Whilst individual tracks combine many different styles - the bhangra and bo… Read Full Bio ↴Whilst individual tracks combine many different styles - the bhangra and bossa of ‘Grito’, folk and trip-hop of ‘Nunca Never’ and 60s sitar-funk & samba of ‘Vaga-Lume’, ‘Democustico’ is much more than the sum of its parts. The different styles combine symbiotically to produce a coherent world musical fusion with Gabriela Geluda’s mellifluous vocals joining the dots from Brazil to London via India.

With fans as diverse as world music guru Andy Kershaw (Radio 3), leftfield jazz cat Gilles Peterson and electronic-ambassador Laurent Garnier (Radio Nova) ‘Democustico’ follows on from a series of critically acclaimed single releases: ‘Brazil’, ‘A Sereia’, and ‘Vaga-Lume’ (as featured on Gilles Peterson’s recent ‘Back to Brazil’ Compilation) and will appeal to fans of downbeat/lounge as well as nu-jazz and nu-Brazil. With it’s eclectic sound ‘Democustico’ looks set to follow in the steps of other recent contemporary Far Out crossover CDs such as Sabrina Malheiros’ ‘Equilibria’ and Troubleman’s ‘Time Out Of Mind’.

Democustico are Mauro Berman (bassist for famous Brazilian Rap star Marcelo D2) and Gabriela Geluda (Azymuth/ Mamond) as well as Far Out uber-producer Roc Hunter. Mauro and Gabi are a carioca couple who met at college in Rio in 1987. They moved to London in 1996 where Mauro and Gabi met Joe @ Far Out through a mutual friend Marcos Valle. Having heard Gabi sing Joe knew just the person to feature on vocals on some tracks Roc Hunter had been working on. The results were ‘Brazil’ – a hypnotic percussive vocal groove that featured keyboards from Mauro - turning Democustico into a trio. A follow up single ‘A Sereia’ was recorded – keeping the Brazilian vibes strong the track also had a heavy Indian influence coming from the time Gabi had spent meditating in India.

In 2001 Gabi and Mauro returned to Brazil and for the next four years a trans-national musical exchange began. Roc Hunter would send beats and loops from London to Mauro and Gabi to work on in Brazil - Mauro working on ‘noises, synths, mpcs, street vibes and bass’ and Gabi working on melodies and harmony both in Rio and India which she visited again in 2002 for more inspiration. The album was finished when Roc Hunter spent three months with Mauro and Gabi in Rio in 2005.

Gabi explains what each member of the band brought to the mix: “Mauro brought the wild side through wicked bass lines, keyboard sounds and unconventional arrangements of the songs, I brought the Indian/ Brazilian flavour from my trips to India and love of classic Brazilian singers such as a Tom Jobim and Milton Nascimento whilst Roc Hunter brought an amazing collection of sounds from where we got a lot of inspiration. She adds: “Far Out has a great roster of wonderful Brazilian artists who have made history such as Marcos Valle, Joyce, Azymuth and Os Ipanemas yet we are from a new generation. Those people showed Brazilian music to the world yet we are taking the world to Brazilian music”.

Paz
Democustico Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Quando sou um copo cheio de prazer
Procurando alguém pra me beber
Quando estar sozinha não é solidão
Quando nada é ótimo e tudo é tão bom

Bom, bom, bom

Um raio de Sol dentro do ser

É satisfação sem ter por que
Poesia viva se escrever
Alquimia de energia negativa em paz

Paz, paz, paz

É desejo que resolve descansar
É só ser amar, amar, amar, amar

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Democustico's song "Paz" talk about finding peace within oneself and enjoying the pleasures of life without feeling lonely. In the beginning, the singer talks about being a glass full of pleasure, searching for someone to consume it. This could mean that the singer is feeling fulfilled and happy with his/her life and is not ashamed to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. Being alone is not the same as being lonely, and the singer is content with being by his/herself.

The lyrics then describe the feeling of satisfaction and contentment that one gets from experiencing a ray of sunshine within oneself. This could be a metaphor for finding inner peace or being happy with one's own company. The line "Poesia viva se escrever" means that living poetry is being written; which could refer to the beauty and joy of life that the singer is experiencing. The last two lines talk about how the desire for rest and love can both be met if one learns to love oneself.

Overall, the lyrics of Democustico's song "Paz" promote self-love, inner peace, and enjoying the little things in life.

Line by Line Meaning

Quando sou um copo cheio de prazer
When I am full of pleasure, like a cup,

Procurando alguém pra me beber
Looking for someone to drink me up,

Quando estar sozinha não é solidão
When being alone is not loneliness,

Quando nada é ótimo e tudo é tão bom
When nothing is great and everything is just good,

Um raio de Sol dentro do ser
A ray of sunshine within oneself,

É satisfação sem ter por que
Brings satisfaction without any reason,

Poesia viva se escrever
Writing living poetry,

Alquimia de energia negativa em paz
Alchemy of negative energy into peace,

Paz, paz, paz
Peace, peace, peace

É desejo que resolve descansar
It's the desire that decides to rest,