’ Dice. And both films received the same sort of criticism for this approach here in Brazil. People claimed that Elite Squad encouraged a part of the population to look up to Captain Nascimento, and that City of God promoted drugs trafficking, encouraging children to copy Lil’ Dice.

Elite Squad is narrated from the point of view of the captain and is full of exhilarating music and action. Were you surprised that many people saw the film as a sympathetic portrayal of the BOPE (the Brazilian police’s elite squad)?
In reality, only a tiny minority of people said this. You have to completely not get the film to draw this kind of conclusion. The film shows very clearly the way in which the BOPE doesn’t try and hide this, it confronts the audience with the harsh reality of what really goes on. The BOPE processed the film, and tried to prohibit it from being exhibited in order to oblige us to cut all the scenes in the film where people are tortured or killed in the favelas. So the police and the BOPE obviously didn’t like it. They read the film as a criticism of their work. The jury at the Berlin Festival also saw it in the same light.

And what was your main aim when you made the film? Did you want to satirise the BOPE and their tactics?
The film isn’t a satire; it was a critique. The film is a harsh criticism of the actions of the authorities in Brazil, it continues what I started in Bus 174. Here we told the story of a violent criminal from his point of view. We showed how the State took a street kid, tortured him, put him in institutions that weren’t schools (they were concentration camps), put him in overcrowded prisons… the film shows how the State transformed a petty thief into a major criminal. Bus 174 poses the following question: “how are the powers that be responsible for the actions of this criminal?” Elite Squad is exactly the same thing, but seen from the other side of the law.

How does the State mould a character like Captain Nascimento, a violent policeman? And the film shows this very clearly. If you look at the film’s narrative structure, you see that it starts with Nascimento in crisis. He’s starting to realise that his method of containing violence in the favelas is incompatible with his family life and wants to leave the Elite Squad. What’s the whole drama behind the film? In order for him to be able to leave he has to train someone else to be just like him. Clearly, the film shows how this type of person is moulded by our society. Therefore it’s a harsh critique of the social consensus that helps create this type of police officer.

Has winning a Golden Bear changed the course of your career?
Yes. When you win something at a festival like Berlin, which is one of the biggest, it really promotes your work. That doesn’t mean that your film is necessarily better than all the others, it just means that the festival jury chose your film to symbolically draw people’s attention to it. This changes the international distribution of the film, and the reputations of the people that made it.

Do you disagree with the way in which the authorities in Rio deal with violence?
The current government’s policy is to openly confront favela dwellers. It’s a policy based on the BOPE. How many people did the police in Rio kill last year? One thousand two hundred. Just to give you a notion of the scale of the violence in Rio, in the United States, a country with 300 million inhabitants, last year the police killed 200 people.

What’s it like filming in a favela?
Filming in a favela is very difficult because you have to establish first that the don controlling the favela agrees to the shoot. And then you have to find out whether or not the police are going to invade the favela whilst you’re filming. We probably weren’t very efficient in either respect because the police tried to invade the favela at one point; there was a shoot out, and one of the crew almost took a bullet. And then a group of traffickers robbed one of our cars which was full of fake guns and had four members of the crew inside. The police ended up having to enter the favela again and we had to put off shooting. This was probably because we hadn’t talked to the traffickers first. We went to the local community representatives and the NGOs working in the favela, struck a deal with them and contracted a number of people from the favela to help with the filming, we even donated money to the community. But, naturally, we said that the community were in direct contact with the traffickers…

Who were you more scared of at the end of the day: the police or the traffickers?
I was more afraid of the traffickers because they use drugs and you never know just what might happen. As for the police, I felt it would be unlikely that they’d harm us during the shooting of the film because the repercussions in the press would be enormous. To be honest, the police didn’t want to give us authorisation to film at all. They started censoring the text and we said that the police weren’t qualified to evaluate film scripts. They have to authorise a film shoot based on other criteria, not the script. That led to a stand-off that lasted three months until we went to the governor of Rio and complained about the censorship, explaining that Brazil is a democracy and that we were entitled to freedom of speech. The governor took a political gamble, “should I be dubbed a censorer and have the press at my throat or should I let them film and then deal with the consequences?” He chose the latter. Thank God.

