The sexy/quirky/mysterious Brazilian Girls were three men -- Didi Gutman (from Argentina) on keyboards and computers, Jesse Murphy on bass, and Aaron Johnston on drums -- and one woman, Sabina Sciubba, the vocalist. Sciubba often enjoys wearing lacy eye masks on-stage and sings in no fewer than five different languages. She was born in Rome but grew up in Nice and Munich before settling in Brooklyn, NY. She first came to record buyers' attention when she recorded two jazz albums -- You Don't Know What Love Is with pianist Chris Anderson and Meet Me in London with guitarist Antonio Forcione -- for the English audiophile label Naim. She described her meeting with the men of Brazilian Girls as "love at first sight and it moved as fast as the Autobahn." Falling into the new, playful downtown scene that was revolving around the Nublu club helped speed the band's success.
Like-minded bands like Wax Poetic and the Nublu Orchestra had made the club the hip spot 2004 for adventurous pop fans and Brazilian Girls' freeform, bouncy kind of jamming fit right in. Soon they had the Saturday night slot at Nublu, and the East Village press had fallen in love with them. Murphy and Johnston made appearances on John Zorn's 2003 album Voices in the Wilderness and every Brazilian Girl contributed to Wax Poetic's sophomore release, the Nublu Sessions, the same year. The Verve Company became interested in the band around this time, thinking them perfect for the more pop and progressive imprint Verve Forecast. In 2004 the label released the Lazy Lover (EP), which included the title track -- a chillout room favorite -- in its original form and in a remix by the quirky house producer Herbert. The group's self-titled, full-length debut Brazilian Girls hit the streets in early 2005. (allmusic.com, 02/06) The band's second album, Talk to La Bomb, was released in September 2006 by Verve Forecast, to mixed reviews.
In 2008, the band released a third album "New York City" - also to mixed reviews. In the interim, singer Sciubba returned to France and had a child. Unfortunately, the band announced in January 2011 that they had broken up.
Le Territoire
Brazilian Girls Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des mechants, oui, des durs
Içi ils faisaient la loi
Elle parcontre une jeune fille
Avec une grande foi
En visite dans leur beau pays pour la premiere fois.
Assez tôt, çe matin-lá la fille fût reveillée
"Ecoute-moi, petite fille, laisse-moi te prevenir
De ne pas mettre pied dans leur territoire"
"De ne pas mettre pied dans leur territoire" x3
Ohhh – elles s'emmelent dans cette histoire une seule fois
Ohhh – elles s'emmelent dans leur histoire une seule fois
Au lever du soleil de cette belle journée
La mer se relevait du ciel, la fille se promenait,
Le Bleu du ciel, et de la mer se melangait d'une telle manière
Elle ne savait plus ou elle etait
Telle etait la lueur.
"Ola, petite, tu es perdue?"
L'haleine pourrie de bière
Un gros macaque á l'air violent la poussait de derrière.
Elle ne savait pas quoi lui repondre,
Elle, pour la violence trop tendre,
Se mordait les lèvres par peur
De ce gang.
Ohhh – elles s'emmelent dans cette histoire une seule fois
Ohhh – elles s'emmelent dans leur histoire une seule fois
Au lever du soleil de cette belle journée
La mêr se relevait du ciel, la fille se promenait,
Le Bleu du ciel, et de la mêr se melangait d'une telle manière
Qu'elle n savait plus ou elle etait
Telle etait la lueur
Il ne faut pas mettre pied dans leur territoire
Oooh-elles s'emmelent
The lyrics to Brazilian Girls' "Le Territoire" tell the story of a young girl visiting a foreign country for the first time, who finds herself in danger when she unknowingly enters a dangerous area of the city. The song paints a vivid picture of a foreign landscape, with the blue of the sky and sea melding together in a confusing way that leaves the singer disoriented and unsure of her surroundings. As she wanders, she is confronted by a violent gang who threaten her with physical harm if she doesn't leave their territory immediately. The song ends with a warning to others to avoid putting themselves in danger by entering spaces they don't understand.
One interpretation of this song is that it is a cautionary tale about the dangers of traveling to unfamiliar places, and the importance of being aware of one's surroundings in order to stay safe. It also speaks to the idea of personal boundaries, and the need to respect the boundaries of others in order to avoid conflict or danger. The tone of the song is both somber and urgent, conveying a sense of impending danger and anxiety.
Line by Line Meaning
Ils etaient les proprietaires de la zone A
They were the owners of the zone A
Des mechants, oui, des durs
Mean and tough guys
Içi ils faisaient la loi
Here they made the law
Elle parcontre une jeune fille
She, on the other hand, a young girl
Avec une grande foi
With great faith
En visite dans leur beau pays pour la premiere fois.
Visiting their beautiful country for the first time.
Assez tôt, çe matin-lá la fille fût reveillée
Early that morning the girl was awakened
Une femme avec une brusque voix a sa porte frappait
A woman with a rough voice knocked at her door
"Ecoute-moi, petite fille, laisse-moi te prevenir
"Listen to me, little girl, let me warn you
De ne pas mettre pied dans leur territoire"
Not to set foot in their territory"
"De ne pas mettre pied dans leur territoire" x3
"Not to set foot in their territory" x3
Ohhh – elles s'emmelent dans cette histoire une seule fois
Ohhh - They get tangled in this story only once
Ohhh – elles s'emmelent dans leur histoire une seule fois
Ohhh - They get tangled in their own story only once
Au lever du soleil de cette belle journée
At sunrise of this beautiful day
La mer se relevait du ciel, la fille se promenait,
The sea rose from the sky, the girl walked,
Le Bleu du ciel, et de la mer se melangait d'une telle manière
The blue of the sky and the sea mixed in such a way
Elle ne savait plus ou elle etait
She didn't know where she was anymore
Telle etait la lueur.
Such was the light.
"Ola, petite, tu es perdue?"
"Hey there, little girl, are you lost?"
L'haleine pourrie de bière
The bad breath of beer
Un gros macaque á l'air violent la poussait de derrière.
A big, violent-looking guy pushed her from behind.
Elle ne savait pas quoi lui repondre,
She didn't know what to answer him,
Elle, pour la violence trop tendre,
She, too tender for violence,
Se mordait les lèvres par peur
Bit her lips out of fear
De ce gang.
Of this gang.
Il ne faut pas mettre pied dans leur territoire
You must not set foot in their territory
Oooh-elles s'emmelent
Oooh-they get tangled
Contributed by Brooklyn F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.