EXCLUSIVE! Surforeggae interviews Rodrigo Piccolo, vocalist of Mato Seco! Check it out!

We had the opportunity to have a very relaxed chat with Rodrigo Piccolo, lead singer of Mato Seco – one of the main reggae bands in Brazil today. The focus of the interview was the new album "Seco e Ainda Vivo" which will be released at the end of the year and will certainly be a milestone for national reggae and of course for the band. Check out how this conversation went!

THE INTERVIEW

How did the idea of inviting Errol "Flabba" Holt, one of the biggest names in reggae history, come about, to produce the new album? Piccolo: We met Flabba a few years ago when we played together with Israel Vibration, and we ended up getting closer through music and our managers Rafael Costa and Israel Mizrach, who in addition to being friends of his have been managing the Jamaicans for a long time here in Brazil. Flabba got to know our sound, liked it and told us. From then on we met other times and the idea of calling him to produce the album ended up coming up, I think even naturally. It's not just anyone, right (laughs)... It's Flabba Holt! And because we end up being close to him, and getting to know him, and we have the opportunity to invite him, why not? To our surprise he accepted, and did everything with a huge smile and a disposition that motivated us a lot for all those days we were together. He is a special person, without a doubt! The recording process was divided between Salvador and São Paulo, correct? We know that with each album recorded, the experience of those involved changes, how was the group's atmosphere in this sense and how long did the recording last? Piccolo: We recorded the mass of the album in Salvador. The brass session and the participations, by Nazireu Rupestre and Oswaldinho do Acordeon in São Paulo. Max Romeo, Harrison and Marcus from Groundation, in their studios in Jamaica and the USA respectively. It was a very different experience in general, more of a learning experience. The first two albums were made in São Paulo by Rodrigo Loli and us. On this album, in addition to working alongside a different producer who is Flabba, we also worked with a different sound engineer, who is Richard Meyer who recorded and mixed the album. And that was a huge challenge for us... To be able to pass on what we wanted with the album. But everything flowed naturally, you know. We spent approximately 20 days living together at Oppi, which is an artistic space in Salvador, and which was like a house-studio for us. We slept there, woke up there, rehearsed there, recorded there... There we decided the next steps to be taken and how they would be. They were great days and that made us grow even more as a family and as professionals. The lyrics of Mato Seco are known for being intelligent and with important messages, especially in the context in which we live today in Brazil. Where do you get the inspiration to talk about the themes you address in your songs? Piccolo: Everything is God, for sure! He is the inspiration! And these are words that need to be said. They are not new, on the contrary. These are words that have been spoken for a long time and by many people. We need more love, justice, equal rights, respect for life, peace! And it is the reality of what we live today. Life, the day to day that influences. The people falling into oblivion and accepting it more and more every day, confusing fun with alienation and cultivating more and more the slavery that still exists, keeping the poor poorer and poorer... What is below, lower and lower. And the people don't realize that. Everything is ostentation for the material, and trivialization of wisdom... And the worst thing is that we accept this, when we stuff ourselves with alcohol and drugs, when we find appealing and ignorant content funny in various segments. Reggae is the voice of the people, of the oppressed, of those who have no voice, and through it we try to add to people's lives. Be it socially or spiritually. How did you get closer to Max Romeo, Groundation, Nazireu Rupestre and Oswaldinho do Acordeon, names that participated in the new CD? Piccolo: We have been fans and admirers of Max since adolescence, and we were fortunate to play together a few times too and get to know each other, so it was also with Groundation, with whom we identify a lot. From the contact we had and the friendship we ended up cultivating with them, the idea and the opportunity to make the sounds together came up, and to get on this album as well. Nazirites are friends that we also met on the road and that we have a great affinity with, and the song together is the first of many to really seal that communion. Oswaldinho is an incredible person... Blessed. And I feel blessed that we can be close to him. We met him through DJ Gus who works with us and also with him. Gus introduced the band to him and he liked it a lot, which already sparked the desire to do something together. From then on, the partnership was inevitable, which I also pray is the first of many. Recently you did a big tour with Groundation and The Abyssinians. How was it to share the stage and live with this crowd and also the participation of the Groundation people playing "Gueto do Mundo", one of the tracks on the new cd? Piccolo: We've had the privilege of doing some tours and being alongside some reggae architects. With Groundation we have played a few times the other times they came to Brazil. This time we did the whole tour together, Mato, Groundation and Abyssinians... We passed through several capitals living unforgettable nights with them. In Brasilia, Harrison Stafford and Marcus Urani joined us on stage and we played "Gueto do Mundo (Ghetto of the World)", a song we recorded together and is on the new album. In Florianópolis, in the last show, we joined on stage Mato, Leões de Israel (band that was playing with Abyssinians,) and Kim Pommel and Marcus from Groundation. We closed with a golden key. The nights and days with them were as pleasant as possible. All of them have a simplicity and a great pleasure to be here... A gratitude for the respect. Abyssinians have been like teachers to us for a long time. They are the distance, because I have lost count of how many times I have sung or hummed their song, or how many times