In the lounge of a busy 5-star hotel, Heidi Vogel sits waiting on a couch, black mini-dress, high heels, dark ringlets – her unmistakable trademark. Heidi made her professional debut touring with Cirque du Soleil ten years ago. She became, on her return, a frequent face in the London and LA Jazz and soul scene where she got involved with the Cinematic Orchestra, first starting as a backing vocal and quickly rising to the lead singer position.

What differentiates Heidi Vogel from other Jazz singers of her generation? A voice that comes from the deepest places of the heart, honest interpretation of songs, a powerful childlike presence on stage that makes her so watchable. This is the blend that emerges out of her recently released Album Lágrimas de um Pássaro – Tears of a Bird where Heidi interprets songs of great composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and Joe Henderson.

Heidi, could you tell us the origin of this album, where the ideas came from?
Hmm, that’s an interesting question. I’m not sure there was an idea behind it, I would say there was like… a passion. I wanted to record and sing the songs that I love.

And most of the songs are in Portuguese…
Yeah, I love Brazilian music a lot. I didn’t intentionally choose to do the whole album in Portuguese, but when I looked at the songs that I chose, I realised that’s what I wanted to do. I know this sounds a bit unusual… but I tried to do it, really, for myself. I just wanted an album with the music that I love, because the connection that I feel with Brazilian music is something that harmonically I’ve got a lot of admiration for and a deep relationship with.

When did it start, this passion for Brazilian music?
It was in my late teens. I was touring with Cirque du Soleil and there were loads of Brazilian musicians and two Brazilian girls, doing… hmm… You know, in the circus they have this ring that they intertwine the two bodies on the ring? In the sky?

A trapeze?
Yeah, it’s like a trapeze but they made the ring themselves with their bodies.

Yeah, they were trapezists.
(laughter) They were amazing. And they had some sort of Brazilianesque jazz original music in that part of the show. I would sing along to that and the three guys from the band who were Brazilian were like “Heidi, Heidi, you have to sing in Portuguese!” So that was my first time…

Since then, you learnt the language?
Actually, I started learning it more recently. Because it took a long time of listening to assimilate enough to be able to chat. Then I went to Brazil and threw myself at in the deep end.

How many times have you been to Brasil?
Just two.

To perform?
Yeah, once with the Cinematic, then again with my own work. Only after that I started to take Portuguese lessons cause I can see now where my holes are! (Laughter)

I was quite surprised by your spot-on Brazilian accent in the album by the way. And you’ve got some songs here that are like forgotten Brazilian pearls. “Medo de Amar”, how did you find this song?
I LOVE Tom Jobim. I am more than a fan. I consider people who compose like Tom Jobim to be in the same league as Mozart and Beethoven in our time. You never get tired of those composers because there is always more to learn, always more to see. And there is a great album called Jobim sings Moraes. That’s where I heard that song. One of my favourite albums. Actually probably all songs are…

… from that album!
(Mutual laughter)
This is Heidi sings Jobim sings Moraes! (pause) No, there are also two jazz standards.
(More mutual laughter)

And you work with Brazilian musicians in the UK, who also play your Jazz songs and all. How does it work?
I love working with Brazilian musicians, but not only because they are Brazilian. I want to play with the best musicians. Someone like Josue (Ferreira) for me is not only a Brazilian musician, he plays the Brazilian guitar but also knows classical guitar, jazz, blues, a bit of everything, he is a rounded musician. So is Gustavo (Marques). That’s why I like playing with Josue and Gustavo. Ernesto (Simpson) is not only a Cuban musician, Ivo (Neame), who is English, is a great jazz pianist. Jasper (Hoybe) is one of the best bass players around. Then there is Adriano (Adewale) who is fantastic…. And that sound, Adriano, Josue, me, funk, jazz, samba, it’s not like Heidi Vogel trying to be Brazilian.

It’s universal.
Exactly. Josue and I did a gig about a month ago to young people, and I was feeling like OK, I’m coming to do this urban soul theme and they gonna think like “who is this old jazz lady?” (Laughter) That’s how I felt like, you know what I mean? Because I’m not coming with a really funky and hip-hop style of songs, just doing like, sitting down on a chair with Josue, just doing like Bossa Nova… (Laughter) But they loved it!

