National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

It's hard to capture Céu's personality in words. The 29 year old Brazilian singer gently laughs with every response-an easy warmth that's reflected in the dubby, lazy beats that inform her modern take on samba and bossa nova. Her self-titled debut, released in America on Six Degrees Records in 2007, was picked up by Starbucks' Hear Music distribution chain, making her the first international musician to earn that honor. Her unique voice and poignant rhythms invaded the idle afternoon hours of many a caffeine addict.

Céu recently returned with her sophomore effort, Vagarosa (Six Degrees), with a slightly evolved sound. There's a bit more coherence on this album, making it more than a simple collection of songs, and even more predominantly informed by the Jamaican music that she has loved since high school. Talking from her home in São Paolo, she discussed the influence New York had on her songwriting, what life is like at home sharing a building with well-known musicians, and how her dream of music has been realized with a globetrotting career.

Nat Geo Music: Has anything changed in your approach to making music since your debut?

Ceu: Things changed a lot, but things didn't change at the same time. During the last year I was traveling a lot. When I returned home and stayed in my house, with my friends and family, I was able to focus more on making songs. I think this record is more organical than the first.

I would say you've captured the live music feel in a definitively electronically produced sound.

The most important thing I want to do is keep it organic, yet using all the technology and samples that I can.

Why did you name the record Vagarosa?

This word appears on the song "Cangote," and it means "leisurely," along with some laziness. I wanted to stop to do music. You have so many things to do in your day, and I was not doing the things that I thought were important to me, like being with your friends, and your family. The songs bring to me the sense of being quiet and listening to yourself, and finding out the things that are important in your life.

Reggae seems to be a real influence your music?

I started listening to reggae when I was fourteen. But it took me a lot of courage to do reggae. It's hard to do if you're not from Jamaica. This time, I wanted to bring this passion I have for this music. And not just reggae, but all the styles: dub, ragga, and ska.

Who are some reggae musicians you've been inspired by?

King Tubby, Lee Perry, the Upsetters, Marcia Griffith. Oh, there are so many. I have the Studio One collections.

You say on this record you've been more courageous, but on the last record you were pretty courageous, covering Bob Marley's "Concrete Jungle."

Yes, I was really crazy. I thought, "Nobody should do this." But, music is such a free spirit-I think Bob Marley thought like that. You can just do your version of the music.

Well sure, a lot of his early songs were covers of American R&B artists.

I was so afraid to do this. Beto Villares, the producer of that album, he helped me a lot. I wanted to do it, but then I said, "No, I should not do this." He encouraged me to go through with it.

You also have a huge jazz influence.

I grew up with this really musical family. My father played the acoustic guitar and piano, and my mom would sing a lot, not just Brazilian music, but some jazz and funky music, and Miles Davis. A lot of really beautiful songs I grew up listening to. That's why I still bring this into my music.

Who were some of the Brazilian artists that influenced you?

Jorge Ben. I recorded one song from him ["Rosa Menina Rosa"] on this second album. Also, Baden Powell. There are great musicians from Sao Paolo. There are so many influences from the different cities in Brazil, so you have the chance to listen to many different forms of music.

How about the music of Recife and Brazil's northeast?

Nação Zumbi is the best. Some of the musicians play on both of my albums. I think Recife is the most musical city in Brazil.

Some of the guys from Nação Zumbi were in the Sonantes project, weren't they?

Yes! We have a band. The drummer and the bass player, and also the two brothers, one is a soundtrack producer. We never did a show yet, but we are all good friends. We live in the same building. Sometimes we go to have breakfast. It's just a side project; we've only recorded one album. We haven't done a show yet-I don't know why.

You also did a great song, "Doce Guia," on the 3 Na Massa album.

We are really close friends, and I loved the whole vibe and idea. It's some guys writing and thinking as they would if there were a woman. They try to understand the female universe. Each composer uses a different singer. It was a beautiful project.

Have you been writing music for a long time?

I didn't know I could do this until I released my first album. I thought I would just sing. Then I traveled for one year to New York for one year, and I realized I would like to write during that time. Maybe ten years ago I started to write.

Why did you move to New York?

I was really in love with American music, especially jazz. I wanted to take some classes. I was eighteen. I wanted to travel and learn some English. I had an ex that used to live in New York, and also a cousin. I worked as a waitress and a coat checker and a babysitter.

How did it feel returning to New York years later and playing at Joe's Pub?

It was so nice. I couldn't imagine that it could happen. Traveling around the world with my band and music. It's a gift.

How did you find American audiences responding to your music?

It's interesting. It's a challenge, because you don't have the help of the lyrics. You must go through your music. Europeans are really open with non-English bands. In America, it's hard, but they do pay a lot of attention. Then after the show they talk with you, about the details. In Brazil it's more like a noisy show; nobody is really paying attention.

One of the greatest things to happen for your record was being picked up in the Starbucks distribution chain.

It was a great opportunity, because I don't think the album could go so far in America as it did. America has so many artists already. It was a really nice opportunity.

Now that you've found confidence in your music, let's talk about lyrics. Let's take my favorite song, "Espaconave," for example.

This song is funny. It means "spaceship." I wanted some psychedelic vibe. Sometimes in São Paolo there is a lot of noise and pollution and traffic. I called this our hippie song. I just wanted to get out of São Paolo and go to the beach. The song compares Mother Nature to a spaceship. I say, "Let's go back to the spaceship, I want to go back to nature." I don't know how to translate it correctly in English.

Speaking of English, how did "Papa" come about?

I was having this conversation with my father. There were so many things on my mind. I was talking about myself, myself, myself, and he said, "You know, don't take yourself so seriously. Everything is going well. Fear is just one of those things." So it's just a joke with my father, a little dedication.

The Jorge Ben song you covered was inspired by your daughter, correct?

Yes, I used to sing a lot of songs when she was born. The guys from Nação Zumbi and 3 Na Massa have another band that only does covers. It's really nice to dance to. They don't have an album; it's just a live show. I have one of their shows on my iPod, and every time this song came on my iPod, I loved it. So I had them come in and play it with me on the album.

Has your life changed much since having your daughter?

Wow! Well, I can say, things have become much more straight. The really important things are in the front of my life. I'm not tripping anymore, you know? Sometimes when she was not here, I was tripping on other things, and now, the real love is present. Here we say, "Put the dots on the i's." That's an expression we use in Brazil. Being a mother means a lot of responsibilities, but you can do everything. You feel like a superwoman.

The presentation of Brazil in America is very romanticized: bossa nova, beaches, caipirinhas on one hand, City of God, favelhas and kidnapping on the other. How do you square those paradoxes?

People don't know the reality here. We sell this romantic image. Bossa nova helped to do this. I love bossa nova, but we have a lot of problems. I think City of God showed this a little bit. If you go to the lyrics of samba roots, Brazilian music is based on sadness. They talk about trying to be happy in this hard life. Even in Recife, Chico Science's music was totally based on the fact that Recife is considered one of the worst cities to live in in the world. He wanted to show that we are not just Carnaval. We like Afrobeat, we like to mix psychedelic things with Jamaican stuff. We want to use our challenges to create music.