New York, (Top40 Charts/
Mario Costa Music) -
Mario Costa is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, keyboardist born in Rio de Janeiro. "Total Unknown" his first solo CD is a different and original Brazilian flavored Pop album that will be released on January 19th, 2011 with a concert party at Zanzibar, 1301 5th Street in
Santa Monica, California. A free CD will be given with every admission ticket! "Total Unknown" is an unique, singular and personal album. With 17 original songs spreading colors on a vast canvas, but nonetheless with a stylistic unity that holds all the building blocks together.
The main source of unity is Mario's voice. A quiet bossa nova whispered vocal style. Do you like surprises? "Total Unknown" is a cinematic trip where you never know what the next song is going to sound like. Sharp turns, unexpected breaks. Emotion and discovery are the foundations of Mario Costa's musical architecture. The multilayered quality of this album will not reveal itself at once. It will grow on you every time you play it.
Who is this "Total Unknown" guy? Mario recorded his first album in 1986 with his group SAGA for Polygram Brazil (Now Universal Music). With numerous soundtracks and compositional work under his belt, he moved to the US in 1990 to attend the "Grove School of Music" in California and founded the Brazilian Pop Beat group "THE RIO THING" also playing, arranging and writing for several artists in Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro. After 10 years as a Recording Studio owner in Rio de Janeiro, Mario is now back to being a full time musician.
Why "Total Unknown?" Because Mario is a well kept secret in the industry and this album is a head first dive into an unconscious world of spiritual self discovery. How was this achieved? In his own words: "This album was never a project, it just happenned to me. I bought a little digital handheld voice recorder and made a deal with myself that if I turned the recording switch on, I would have to write a complete song with melody and lyrics and have it ready before I had turned it off. In about a month I had 57 songs to choose from. I had only two weeks before my studio lease expired. So I decided to record all the vocals first, with just a click to keep time. No instrumentation at all. Miraculously, I managed to stay in key from beginning to end of all songs, despite the lack of reference."
Then, in a total inversion of the usual recording process, came the players. Musicians like Renato Neto the current keyboardist for Prince, formerly with Dianne Reeves, Sheila E and Roberto Carlos. Ricardo Silveira, one of the main guitar players in Brazil, formerly with Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil. Philippe Balatier from the electronic improvisational French group "Nojazz". Scott Bredman, percussionist for Jose Feliciano, Lindsay Buckingham and The Rippingtons. Antonio Sant'anna master bass player formerly with such Brazilian greats as Luis Melodia, Alceu Valenna, Tim Maia and Pepeu Gomes. Grecco Buratto, another brazilian acoustic and electric guitar wizard who plays with K.D. Lang, Pink and is cuurrently on tour with Shakira.
Joining Mario Costa onstage will be: Matthew Haze - Guitar / Pablo Medina - Keyboards / Antonio Sant'anna - Bass / Gibi - Percussion / Zac Bruno - Drums
Special guest appearance by Quetzal Guerrero on violin.
myspace.com/mariocostatotalunknown
www.reverbnation.com/mariocosta
https://www.facebook.com/home.php?No !/pages/Mario-Costa/321001248493