I have this theory that when the music is really good, it touches people. It doesn’t matter what kind of audience you have, as long as there is quality and dedication, people will hear your soul.
True, I agree with that. About this album, what I wanted to tell you is that it is slightly different from my live show. I didn’t want to do my original sound yet, because if I get that wrong, I’d have messed up an album. But, with this genre of music I knew I couldn’t go wrong. If people don’t like it, they don’t like it, but I knew I’d like it. And I knew the simplicity that I wanted, I couldn’t make a mistake with that. And I don’t know if there is an audience for it because the mood is so particular but I had really nice feedback from some of the best soul, classical and jazz singers in the country. And this is not me asking “Do you like the album? do you like the album?” (Laughter) Because sometimes, you know, I do that to my friends, when I’m not sure about it. But in this case I didn’t have to!

They just came to you…
Yes, and they said it naturally. A friend of mine said that this album is so high in communication level, so intimate and direct that it goes beyond the genre of the style, that even if people don’t know this kind of music, they’ll be touched by it.

Nice. Where do you see yourself in ten years time?
I was thinking about that today. I was thinking that the sound I have with The Cinematic Orchestra is very particular. I don’t perform or compose with anybody else like that. So I would like to still be working with the Cinematic in the future and still be performing my own work in a lot of Jazz festivals.

Do you prefer recording or playing live?
Live.

Do you feel nervous before going on stage?
No

Never?
(pause)
No. Because even when I was playing at the Royal Albert Hall I wasn’t nervous. I felt… elevated to the event. Excited.

Who is your hero?
Eska! [Mtungwazi] She is amazing.

Yeah?
She is one of my favourite musicians ever. Even internationally, she is one of the best people around.

A singer from the old times you really like?
Sarah Vaughan

I can see some similarities. What are your influences?
Jazz, Brazilian music, Blues, hip-hop – but hip-hop is too broad a term, I like Funk Fusion, Reggae, a lot of different things, really. But my favourite at the moment is… Brazilian music, really.

Interview by Gaël le Cornec

Lágrimas De Um Pássaro – Tears Of A Bird is available now on iTunes.

Or to buy on CD order here : kudosrecords.co.uk/index.php?page=detail&product=CD001HV2011

The long-awaited Album launch will be on September 6th at Pizza Express Soho Jazz.
Bookings: 0845 6027 017 or pizzaexpresslive.com.

Here’s a clip of Heidi performing “Midnight Sun” at her last performance at the Pizza Express Soho Jazz Club on July 20th:

First off, I just wanted to ask you about the novel; Where did the idea come from? And when did you write it?
From the outset I wanted to write a novel about someone going back to Brazil with a mission of some kind, because I had recently been living in Brazil and missed it a lot. I thought tapping into my feelings of saudade for Rio de Janeiro would give the novel some impetus, and that writing a novel set largely in Rio would also be a good way to keep my relationship with Brazil and its language alive. I was also interested in the issue of fatherhood because I had moved in with my girlfriend and her son (now my wife and step-son) and found myself in a quasi-father position for the first time. Putting these elements together I came up with the main spine of the plot: a man going back to Brazil to find his father. The rest grew from there.

Brazil obviously plays a big part in the novel. What was it about Brazil that made you want the country to feature so heavily?
Brazil is a fascinating country and a place I’ve personally loved spending time, having lived for periods in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. There is so much one could say and write about Brazil, it is hard to sum it all up. But I suppose one thing which struck me were the vivid contrasts – between the vibrancy of its cities and the richness of its natural environment, between the high-life and the poverty. There is heaven and hell to be found in a city like Rio de Janeiro, and that makes it a great location for a story. Added to which, Brazil has one of the richest musical cultures on earth and the warmest people I have encountered – again, great material for fiction. But beyond any such generalisations it is the little details of life in a place which really get under your skin: the things you eat, the quirks of language, the humour. Such details helped me fall in love with Brazil and I hoped they would seduce my readers too.

