Last Saturday, at the end of the day, we were in Vila do Conde with Manuela Azevedo to know Clã’s expectations about their SXSW’09 participation. This will be their first participation in the festival and they’re still a bit unsure of what to expect. “This is our first time at the festival and we do not know very well what to expect, although David (Fonseca) already told us some things but we know that our concert will be a high demanding event since we will have a much reduced setup time”.
Their performance is due to happen at 10pm on March 18th and will be held in a particularly curious location, a church (Saint David’s Church). “Originally, we were scheduled to perform at Momo’s but then they shifted to the church which turned out to be convenient for us logistically, because they have there an acoustic piano. We are only taking an acoustic guitar with us and we will be able to try out a format that we had developed in a special concert at Circo Theatre (Braga) related to Tribunal do Iraque".
The chosen presentation framework was adapted to the reality that they’re expecting to find and to the fact that this is a learning and experimental year: “It’s only me, Miguel and Hélder going, in a trio. Acoustic piano, guitar and voice. Its only “half-Clã” going because it would be too expensive to take everyone and it would be very complicated to take all the equipment, also with the limits in the setup and disabling times that they give. Also because it is a first experience over there, we will go in a discreet way”.
The curiosity over everything that the festival represents and the environment felt in the city during these days is something very obvious when in Austin in the middle of Texas, as well as the desire to watch to the many performances that will take place. Despite the usual conservative attitude of the region, the slogan adopted by the city in the last few years and the environment one can feel, is something that Manuela identifies herself with easily: “Keep Austin weird…ah, then I’ll love the city..it’s a great slogan! I’m very curious about a litter cathedral that David told us about, a guy that managed to create an incredible cathedral in a backyard”, a reference to “Cathedral of Junk” which started being built in 1988 by Vince Hannemann.
Trying new approaches abroad is not new for Clã “since long Clã want to go beyond the borders of our country, but it is always complicated because it depends on the band investment and also of the individual availability. Our Portuguese tours are always very busy and we end up by not having much time left to invest on other territories”;”this year with a more tranquil tour makes it a year for us to try to catch up with that investment that we already made and thus exploit other markets. Austin is an adventure. It is not we do not trust the market in which Clã will work but...”.
Something that immediately stands out is the linguistic barrier, thinking of a band that sings in Portuguese performing to an audience and industry that uses English as the universal language. It is not however, a strange question to Clã: “that is a recurrent question when we discuss internationalisation, even if to other locations in the world. Some people point out that singing in Portuguese creates a barrier or suggest us to translate our songs to other languages however, the translation and adaptation themselves are always very delicate. Recently, we made an attempt to adapt one of our songs to Spanish, with a translator that is also an actor. The outcome was very good although he had to be very careful in writing in good Spanish, and also because he had to do an adaptation of the spirit of the song in order for it to turn out alright musically and phonetically in Spanish, something that isn’t always easy. Transpose our songs to English would always be a much more complicated exercise...”.
This question can be interpreted differently when considered from the presentation of the music in its original format and sang in Portuguese, not on the translation and adaptation approach.” We always have the feeling (I do not know if it is our ingenuity and Austin can prove that) that by having the language that we have which has its own sonority, worked carefully as we like to do in creating our songs, ends up by giving them a quality to which people that even not understanding its meaning, are sensitive to somehow.”
Sigur Rós success, of which few know knows effectively hat they are saying, reinforce the believe that the power of music is beyond the employed words, “ it may even be something that casts a spell..exactly for that reason we still believe that it may be a possibility. Even us, strong consumers of the music sang in English, often are open to it and are completely engrossed by it independently of understanding or not what is in the words. It has to do with another power..with the sounds of the words and some emotion that passes beyond its meaning”.
This question can still be viewed from a different perspective considering that there are also markets like South America which encompass a Spanish and Portuguese spoken world. “In our case, Brazil is a territory where we are not totally unheard of and even familiar. We’ve performed there some times but we have mainly collaborated with Arnaldo Antunes and with Pato Fu, events which have been creating some artistic bounds with the Brazilian creators”. Of those contacts, a Clã compilation will be published by “Allegro Discos”, of Goiânia. “Sandro Belo, a representative of that editor, had got to know our work through the contact with Pato Fú. He had liked “Rosa Carne” very much and invited us to do a version of the song “Torturas de Amor” by Waldick Soriano, a wonderfully romantic song...and we were the only Portuguese to be invited, the intruders in the compilation. He liked the outcome very much and ended up by challenging us to be the first album of a collection of compilations that he will make. The work is called “Catalogue Raisonné” where he includes several ands. It will start with a Portuguese band which is the Clã, something that for us is very nice and very important“.
