The very talented brazilian singer and songwriter from Sao Paulo with more than 15 years of career, Carla Mariani, together with her very competent band, is the newest representative of the brilliance inside the Brazilian/Worldwide Blues and Country Rock styles, and this comes even more to surface because of her beautiful new, intimate and modern album entitled “Introducing CM Quartet”.
Released on June 9th, on physical and digital CD formats, “Introducing CM Quartet” is the first Blues/Country Rock work created by a brazilian woman and shows a different sound within the stipulated standards of these styles, escaping from the “more of the same” and showing that the Blues crossed centuries without leaving its roots in the present world.
Check out “Introducing CM Quartet” at https://onerpm.link/cmquartet
Bringing strong influences of great references in styles such as Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin, Joss Stone, Garth Brooksand Alan Jackson, the quartet composed of Carla Mariani, Yan Cambiucci(guitarist and songwriting partner), Tanauan (bass) and Heittor Jabbur (drums) goes against what is recommended by the music industry, producers and marketing professionals by releasing a full album with 10 unreleased tracks instead of separate singles.
The track listing for “Introducing CM Quartet” is:
Tax Money
Landlord
My Way
Ain’t Life A Bitch!
Crazy World
Refresh Your Heart
Express Yourself
Power Of The Brain
Feeling Alright
Soul To Heaven
“I wanted to tell a story and loose singles, in that case, would not tell it the way the story needed to be told, as it would be fragmented and meaningless”, Carla Mariani comments. “Besides, in my opinion, a complete work shows who we are and where we want to go. The Blues and Country Rock audience likes and misses works with a beginning, middle and end”, she adds.
And that is exactly what people can expect from this new work. Based on her own experience, Carla sees her generation – 30 to 40 years old – in a completely different position from their parents when they were the same age. She says that, “In the old days, the goal in life, at 30, was to already have a “settled” life, with a steady job, own house and the car of the year. The next generation, today’s, values quality of life and working in something they really like, even if this generates financial instability”.
“Our generation has no perspective of achieving a stable financial life” says the singer, who begins the album by attributing the devaluation of the young to politicians and high taxes. “It’s the famous story where the rich get richer and richer and the poor get poorer and poorer. Our generation suffers from high taxes, the dollar and inflation”.
But, for Carla, none of this should stop young people from making dreams come true. Everyone must find their way, and even if difficulties, mishaps, and many obstacles arise, the end can be rewarding. And it is on this theme that the album goes on to tell its story. “We have to follow our goals and free ourselves from everything that gets us down or prevents us from running after what we want to be as people and professionals.”
Following in that vein, the songwriter brings up the power of the mind and says that whenever negative thoughts arise, looking inside yourself and trying to change your mindset is the fastest and most correct solution to take. And that is the continuation of the story of “Introducing CM Quartet”, getting people to reprogram their minds with positive thoughts so that they can live happily realizing their dreams. From there, the story comes to an ending, where the characters are living their lives well, doing what they love and being happy in their own way.
“Today we live in an age where even listening to music is a waste of time (laughs). In the old days, we used to sit in front of a radio and listen to music for hours on end, call friends over to listen together and enjoy releases as if they were real events! Today, most people no longer enjoy this moment, because they do other things at the same time, missing that chance for reflection, mental detour from everyday problems, and being taken by the melodies to a special place. There is no more time for music! I miss songs with inspiring lyrics, solos, and melodies that go outside of what is considered ‘normal’ today. I always ask myself who are these songs being written for today? In a universe of TikTok, Reels, and videos that are at most 1 minute long, usually without any content, and when a song is created it is at most 3 minutes long. These immediacy things inspired me to create “Introducing CM Quartet”, a work made for my generation, born between 1981 and 1996, in which I tell, track by track, about the life of the generation known as “Y”. Without a doubt, I consider it my best work and I could count on incredible musicians in this journey, like the boys from Carla Mariani Quartet!”, she concludes.
The album features several special guests such as Vasco Faé (harmonica on the track “Tax Money”), Letícia Alcovér (for love and backing vocals on “Landlord” and “Soul To Heaven”), Thais Ribeiro (piano on “My Way” and “Refresh Your Heart”), plus Lucas Degásperi, Carol Meles and Nathalie Rabelo (on backing vocals on “Soul To Heaven”).
After the release of “Introducing CM Quartet”, there will be 3 more official videos and 6 lyric videos available on Carla Mariani’s official channel. Stay tuned!
Testimonials:
“I found this new album of a remarkable maturity in relation to previous works and I see a ‘Carla’ perhaps a little more conscious of her own language as an artist, and also as a band unit is a more organic, alive, spontaneous, consolidated and firm work of its purpose, embracing more clearly the Rock N’ Roll sonority in the arrangements that married very well with the timbre of her more present voice. It is a repertoire that, for sure, will grow a lot when played live with the improvisation part that involves blues shows. Long life to this new work, congratulations” (Eric Assmar – Blues singer and guitarist)
“The album is amazing and I am sure they will be rewarded for their excellent work. It is a matter of time and if it doesn’t happen it will be one of the biggest injustices in music (laughs). Mature, creative, super well composed/played performance and musicianship of the highest level. Vibrant vocals, sensational solos and riffs, slide guitar, brilliance, that is, a show of arrangements full of a ‘feeling’ that moves us in such a way that we are sure that success is just around the corner!” (Luiz Oliveira – Rock/Fusion/Metal guitarist)
“I am suspect to speak because I am a friend and fan of Carla Mariani, but I am very happy to see her surpassing herself with each work, whether as a singer, songwriter and producer. Her new album is wonderful, especially for those who like a good blues, masterfully played, sung and composed. I like more the slow songs, so my favorites are “My Way” and “Refresh Your Heart”. Beautiful tracks indeed!” (Rogerio Baraquet – singer, composer and renowned musical producer)
Discography:
“Time” (EP/2017)
“Locked Inside” (EP/2021)
“At Last” (Single/2018)
“Sweet Little Angel” (Single/2019)
“Sweet Hazel Eyes” (Single/2020)
“Gloomy Days” (Single/2020)
“Introducing CM Quartet” (Album/2022)
Listen to Carla Mariani at:
Spotify:https://spoti.fi/3Q0zVPH
Deezer:https://bit.ly/3xd6jGa
Apple Music:https://apple.co/3NtGgkX
Tidal:https://bit.ly/3mo1u7I
Youtube:www.youtube.com/carlamariani
Social Media/Contact:
Site: www.carlamariani.com
Facebook:www.facebook.com/carlamarianicantora
Instagram:www.instagram.com/carla_mariani
E-mail:contato@carlamariani.com
Picture by Juliane Paixao