You now live in Brighton. Do you feel there are some obvious parallels or differences between Brighton and Rio that made these two cities perfect choices for the setting of your novel?
I certainly think there are parallels, up to a point. They are two cities by the sea with a reputation for decadence and knowing how to enjoy themselves – in contrast to more serious neighbours like São Paulo and London. Both nestle in a natural setting, and although there is little in common between the South Downs and the Atlantic Forest, that situation close to nature is important to both. In reality Brighton is very different from Rio de Janeiro, but it’s the closest Britain has to the “Marvelous City”.

You pick up on some sensitive themes during the novel; street children and the 174 bus hijacking. What was your aim in raising these issues?
Around the time I started writing the (as yet untitled) Invisibles I was asked to write a review of the excellent Jose Padilha documentary Bus 174 (Onibus 174). The film makes reference to os invisiveis – in that context an invisible underclass of people living on the fringes of society, such as street children, who are neglected and sometimes brutalised. I interviewed Sr. Padilha, and one of the points he made was to emphasise the distinction between street children and the kids in favela drug gangs – the point being that the former are not where they are through any kind of choice, and yet are sometimes viewed in a similar light to the latter. I was interested in this distinction and in social invisibility more generally – an issue not just in Brazil but everywhere, including the UK – and my aim was subtly to present and explore it through the novel.

Was most of the novel informed by your travels or did you feel it necessary to do research into the characters and places you wrote about after your travels?
The novel was a combination of existing knowledge from my time in Brazil, and research. Some elements, of course, had to be researched – the details of 60s Brazil during the advent of Tropicália and the years under military rule – which occurred long before I spent time there. But the principal locations in the novel were all ones in which I’d spent time: Ipanema, Lapa, Paraty, Tiradentes etc. But I didn’t know all that I needed to know about them from my time in Brazil alone, so research was also important to the depiction of these places, as well as to the details of others of which I was ignorant.

The existence of the Internet makes such research so much easier for a writer than it would have been twenty years ago. Using resources like Flickr it is possible to access photographs of almost any location; using Google Earth and Streetview you can go anywhere and virtually walk down a street.

Music is central to the novel, why was it so important and what do you think of the Portuguese language in song?
Going to Brazil and not enjoying the music would be like going to France and not liking the food. Until I spent time in Brazil I’d assumed that the UK and the US produced the best music in the modern world, thanks to all of the different evolutions and revolutions in those countries from early 20th century Blues, through the sixties, Punk, House and up to the present day. Sure, other places all had their signature tunes – Flamenco, Salsa, Bhangra etc – but their modern music wasn’t a patch on ours. That wasn’t a very informed or intelligent viewpoint, admittedly, but I think it’s a viewpoint many share in the Anglophone world.

Brazil set me straight. The depth and variety of the musical culture was beautiful to behold – so many forms of music seemed so very alive, some of them quite traditional and without equivalents back home. Forró is a good example: young people in the UK do not associate going out dancing, or indeed having any kind of fun, with the playing of an accordion; yet forró was hugely popular and full of life. There was music everywhere in Rio, from Chorinho to Funk, Pagode to Bossa Nova. My knowledge of Brazilian music is still rudimentary and I’m still more familiar with the work of Tom Jobim than anyone else, but it was inconceivable to write a book about Brazil and not thread music into its fabric.

Food is also important in the novel. What foods remind you most of Brazil?
Salgadinhos! Coxinhas, empadas, pasteis, folhados… I loved everything like that. The first thing I’ll eat next time I set foot in Brazil will probably be a coxinha. For pure Brazilian-ness I’d have to say farofa has to be up there too, as we don’t have anything like that really. Simple local food is always the best – farofa, feijao, pao de quiejo, a caipirinha… I am starting to salivate… plus things like frango a passarinho and bolinhos de bacalao, which I used to devour with a beer after work with friends.

I am also a bit of a carnivore and developed an addiction to picanha. I am slightly ashamed to say that a few years ago on a family holiday in the Algarve my wife, step-son and I drove the 4 hours to Lisbon just so that we could have lunch at a one of the only European branches of Porcão.

Where are your favourite places in Brazil and why?
I particularly loved Rio. Like all great cities there are so many different aspects to explore and it’d be great to live there for a few years in order to get to know it a lot better. I lived in Ipanema, so it’s a place I have great affection for, but I’d happily live in a lot of other places in the city. My favourite place was probably Lapa, for its music and energy on a busy night. But, perhaps more unusually, I also have fond memories of Avenida Rio Branco and the Centro area. As with the City of London, there is so much history hidden in the streets and alleys of this business district and because I was working when I was in Rio it is one of the areas in which I spent most time. I used to enjoy ending the working day at a bar with local friends, often one of those around Arco do Teles.