their voice has played on my radio, and they have been in person too. They have the experience and learning that life and reggae has given them and they make a point of passing this legacy on. I found myself a few times talking to Bernard Collins their leader and vocalist and in some of those conversations he said a lot: "Reggae will never die, we are together here for this... as Bob Marley said many years ago, Reggae will never die... Stand firm doing the work you do!" Mato Seco is today one of the main bands of national reggae and has fans in all regions of the country. How do you think this CD will contribute to open even more new horizons for the band in the scene? Piccolo: It's a great album, with great people involved, made with a lot of affection, with care... It was very well taken care of! It has great participations... We are very pleased and hope that he speaks well of himself out there. (laughs) In addition, we are firmer and more focused on walking, and trying to speak in a general way to everyone, without distinction. Reggae is for everyone! His music has a lot of feeling and his words bring Light to many... Allow yourself... Because Reggae is for everyone! This new album reflects that a lot, it's a sure shot for us. We were able to express in the best way what we felt when making the songs. As a whole! And we believe that it will reach people directly. But the work is basically the same as what we already do. To bring Peace and Good through music, to try to add through music and love. And love alone breaks down barriers and presents us with incredible horizons. It keeps alive and alive our hope for the best, and makes us not stop. Some of the band's songs on youtube have two and a half million hits. What factors do you think were key in the journey of Mato Seco for the band to conquer so many people? Piccolo: We talk about people, love, life... And that brings us closer. To all of us. We are what we are and we try to convey that through the songs and in a simple way. We are all the same, we all smile, cry, play, fight, learn, teach... Between mistakes and successes, always looking for the best and with infinite possibilities for everything that is best. Like thousands out there, wanting more peace, more love, a fairer world, more cared for and preserved nature, a more respected life. Not every day is a day of victory and sometimes we need a word of uprising, you know... A word that the song often brings. I think this ends up bringing us closer to all these people who listen to our music and who feel it as we do. How was the mixing and mastering process of the new CD "Seco e ainda vivo"? Piccolo: Flabba produced and participated in the entire recording, and has already left everything very well on track for the next steps. The mix was done at the visgodejac@estudio in Salvador. Me, Tiago, João and Junior, stayed about 20 days longer together with Richard Meyer, who was the one who recorded and mixed the album. The mixing is perhaps the part that I find the most difficult and Richard paid really special attention to both the recording and the mixing, studying a lot the timbres, the nuances that we wanted to give to the songs. The recording and mixing was largely done in the old-fashioned way, with analog devices from the 60s and 70s, and this helped a lot to create a mystical and ancestral atmosphere, from the roots of the music itself. Finishing the mixing, the record went into the hands of Mike Caplan and Jim Fox of Lion & Fox Studio in Washington to be mastered. Jim Fox and Mike Caplan are indispensable in the history of reggae, given their great experience and extensive journey through several different languages. Anyone who listens to reggae and has heard some of the most important names in reggae over the last 20 years, has certainly heard something from this studio and these guys. In addition to our interest in doing with them and a great track record, Flabba also made sure that they mastered the album. And then yes, only with the approval of Big Boss Flabba Holt did "Dry and Still Alive" arrive! (laughs) In addition to the release of the new CD, what can Mato Seco fans expect soon? Piccolo: We are producing, together with Sapuari Filmes, our first official music video. The "making of" of the recording of the album in Salvador will also come out. This year Mato is also 10 years old and we want to record this moment, because from here will come another 20, 30 years, if Jah allows... But this point we are at is primordial, this album, and we want to keep it in some way. The new single "Sobre todo mal" was well accepted on the internet and you are already playing several new songs at the shows. We know that the band will be touring to release the new album scheduled to start at the end of the year. What can the audience expect differently in this new show? Piccolo: We've been playing some new songs for a while, including "Sobre todo o mal". The good thing is to see that these songs are already requested by people at the shows. We will launch it at the end of the year along with the video, the new website, and we are preparing a new show. We will do what we do... The traditional reggae! And we try to value it as much as possible, we work to make it reach everyone in the best possible way, with care and affection. Our delivery will always be greater, day after day. And I invite everyone to come and see what my words refer to. It is a pleasure to have you speaking to the visitors of Surforeggae representing Mato Seco that has a lot of support on the national scene! We know that in the break between songs during the shows you really like to speak, always speaking interesting words and raising awareness for people. What would be your message now to those reading this interview? Piccolo: Words happen spontaneously and naturally on stage, it's nothing idealized before. Music allows us this, because it is also a great learning experience for us and each moment asks for its words to be said. The idea is always to add. Now... May we celebrate life, smiles, love... And that in this world of idolatries that we live in, if we idolize something, let it be love... In everything we do. Love for ourselves, for nature and for others. Thank you always for the strength to Reggae, Surforeggae! Peace and Good to all of us!