Brazilian American Artists join forces to release the single “Quem é teu baby?/Who is your baby?”. Leopold Nunan featuring legends Sonia Santos and Ana Gazzola.
LISTEN HERE:
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/2rDi5bAzNZiIoVLlZCRWfU?utm_source=generator
The album, “Leo from Rio“, the name by which the Los Angeles community knows him, arrives on streaming this year filled with samba, new bossa, jazz and rock. On the album, the majority of the arrangements and instruments were created by Brazilian prodigy Alberto Menezes.
The album is a tribute to Leopold’s father, Plastic Surgeon and Professor Virmar Ribeiro Soares, who passed away seven years ago. He bequeathed Leopold a legacy of more than 300 rare records by giants of Brazilian Popular Music, Sergio Mendes, Gal Costa, Vinicius de Moraes, Azimuth, João Donato, Elza Soares, Jorge Benjor and more. Leopold found a surprise in the collection, an original album from Sonia Santos released in 1977, months after she recorded this feature in Leo’s track. Says Leo, “I cried so hard after finding this relic and called Sonia and Ana immediately.” These wonderful records, that he can’t stop playing, inspire the album’s vibe and it’s dive into Brazilian Popular Music. All from the point of view of an artist with a prior career in electronic music: “I am going back to the basics, all instruments are played by musicians. I had a chance to produce a sound that is a legit homage to my roots and ancestors.” The song will have as a bonus, several dance floor remixes by Brazilian artists like Lucio K, Karan! and DJ Marcao Rezende.
After living in America for 20 years, working in various odd survival jobs and performing in virtually every venue in LA, Leo finally had the push he needed in order to organize a full length album and body of work. It was partially funded with a generous grant from The Music Forward Foundation and CITI during the pandemic that selected ten LGBTQIA+ immigrant and POC artists from more than 250,000 proposals. The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, on Wilshire Boulevard, on the layered facade of the Petersen Automotive Museum, and at LACMA’s Urban Light outdoor art installation, a forest of city lights created by artist Chris Burden, Cherry Soda Studios and LA County Fair Amusement park. “This video is an ode to love in all forms of diversity, minorities, the black community, the LGBTQIA+ community, the differently capable, animal and plant lovers; here, playing and loving is not forbidden.” says the award winning Brazilian filmmaker Lucas Paz, who directed the music video.
Leo had to turn to creative ways to build the aesthetics for the video as the budget was tight. He drove around the city searching for dried Palm tree branches that looked like Açaí from Amazonia. He searched roads for discarded hub caps to use as headpieces. The costume made out of plastic, waste and recycled fashion is a tribute to genius icon Arthur Bispo do Rosárioand the “Tropicalia” movement. There are also references to the afro Brazilian Capoeira and theBate-Bolas of the carnaval in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro.
Video music making is one of the hardest parts of the creative process because costs can escalate rapidly. Leopold has great stories about the wild funding strategies he had to employ to pay for the video. He auditioned to the major CBS hit show, “Let’s make a deal” with a fabricated drag name, “Anitta Deal”. The producers loved it, he won a prize and that was the push that he needed. The artist says he also drove more than 3000 rides for Uber to help finance the video.
CREDITS:
Vocals: Leopold Nunan, Sonia Santos, Ana Gazola e Ângelo Metz
Lyrics and song: Beto Brown
Arrangements and all instruments: Alberto Meneses
Djembe: Felipe Fleury
Master and mix: Lucio K
Vocals arrangement: Angelo Metz
Vocals recorded at Flower Power Studios – Los Angeles
MUSIC VIDEO:
Executive and General Production: Leopold Nunan
Diretor: Lucas Paz
DP: Will Cook
Editor: Gui Bonini
Choreography: Leopold Nunan
Style and Fashion: Leopold Nunan
Make up: Alfred Mercado
Make up assistant Stephanie Sanchez
Set Production: Robbie McDonald
PA and stills: Michelle Souza
Cast: Henry Gollette-Baez, Tish Beckman, Robbie McDonald, Emmett Preciado, Cynthia Vasconcelos, Elielson Vasconcelos, Marcio Barreto, Chris Law, Delia Rawdon, Sarah Marie, Quinn Rawdon, Brian Frank, Andy Arias, Alegria De La Luz, Batuhan Aslan, Chun Arisco Wang, Quebrado, Elizabeth Pina, Rachel Leal, Thomas Soveg and Dillon David II
Looks: Barabas, Hamlet Adonis, Patricia Kamajura e M Stoltz.
Bate Bolas: União De Realengo, Kuka de Realengo e Avita.
International handling: Lucas Assumpcao Paiva:
Shot at: Cherry Soda Studios, LACMA, State Fair, Petersen Museum