I also spent a great few days in Ilha Grande. I’d come to the end of my time in Brazil and went to stay in a hotel there on my own to unwind before I flew back to the UK. I stayed in a room overlooking the sea with humming birds feeding outside my window. But best of all one night the people who worked in the hotel took me to a party around the headland, which we travelled to by canoe. There were stars bright in the sky and fish jumping silver from the water as we paddled, which I’ll never forget. At the party the locals were dancing forró in a small place, while lots of kids ran around. I was made to feel very welcome, had a great time, and felt honoured to be part of it.

Where and what next for Ed Siegle?
I am in the very early stages of writing a new novel, which will also have some aspects based in South America, partly in the rainforest this time. At the moment the plan is for the story to be set in three places: England, the Amazon, and Spain. I am developing a few of the main characters, and have written some early parts, but the core of the story has yet to crystallise. I love this stage where I don’t know what is going to happen, as I know I’ll really enjoy finding out.

Interview by Daniel Hatton-Johnson

You can buy Invisibles from Myriad Editions

Ed Siegle will be interviewing fashion designer and eco pioneer Bia Saldhana about her life and work at The Hub, Kings Cross. Click here for more details.

NB: the image at the top of this page is a Wordle of Invisibles, highlighting the most used words in the novel, with the largest words being the most prominent.

“We don’t speak English but that’s OK, we’re used to finding ways of delivering our message without words!” says Rivotrill’s bass player, Rafa Duarte. The esteemed Brazilian writer and broadcaster Raimundo Carrero wrote of Rivotrill in 2008, “It’s easy to be a fan of these boys who are full of magic and charm…”

Each member offers their own perspective. As well as playing bass, Rafa Duarte (25) uses effects, pedals and samplers to incorporate industrial sounds and recordings from nature into Rivotrill’s music; he cites Gorillaz and Fela Kuti among his influences. He has been making music with percussionist Lucas Dos Prazeres (26) since they were 13 years old. Lucas uses conventional and melodic percussion, drawing inspiration from the terreiros of the Candomblé religion. Júnior Crato (31) plays flute, saxophone and keys in the band. He is a fan of the folk and progressive rock of Jethro Tull; Rivotrill’s live show includes a version of Ian Anderson’s “Living In The Past”.

Rivotrill performing live:

The inspiration for the name came from Rivotril (one ‘l’): a powerful antidepressant. It is a play on words, taking advantage of the fact that the final syllable, -trill is phonetically the same as the word trio in Portuguese.

I meet Rafa on the eleventh floor of a high rise apartment block in Recife’s city centre. Through the living room window, a trick of perspective makes the Atlantic Ocean look deceptively close. Rafa is bare-chested in a pair of low slung jeans; a haze of tobacco smoke emanating from his corner of the living room.

“Up until now, no one has come up with a name for what we do. Our method of producing is unique and, as a result, so is our music,” says Rafa. Rivotrill recorded their 2008 album Curva De Vento (Curve Of Wind) with world famous percussionist Naná Vasconcelos and contributions from Recife musicians such as Mestre Spok and Yuri Queiroga. The recording alternated between two empty houses in Recife and the nearby island of Itamaracá. Utilizing the ambient peculiarities of each room, they recorded in bathrooms, larders and even recorded the sound of a Djembê drum from inside a water storage tank. “You can hear crickets and dogs on the recording,” says Rafa, “the result is a very organic sound.”

They have recorded a number of soundtracks including the score for the 2007 film Pïrinop, Meu Primeiro Contato (Pïrinop, My First Contact). The film is about the struggles of Brazil’s indigenous people and was awarded at 14 separate film festivals in Europe and North and South America.

Each of Rivotrill’s songs is its own story. “Chuva Verde (Green Rain)”, for example, follows the trajectory of the first raindrop falling on the backlands of Brazil’s water starved sertão region. The composition process starts with the band creating a narrative, then writing a script which is used as inspiration for the music. The videos are produced later with input from the band’s flautist, Júnior Crato.

