Toc-Toc

Information

After more than a decade dedicating his original work to an English-language repertoire, Ed Motta returns to recording in Portuguese language with a sound inspired by 1980s electro-funk.

Ed Motta has been one of Brazil’s most successful singers for three and a half decades. Throughout his long career, the “Colossus of Rio”—as he is affectionately known in his homeland—has absorbed a wide variety of styles, from bossa nova to hard rock, funk, soul, jazz, and fusion, as well as various forms of pop, repeatedly blending them into new combinations that coalesce into an unmistakable whole thanks to his voice, which is as gentle as it is powerful. With his latest opus, “Toc-Toc,” he is now embarking on a fresh start under the motto “Back to the Future.” Strictly speaking, it is a journey through time and space—or rather, through many eras and just as many places. On the one hand, there’s the echo of many great legends of Brazilian pop music from the 1960s to the present, but the songs also encompass elements of funk, synth-pop, and electronica. Motta distills all of this into a statement about the present, in which he simply swaps the traditional roles of the past and the future.

Specifically, Ed Motta’s goal was to bring two completely different areas of contemporary music together into a cohesive whole. “Electronic music and traditional songwriting are usually mutually exclusive,” explains Motta. “I wanted to find a way to connect these two musical forms in unexpected ways. It’s not electronic music per se, because my songs follow a different dramatic structure, but everything is recorded using a drum machine and a bass synthesizer. With my songs, I want to reach a place that doesn’t yet exist.”

There is hardly any other voice in the universe that has such a soothing, empathetic effect on the human spirit as Ed Motta’s timbre. And yet he is a quiet rebel who defies all musical formulas and commercial rules. Nothing could be further from the Brazilian’s mind than treading well-worn Latin paths, of whatever variety. Deep in his heart, Motta remains a passionate songwriter; the electronic elements on his new album, however, are the garments in which he dresses his imagination. The vibe of his songs draws primarily on the tight funk of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Motta cites American ’70s icons like Cameo and the S.O.S. Band to illustrate the source of his inspiration.  “As a teenager, I was incredibly impressed by this music, and today I’m searching for that energy again,” says Motta. “I look back in order to move forward. It’s a game with memory. Back then, this music was constantly playing on the radio. Before I started collecting records, the radio was my main influence. That’s long gone, but life goes on. I have to find new ways to bring that energy back.”

Ed Motta feels that today’s pop music lacks the high-quality songwriting that was commonplace during his youth. He doesn’t want to recreate the music of the past. On the contrary, he’s searching for new approaches for himself. Songwriting is so central to him that he recorded the album largely on his own. He wants to give listeners a sense of home. Not least for this reason, he didn’t go into a studio to record, but instead recorded the entire album alone in his apartment. “I’m used to working with lots of musicians in the studio. On my previous albums, I’ve worked with legions of horn players, string players, singers, and percussionists. On the new album, I wanted to go in the exact opposite direction and create something minimalist and stripped-down. Even though I recorded everything electronically, I wanted it to have the feel of a trio with piano, bass, and drums. The focus should always be on the song itself.”

Motta describes “Toc-Toc” as a pop album with jazz influences. The melodic and harmonic progressions cannot deny the jazz influence, but like everything in the music of this gentle giant, these aspects also discreetly take their place within the songs and Motta’s very own idiom. Although a giant on the Brazilian music scene and a celebrated star worldwide, Ed Motta is and remains one of the most modest and humble artists on the planet. He doesn’t want to lecture or challenge anyone, and even as he constantly seeks new horizons for himself, he brings everything into harmony with his listeners in mind. He sings about love and interpersonal situations, portrays cities, and occasionally allows himself an ironic undertone. “On my earlier albums, I often sought out a complex narrative style. Not so on this album. I want to keep things simple and easy to follow. It’s really a genuine summer-sun album,” Motta laughs. “T-shirts, the beach, and piña coladas. I just want to get rid of a bunch of baggage I’ve been lugging around for the past few years.”

It may sound trite, perhaps even presumptuous, but in his songs, Ed Motta aims for nothing less than to capture the sunlight. And thanks to his unique personality, he actually succeeds. “Toc-Toc” means “knock-knock” in Brazilian. Ed Motta knocks on the door of life and asks to be let in. If one were to sum up “Toc-Toc” in a single sentence, it would be a tender declaration of love for the beauty of the world.

Listen or buy: https://MPS.lnk.to/Toc-Toc