MoMo

MoMo – alcunha musical de Marcelo Frota – nasceu em 2006, depois que o músico mineiro, radicado no Rio, se juntou a amigos de infância para dar início ao bem-sucedido projeto, que já conta com dois discos na bagagem – A Estética do Rabisco (Dubas/Universal), lançado em 2006, e o independente Buscador, de 2008. .. A música de MoMo incorpora a experiência vivida em Angola, durante a infância, nos Estados Unidos, na adolescência, e na Espanha, em 2005. Essa mistura levou influências variadas ao projeto, que vai desde a música francesa de Charles Aznavour, ao country de Willie Nelson, a compositores brasileiros menos visitados como Belchior e Sérgio Sampaio e aos mineiros do Clube da Esquina. Foi, inclusive, essa identificação musical com o Clube da Esquina que aproximou Marcelo Frota do compositor Ronaldo Bastos, que lançou o primeiro disco de MoMo, A Estética do Rabisco, pela Dubas/Universal. O disco surpreendeu pelo ineditismo e originalidade, e contou com boa repercussão na mídia brasileira e estrangeira. Entrou para a lista dos melhores discos do ano do respeitado crítico de música americano Peter Margasak, da revista Down Beat e do Chicago Reader, além de constar entre os melhores de 2007 segundo o jornal O Estado de São Paulo. MoMo também foi indicado como uma das revelações de 2007 pela revista francesa Muziq.

Em 2008, com o segundo disco, Buscador, o trabalho de MoMo foi mais uma vez acariciado pela crítica e seu nome despontou como nova promessa da música brasileira. Ganhou boas críticas nos principais jornais brasileiros - O Globo, O Estado de São Paulo, Correio Braziliense, Folha de São Paulo e Jornal do Brasil. Foi ainda indicado ao Prêmio Quem de melhor cantor, ao lado de artistas consagrados como Gilberto Gil e Ney Matogrosso.

Em 2009, chegou a vez de encarar um novo desafio: a convite do World Music Festival de Chicago, a música de MoMo ganhou o mundo. Em formato de trio eletrizado, MoMo, no violão e guitarra, o baixista Caetano Malta e o baterista Bruno Braggion embarcaram rumo aos Estados Unidos, na primeira turnê estrangeira do projeto. O festival foi o ponto de partida. Foram 40 dias de estrada, percorrendo 12 estados americanos e tocando em casas de shows como o Nublu, em Nova York, e Schubas, em Chicago.

MoMo – the artistic name of Marcelo Frota – was born in 2006, after the Brazilian musician got together with childhood friends and started the successful project that has already resulted in two albums: A Estética do Rabisco (Dubas/Universal), released in the end of 2006, and the independent Buscador, released in 2008.

Marcelo Frota’s relationship with music started early, when he was 13 years old and got his first guitar. He spent his childhood in Angola, Africa, his teenage years in the United States and, as a young adult, he spent some time in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

This cultural mix brought different flavours to MoMo’s music, known today as a psychedelic-folk artist.

His sound is reminiscent of the seventies, thanks to the raw and minimalist way he records his albums. He invites musicians who don’t know each other to a home studio and they only get one shot at playing together, with no rehearsing.

The same routine was followed in the two albums and the same band was used. Adriano Barros contributed with his guitar effects which bring back the classic sound of psychedelia and Bruno Baggion, with simple but yet powerful and vigorous drums. The bass player Caetano Malta, who used to be a member of the band Wado e Realismo Fantástico, played many different instruments, while Fábio Pizzo used his casiotone to give an ingenuous touch to the songs.

Marcelo Frota’s inspiration comes from a variety of backgrounds: from the French songs of Charles Aznavour to Willie Nelson’s country music, from little know Brazilian artists like Belchior and Sérgio Sampaio to groups like Clube da Esquina, from his native State of Minas Gerais.

MoMo has also worked as a musical producer of Clube da Esquina’s double album project, placed in the SESC Pompéia in 2007, featuring Beto Guedes.

It was this musical identification with Clube da Esquina that brought Marcelo Frota closer to the composer and member of Clube da Esquina, Ronaldo Bastos.

Bastos was the one who believed in MoMo and released, under his own label Dubas/Universal, A Estética do Rabisco, in the end of 2006.

The album was seen as one of a kind and got good reviews both in the Brazilian media and abroad. It was chosen one of the best albums of the year by the respected American critic Peter Margasak, who writes for Down Beat magazine and the Chicago Reader, and it was rated one of the best albums of 2007 by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. MoMo was also nominated as one of 2007 revelations by the French magazine Muziq.

In 2008, with his second album, Buscador, MoMo’s work was once again praised by the critics and he started to be seen as one of Brazilian Music’s rising stars.

The main Brazilian newspapers, O Globo, O Estado de São Paulo, Correio Braziliense, Folha de São Paulo e Jornal do Brasil, gave him good reviews. He was also nominated to the Quem Awards (Best Brazilian Singer category), alongside famous names like Gilberto Gil and Ney Matogrosso.

A Estetica do Rabisco (Dubas Musica), the debut album from MoMo (aka Marcelo Frota), taps into that loopy vibe in service of more conventional pop tunes, and the results are stunning. Along with Caetano Veloso’s Ce, it’s the best album I’ve heard from Brazil this year.
http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/post-no-bills/tag/Lula%20Cortes/
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/musicreviews/080103/

Well A Estética do Rabisco falls under none of those categories and contains none of the wily rhythms I was expecting that are usually associated with Brazilian music; it’s psyche-folk heavily influenced by early 70s Brazilian recordings and late 60s American psychedelia as well as our contemporary freak-folk scene.
http://audiversity.com/2007/05/momo-esttica-do-rabisco.html

Un brésilien et son groupe jouent une pop-folk bricolée, aux contours psychédéliques, gorgée d’inventivité et de poésie à en faire pâlir de jalousie Devendra Banhart. Une des grandes découvertes de l’année. http://www.pinkushion.com/chroniques.php3?id_article=2600