“Instrumental bands have a reputation for showcasing virtuoso musicians who play millions of notes per second,” Rafa explains, “but with Rivotrill, the focus is on the story and the music as a whole”. Like an orchestra, they use movements to portray scenes such as the passing of day to night. “It can be described as a dialogue between three instruments,” Rafa says, “but, sometimes, we all end up shouting at the same time!”

Rivotrill are from the same city as Chico Science and Nação Zumbi: the band that initiated the Manguebeat scene 20 years ago. Manguebeat was later credited with rescuing Brazil from an identity crisis that was stunting its musical creativity. I ask Rafa if Brazil’s new instrumental scene has the potential to make the same kind of impact. “We convey images in a more abstract way. Manguebeat used lyrics and poetry to spread an extremely intelligent message. We don’t use the voice as an instrument so we don’t have that resource. Ultimately, each person decides for themselves what they take away from our music.” he says.

And they have no intention of using a vocalist in the future. “We’ve all worked in bands with singers and the focus is different, the singer inevitably ends up becoming the centre of attention. In Rivotrill we each have to step up and think for ourselves, making sure we don’t give too much or too little,” Rafa says.

I ask if Rivotrill’s sound is specific to Recife. “Our music comes from the subconscious, it doesn’t have a nationality,” Rafa says. “I don’t know what the connotations are in Europe, but I like that we’re being billed as World Music over there. That’s exactly what we do; our influences are from all over the world.”

The European leg of the tour will be Rivotrill’s first experience of playing outside of Brazil. They will play twelve dates in eight European countries as part of the Brazilian Caravan tour. Later in the year, the tour will take them to the U.S.A. and Canada. It will also include the bands Eta Carinae, Rivotrill, Fim de Feira and The River Raid who, like Rivotrill, are all from the state of Pernambuco.

“In Brazil, there’s still a certain amount of prejudice towards what we do. Instrumental music is pigeon-holed and we’re never put on the same stage as headline acts,” Rafa says, “the fact that we’re travelling with bands that have more conventional line-ups is thanks to an understanding in Europe that instrumental music doesn’t have to be segregated.”

I ask Rafa what we should expect from Rivotrill’s London show. “I can guarantee that whether you’re an adult or a child, you’ll leave our show with a new perspective,” he replies.

by Tom Allsop

Rivotrill are playing at Sounds of Pernambuco at XOYO on Saturday 19th June, part of London’s Blaze Festival.

Is it true that it took you a long time putting Biutiful together?
Yeah, it was a long process. The writing took me almost two years, and then there was a lot of research. I spent a lot of time in Barcelona, having the privilege to get into these communities and understand the whole thing. It was a long shoot, too – 14 weeks – and then, in post-production, I took my time. It was a luxury I’ve never had before, almost one year of editing. So by the end it was almost four years.

How does that work, taking a whole year to edit?
Sometimes you can get the whole film in maybe ten weeks or twelve. The problem is those last few frames. Ninety per cent of the film you get very fast. And then it is just that last ten per cent that can make you crazy. You start to find that even just one frame or two frames can change the meaning of a performance or add some things. So it’s like a diet. the first kilograms go like that (snaps his fingers). But then the last one is harder. What I did was, I had the opportunity to separate myself a little bit from the film. And when I returned, it was very clear what I had to do.

The title is very specific. What does it mean?
Well, I honestly thought, from the beginning – at least for me – that one of the dramatic tensions that exist throughout the whole film was that even in incredibly tough circumstances, great opportunities arise for beautiful human things, or meanings of things, that are beyond the pain. And that’s what this title means, in a word, for me. There is also a glimpse of humour, in a way, in the way the Spanish pronounce English, which is terrible! (Laughs) And at the same time, there’s a thought I had, which is that not all beauty is beautiful. You know?

Was it your working title, or a title that came to you after you’d made it?
Normally, all the titles of my films – Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel – I really choose very late in the process. This one, in a way I knew it earlier. I knew early on that it would be called Biutiful.

And did you always know it was going to star Javier Bardem?
Yes. Again, this is the first time I’ve written something especially for someone and taken the risk of being rejected. But fortunately he accepted. I always saw him doing this role. So I wrote it, I shaped it and I designed it for him.

