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Nacopajaz has been keeping an eye on the rising Bresilian pop scene for quite a while, fruit of thorough researches with friends in Rio, we'd come across a track by Os the Darma Lovers which had blown our minds away. "Onda" sounded the tropical exile of the Stones Roses in the country of the Mutantes. How the hell could a band from Porto Alegre combine the elegance of the pop songwriting of Clube da Esquina (70's pastoral pop uniting Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges ...), Os Mutantes (tropical Paulista psychedelism), with today's pop influences, while dedicating their life to Buddhism?!!
The encounter during a concert in Rio was decisive. Nacopajaz decided to sign the project, convinced that this band fallen from the sky was one of greatest neo-tropicalist discoveries of our days.
Several trips to Brazil allowed to explore further the local rock scene, confirming day after day the necessity to get known in Europe some Brazilian projects combining heritage, modernity and pop culture.
Hurtmold (avant-rock jazz), whose critically acclaimed album "Mestro" released this Winter, is the first one of them. It places Sao-Paulo as a pioneer city in terms of modernity and extravagances (e.g the Satanic Samba compilation released by Nacopajaz).
2008 will be the year of the Darma Lovers whose also surprising story starts around the end of 1999. Yang Zam and Nenung (the 2 founders and musicains of the duo were re-baptised in Tibetan), inspired by their "master" big lama S.E Chagdud Rinpoche, decided to transcript their experience in meditation and Buddhist learning into music. Having already been part of other bands in the local rock milieu, they approached this new musical experience with an alternation of retreats and recording sessions, combining pop-folk, poetry and Brazilian music influences. Slowly, their sound and universe gather around a quite refined tropicalist psyche-folk-rock conceptualised by a journalist as "Zen Rock".
In 2000, a 1st album is released : "Os the Darma Lovers" auto produced, very acoustic, rich and pure at the same time. Pastoral acoustic guitars (Tres Coroas), very nice vocal harmonies (O Cara da Flor), sung in Brazilian : this album, though badly distributed, became a classic in the Brazilian underground circuit.
In 2002, comes 2nd album, "Basico" fed more with grooves and light electronic elements (Broder Anjo). This new one, maybe more rock (Keep Going), has a very short life since lama Rinpoche invites Nenung to a long traditional meditative retreat. The later's immediate acceptance puts Os the Darma Lovers out of the circuit for 2 years.
The retreat ends in 2004 and the bands starts with even more energy and motivation the recording of a 3rd album. It will be "Laranjas do Céu" conceived with 3 additional musicians. The first drafts prove exceptional and draw the attention of several Brazilian producers among whom Kassin (+2), Berna (Orquestra Imperial), Flu, Moreno Veloso... These multiple and fruitful collaborations boil down to an album of inspired songs, which are all focused on : "happiness, clarity, love, freedom of heart and spirit for every living creature", in the purest Buddhist tradition.
This album, standing out in the nowadays musical landscape, is an organic pop-folk gem. A new stone brought to the edifice of Brazilian pop, carried by a band combining an authentic spiritual approach with pop song writing.
The album's 16 tracks, could be played between Sufjan Stevens, Devendra Banhart, Os Mutantes, and reveal an original band, a true discovery deserving the largest echo.