In agreement with the rational of Clã’s first attempt at SXSW, will not to be expected this year an exhaustive presentation of results of their presence in Austin, but a surprise may still happen until March 18th regarding their personal opinion of what this festival may mean to them.
Their performance is due to happen at 10pm on March 18th and will be held in a particularly curious location, a church (Saint David’s Church). “Originally, we were scheduled to perform at Momo’s but then they shifted to the church which turned out to be convenient for us logistically, because they have there an acoustic piano. We are only taking an acoustic guitar with us and we will be able to try out a format that we had developed in a special concert at Circo Theatre (Braga) related to Tribunal do Iraque".
The chosen presentation framework was adapted to the reality that they’re expecting to find and to the fact that this is a learning and experimental year: “It’s only me, Miguel and Hélder going, in a trio. Acoustic piano, guitar and voice. Its only “half-Clã” going because it would be too expensive to take everyone and it would be very complicated to take all the equipment, also with the limits in the setup and disabling times that they give. Also because it is a first experience over there, we will go in a discreet way”.
The curiosity over everything that the festival represents and the environment felt in the city during these days is something very obvious when in Austin in the middle of Texas, as well as the desire to watch to the many performances that will take place. Despite the usual conservative attitude of the region, the slogan adopted by the city in the last few years and the environment one can feel, is something that Manuela identifies herself with easily: “Keep Austin weird…ah, then I’ll love the city..it’s a great slogan! I’m very curious about a litter cathedral that David told us about, a guy that managed to create an incredible cathedral in a backyard”, a reference to “Cathedral of Junk” which started being built in 1988 by Vince Hannemann.
Trying new approaches abroad is not new for Clã “since long Clã want to go beyond the borders of our country, but it is always complicated because it depends on the band investment and also of the individual availability. Our Portuguese tours are always very busy and we end up by not having much time left to invest on other territories”;”this year with a more tranquil tour makes it a year for us to try to catch up with that investment that we already made and thus exploit other markets. Austin is an adventure. It is not we do not trust the market in which Clã will work but...”.
Something that immediately stands out is the linguistic barrier, thinking of a band that sings in Portuguese performing to an audience and industry that uses English as the universal language. It is not however, a strange question to Clã: “that is a recurrent question when we discuss internationalisation, even if to other locations in the world. Some people point out that singing in Portuguese creates a barrier or suggest us to translate our songs to other languages however, the translation and adaptation themselves are always very delicate. Recently, we made an attempt to adapt one of our songs to Spanish, with a translator that is also an actor. The outcome was very good although he had to be very careful in writing in good Spanish, and also because he had to do an adaptation of the spirit of the song in order for it to turn out alright musically and phonetically in Spanish, something that isn’t always easy. Transpose our songs to English would always be a much more complicated exercise...”.
This question can be interpreted differently when considered from the presentation of the music in its original format and sang in Portuguese, not on the translation and adaptation approach.” We always have the feeling (I do not know if it is our ingenuity and Austin can prove that) that by having the language that we have which has its own sonority, worked carefully as we like to do in creating our songs, ends up by giving them a quality to which people that even not understanding its meaning, are sensitive to somehow.”
Sigur Rós success, of which few know knows effectively hat they are saying, reinforce the believe that the power of music is beyond the employed words, “ it may even be something that casts a spell..exactly for that reason we still believe that it may be a possibility. Even us, strong consumers of the music sang in English, often are open to it and are completely engrossed by it independently of understanding or not what is in the words. It has to do with another power..with the sounds of the words and some emotion that passes beyond its meaning”.
This question can still be viewed from a different perspective considering that there are also markets like South America which encompass a Spanish and Portuguese spoken world. “In our case, Brazil is a territory where we are not totally unheard of and even familiar. We’ve performed there some times but we have mainly collaborated with Arnaldo Antunes and with Pato Fu, events which have been creating some artistic bounds with the Brazilian creators”. Of those contacts, a Clã compilation will be published by “Allegro Discos”, of Goiânia. “Sandro Belo, a representative of that editor, had got to know our work through the contact with Pato Fú. He had liked “Rosa Carne” very much and invited us to do a version of the song “Torturas de Amor” by Waldick Soriano, a wonderfully romantic song...and we were the only Portuguese to be invited, the intruders in the compilation. He liked the outcome very much and ended up by challenging us to be the first album of a collection of compilations that he will make. The work is called “Catalogue Raisonné” where he includes several ands. It will start with a Portuguese band which is the Clã, something that for us is very nice and very important“.
In agreement with the rational of Clã’s first attempt at SXSW, will not to be expected this year an exhaustive presentation of results of their presence in Austin, but a surprise may still happen until March 18th regarding their personal opinion of what this festival may mean to them.
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