And did he say yes straight away?
Hmmm, no. It took three days. He knew that what I was offering – at least this is what he told me – was not a role, it was a journey. He knew that he would have to journey to a very dark place, and the way he works…. He knew what kind of place he’d have to go to. So he had to think about it.

How did you shape the character of Uxbal? Was it through research?
The character simply appeared to me. It’s a thought that really provokes me, and excites me, and scares me. For me, it was a privilege just to make a film about that, to explore what one man would do with the last 75 days of his life, in the context of the world I’m presenting.

So what research did you do? Did you go to Barcelona and spend time with those people?
Yes. I was able to get into these communities, to get to know them. Most of the people that appear in the film – the Africans and the Chinese people – are people who have been in those circumstances. The places I shot in were basically real places. I went with the police to arrest some people that had slave people working in their factories and I watched the moments when they were caught. So for most of it, there’s a lot of journalistic research there. As a human experience, it was great. And surprising.

Is that kind of research something you like to do?
Yes, but I have a rule – too much analysis is bad. Sometimes you can go too far. I mean, I’m not doing a documentary. But the way I work, I’m inspired by real events – I’m not imitating them, or illustrating, or dramatising them. I’m inspired by them. But it’s good for me to know what I’m talking about. Then I can invent or avoid certain things, or I can tool it. But, for me, it is good to know the whole material, the facts. And that’s something I can play with to make a story.

Did anything you found, or anyone you met, influence the story in a way you hadn’t foreseen? There’s a lot of illness in the film, both physical and mental…
Unfortunately, many of these things have been in my families – my wife’s family and my own family. So, unfortunately, I know those things – I’ve been closer than I would like. And cancer? I think fifty per cent of the population, in some way, will die from some form of cancer; it’s a horrible disease, and most people will have a relative with cancer, I guess. The bipolar thing is a very terrible thing; it’s kind of a new-brand emotional disease, which is very difficult for everybody who suffers it. because it’s not craziness, it’s not schizophrenia. It’s not an easy emotional disease to deal with, as a family member or even as a patient. I, unfortunately, know these things.

So how much came from you and how much came from the research?
It’s a combination I think. I don’t know exactly the percentage, but there are things you create. You get facts, you find out how things are, and then you put that to work for you own universe.

Why does Uxbal seem to have these psychic powers?
You know, honestly, that was something that was dictated to me. It wasn’t something I was conscious of. When you are developing a character, sometimes it’s a very mischievous process. Sometimes the character tells you: “I’m doing this. I need to do this. I am this.” And I began to research this. So I interviewed a lot of these guys and women. I met three of them that were really impressive. In the movies, these guy have been portrayed as people with soft, flowing clothes and candles in their houses… Long hair… A new age kind of thing. (Laughs) And it’s not true. Many people that have these kind of gifts, the people that see the aura, that see things, most of them are really uncomfortable with it. It’s not an easy thing, it drains them emotionally. Some of them make a living by that, but some of them don’t – they do it as a favour. It’s a very complex thing and very funny, because you can find very normal, ordinary people with that gift. In the film, the woman who helps Uxbal to navigate this world, that character was inspired by a woman I met in Barcelona. A very humble, nice woman. When you go into her house and you talk to her, you immediately find something very pure and very profound. She has no interest in money. She just has that… knowledge. She knows something that you don’t know.

There is a recurring theme in all your films, of people trying to connect. This time that extends to the other world…
I guess for all of us, the question of life is: what is there? That’s the first question of the film and the last question. What is there? What the fuck is there? That’s what gets us crazy, I think. I think it’s nice for me to have this privilege. I used all the courage I had as a director, after Babel, not to make a franchise, a film with explosions – a $100 million film. I wanted to make a personal film and use that privilege to make a film about a tough subject matter in Spanish – in my language – and use all the tools that I wanted. That was fantastic for me, to make a film about death. Normally you have to make a horror film, a genre film. This is a very personal film. I couldn’t have made it now, because things have changed. I was lucky.

You can WIN a copy of Biutiful on DVD here.

And, you can read our film critic’s opinion of the film here.

Here’s the trailer for Biutiful: