Aline Morales

Artist Information

Biography

Aline Morales' days of being Toronto's best kept secret are over. Since her arrival in Canada in 2003, Brazilian-born Morales has been well known locally as a dynamic singer, percussionist and bandleader. However, it was release of her debut solo album, the stunning Flores, Tambores e Amores, that brought national attention to this unique artist, culminating in the recent Juno nomination for World Music Album of the Year. Released in 2011, Flores, Tambores e Amores was met with widespread critical acclaim, reaching #1 on Canada's Folk/World charts and landing on several best of 2011 lists. David Dacks writes in the Grid, “Simply put, Aline Morales’ self-released Flores, Tambores e Amores may be the finest Brazilian album ever produced in Canada.” An ambitious and eclectic record, Flores defies easy classification. While rooted in classic Brazilian song styles, such as samba, forró, Northeastern folk music and 1960’s Tropicalia, Flores inhabits its own unique musical world, where traces of Italian film scores, African sounds, avant garde poetry and vintage synths ebb and flow throughout.

Flores represents a departure for Aline, whose previous projects have been centred around traditional Brazilian drumming. Born and raised in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Aline began her performing career as a child training in capoeira, and by the time she reached her 20's, she had performed in a variety of traditional and modern bands including one of Brazil’s most well-known maracatu groups, Nacao Estrela Brilhante do Recife led by Mestre Walter de Franca. Since her arrival in Toronto, Canada in 2003, she has been a tireless promoter of the traditional maracatu rhythms of Northeastern Brazil, performing with her 30-member percussion troupe, Baque de Bamba, at countless outdoor festivals, leading parades through Kensington Market in Toronto and even starring in Ontario Tourism’s “There’s No Place Like This” commercials.

Drawing now from a wider range of influences, Flores, Tambores e Amores finds Morales in a stage of musical exploration. Gone is the wall of percussion, replaced instead by lush, eclectic arrangements, which seamlessly blend traditional and modern instruments. At home in her new role as solo artist, Morales “shines with mature confidence amid [producer] David Arcus’ outstanding orchestrations.” (David Dacks, the Grid)

Instrumentation

Aline Morales - Percussion, voice
David Arcus - Guitar, organ, Cavaquinho
Phil Miles - Guitar
Andrew Mason - Bass
Maninho Costa - Percussion
Neil MacIntosh - Drums

Discography

Aline Morales, Flores Tambores e Amores, 2011

Maracatu Nunca Antes, The Beat Migration (Morales as bandleader), 2007

Official Website

http://www.alinemorales.com

Links

• MySpace
• Facebook

Audio

• Tem Dó de Mim
  Listen  
• Musa
  Listen  
• Como Pólen
  Listen  

Video

CD Release - May 22, 2011

Rosa720.mov

Photo Gallery

Press

• Best of 2011 - Soul and World [+ Show ]
  

  10. Aline Morales Flores Tambores E Amores (Independent) Aline Morales debut dropped on us like an ...10. Aline Morales Flores Tambores E Amores (Independent)
  Aline Morales debut dropped on us like an early spring thaw or an Indian summer in November. The warmth she brought with Flores Tambores e Amores had all the elements of Tropicalia's sound ? samba, psychedelic rock, bossa-nova, jazz and funk ? but most importantly it had its soul. Rather than render homage to her roots with stagnant repetition, Morales solo record demonstrates respect for Tropicalia's spirit. Her already impressive palette further includes elements of forro, MBP and eclectic instrumentation while her innovative compositions kindle our interest with its unexpected turns and bold arrangements. A percussionist at heart, Morales demonstrates a remarkable flair for songwriting. She strikes a nice balance, giving her record a loose reflective vibe, fizzing with late '60s defiance that comes across as energetic and progressive. Flores Tambores e Amores will undoubtedly bring the Toronto-based Brazilian further recognition along with well-deserved praise for her contribution to contemporary Brazilian music in Canada.
  Nereida Fernandes

• Album Review: Flores, Tambores e Amores [+ Show ]
  

  BY: David Dacks GRID RATING: 9/10 Simply put, Aline Morales’ self-released Flores, Tambo...BY: David Dacks
  
  GRID RATING: 9/10
  
  Simply put, Aline Morales’ self-released Flores, Tambores e Amores may be the ?nest Brazilian album ever produced in Canada.
  
  Morales is best known as the former lead singer for drumming ensemble Maracatu Nunca Antes, whom you might have seen at many Kensington Pedestrian Sundays and Afrofest celebrations. Here, she steps out as a modern incarnation of lush, late-’70s Brazilian popular music.
  
  Morales shines with mature con?dence amid David Arcus’ outstanding orchestrations, which incorporate brass, woodwind, Tropicalia ?ourishes, a few breakbeats and the odd glockenspiel.
  
  Not surprisingly, a record whose title translates as “Flowers, Drums and Love” is a warm and sunny affair, but the enthralling rhythmic depth and occasionally darker moods create a much richer listening experience. With this record, Morales plugs into Canada’s singer- songwriter psyche by leading with the drum.
  
  Playlist picks: “Flores, Tambores e Amores,” “Musa”

• Album Review: Flores, Tambores e Amores [+ Show ]
  

  By Nereida Fernandes When it comes to Toronto, ON's Brazilian music scene, Aline Morales has her f...By Nereida Fernandes
  When it comes to Toronto, ON's Brazilian music scene, Aline
  Morales has her finger in every pie. From her involvement in a
  slew of jazz collectives and percussion ensembles, particularly
  maracatu (many of which she leads), to graduating from being
  Luanda Jones's sidekick in Luandaline, Morales is finally releasing
  a solo record. Refusing to take shortcuts, she forges her own
  path with Flores Tambores E Amores , rather than picking up on
  the dub/electronica formula of her contemporaries Céu and Luísa
  Maita. Her roots-oriented bossa-samba, though glazed with the
  urban groove of MPB, reflects great reverence for bossa nova
  classics, '70s Tropicália and forro. The minor key Tropicália of
  "Musa," as it slowly expands with trumpet arrangements and its
  tongue-in-cheek reference to lyrics of bossa standards, is
  absolutely delicious, as is "Pra Que Sambar" (translated: "why
  samba"). Sounding like a long-lost track from Jobim's catalogue,
  her musical soliloquy culminates with the words, "It's a story of
  pain transformed into joy," providing a poetic addendum to
  Jobim's defence of his new style on "Desafinado." Flores
  Tambores E Amores is a quiet thrill, a noteworthy demonstration
  of Aline Morale's talent for thumping on our rhythmic hearts as
  she does the maracatu's alfaia.

• 10 Great Canadian Albums Released in the First Half of 2011 [+ Show ]
  

  1. Aline Morales — Flores, Tambores e Amores (Independent release) Brilliant new album from Brazi...1. Aline Morales — Flores, Tambores e Amores (Independent release)
  
  Brilliant new album from Brazilian expat Aline Morales now based in Toronto. David Dacks in The Abstract Index has been touting the pleasures of this recording since it came out in May. Written over the winter months with producer David Arcus, Morales, formerly lead singer with the drumming ensemble Maracatu Nunca Antes has created a hot summer record full of great songs.
  
  
  

• Interview: Aline Morales [+ Show ]
  

  By David Dacks In Toronto, Aline Morales is the anti-Weeknd. She's no semi-mysterious figure on a...By David Dacks
  
  In Toronto, Aline Morales is the anti-Weeknd. She's no semi-mysterious figure on a rocket ride of blog buzz and co-signs; instead she's performed in front of many thousands of people who would be sure to recognize the face if not necessarily her name. As the former leader of Brazilian drumming ensemble Maracatu Nunca Antes, Morales has been a fixture of the wildly popular Pedestrian Sundays in Toronto's Kensington Market, as well as innumerable outdoor festivals. She's also been in Ontario tourism commercials. In short, she's hidden in plain sight and her grassroots popularity sets the stage for a major breakout. Morales' debut album Flores Tambores E Amores is an outstanding example of evergreen Brazilian pop spiced with unusual and creative instrumentation. Her clear, confident voice shines through finely crafted arrangements that balance folklore, pop, jazz, funk and a dash of Tropicalia. If there is still such a thing as world music (your guess is as good as mine), this would be one of Canada's world music discs of the year.
  
  This is a much wider ranging album than a lot of people would have expected, was that your intention from the start?
  I never really had an intention. It was just a natural process of being an artist, a will to grow my career, it was a very organic creative process. So even if it's different from what people are used to, it just feels natural.
  
  This is a different beast than Maracatu Nunca Antes. What are the biggest differences about getting this together?
  With the drumming groups I've been involved with they've been community-based. People that are part of it and even the music that we play ? let's say you don't need to be a musician to play that. It's very traditional. Of course there's a musical aspect but it brings together the community that music has to have. But with this album it's quite a bit different. We did everything from scratch; of course we have influences, but it's me and Dave being quite specific about what we wanted. With Maracatu it was more like fun, fun fun.
  
  Tell me about working with [producer] David Arcus? What was the creative process like for this album?
  Me and Dave have been working together for a while before this album. Before we used to covers and things like that. Both of us decided to write some material together, so we locked ourselves in the basement during the winter writing music. He would come up with an idea, I would come up with a melody. He has very different influences than me. (the instrumentation and arrangement ideas) were his and mine. He's a vintage nerd so he's in tune with all the vintage equipment; he's really particular about the sound he wanted on the CD. I learned a lot from him in that aspect. But the balafon [a West African xylophone-type instrument on "Um Cherio Que Arrepia"], for instance, was one of my ideas. We had the song and it felt so raw, that it shouldn't have much [adornment]. But then I came up with the balafon. We did everything together. It was very nice working with him. The whole process was almost two years to write record and do everything.
  
  It sounds like a long-lost MPB album from the 70s; it's got folkloric elements, funky bits and very creative arrangements and unusual instrumentation. Was that period a touchstone for you?
  Oh yeah, for sure. David is a big lover of Tropicalia and that movement of Brazilian music. And that's a big part of this whole production for sure is the influences both me and Dave have.
  
  This is almost like a singer-songwriter album, so how does your drumming experience feed into these songs?
  I can't be detached from my drumming experience because that was my big school. In music, I'm rhythm head. So it's hard not to take that in consideration with what I do and with everything I will do in the future. It's part of my soul, my heart, the drum the drum brings that thing from inside. Even thought this album is completely different with these soft melodies and a little funk, I still want that roughness that I got from the drums that made me fall in love.
  
  Toronto's Brazilian community is fairly small but there's a much larger community of Brazilophiles. That described Maracatu Nunca Antes - you'd get Brazilians and non-Brazilians playing together in this community. How would you describe the Toronto experience for Brazilian music.
  By the way, I have a new [drumming] group called Baque De Bamba. More and more there is this Brazilian thing, this movement which is growing here in Toronto and in North America and in Canada. There are a lot of lovers of Brazilian music and culture. More and more people are realizing that Brazilian music is more than "The Girl From Ipanema," not that I want to say anything bad about that ? bossa nova is amazing ? but if you look at what's happening at the musical scene in Brazil it's so different than what people here are used to. And this CD has a little bit of that, artists there are often connected to what's going on inside and outside Brazil and I think this CD a little of that it's for Brazilians, brazilo ? how did you say it?
  
  Brazilophiles?
  Yes. Brazilian lovers!
  
  Do you think this album could this have been made anywhere else?
  I think it's hard to say. The music that you write and the art you put out depends a lot on the circumstances where you're living, the people that you're talking to and meeting. Maybe if I was in Brazil it could've been different, but I'm glad that it was recorded in Canada. Even though it was the winter and a rough time, it didn't affect what we were doing there in the basement. Or not in a bad way, I should say.

Setlist

Original Compositions:

Como Pólen
Nego
Musa
Avoou
Tem Do De Mim
Um Cheiro Que Arrepia
Rosa
Pra Que Sambar
Flores, Tambores e Amores

Cover Songs:

Incompatibilidade de Genios - Joao Bosco
Coroné Antonio Bento - Tim Maia
Eu Amo Voce - Tim Maia
Pé da Roseira - Gilberto Gil
Tuareg - Gal Costa
Ebano - Luiz Melodia
Vale Quanto Pesa - Luiz Melodia

Basic Requirements

Calendar