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THE WINNER OF THE 2008 LATIN GRAMMY FOR BEST BRAZILLIAN CONTEMPORARY POP ALBUM FINALLY SEE’ IT’S U.S. DEBUT!

BRAZILIAN SUPERSTAR SINGER-SONGWRITER VANESSA DA MATA SAYS “YES” TO US DEBUT

THE WINNER OF THE 2008 LATIN GRAMMY FOR BEST BRAZILLIAN CONTEMPORARY POP ALBUM FINALLY SEE’ IT’S U.S. DEBUT!

The October 13, 2009 Discos 605/Red Distribution release of “Sim” (Yes) marks the US debut of chart-topping Brazilian singer and songwriter Vanessa da Mata. “Sim” won a Latin Grammy award in 2008 for Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album. The album track “Boa Sorte/Good Luck”, a reggae-inflected duet with Ben Harper, was a smash hit throughout Europe in 2008 and a number one single in Brazil. An English version of “Vermelho” (Red) was recorded for the US release and “Boa Sorte/Good Luck”, originally recorded in Portuguese and English, appears in an all-English version.

In a crowded field of young Brazilian singers, Vanessa stands out for her authenticity and earthiness born of a childhood in the inland state of Mato Grosso. There were no existing bands in her small town of Altos Garças. “I was completely unschooled in music,” she recalls. At age fourteen she found herself on-stage at an open-mic session where her unforgettable throaty voice enthralled the crowd.

Nonetheless, Vanessa’s parents sent her to the neighboring state of Minas Gerais to study medicine at age 15. But life had a different plan for the charismatic young woman who, although she tried her hand as a basketball player and fashion model, found early musical success as a songwriter, penning hits for Chico César, Maria Bethânia and Caetano Veloso, and Daniela Mercury. “It was difficult, as a woman, to call myself a composer. It was so unusual in Brazil,” explains Vanessa. She also began a professional singing career as a backing vocalist for the likes of Milton Nascimento, Bethânia and the late Baden Powell. In 2002, Vanessa released a self-titled debut album followed by the 2004 release “Essa Boneca Tem Manual” (This Doll Comes with a Manual). “Sim” is her third studio album. With an enviable string of number one singles and three top-charting albums, Vanessa da Mata is one of the biggest selling Brazilian artists today.

“Sim” is a Brazilian pop record with a Jamaican accent. This captivating collection of songs traces two musical trajectories – a full-on embrace of Jamaican grooves on the one hand and a contemporary mix of bossa-nova, samba and MPB on the other. The singer chose the album title, she says, to describe “…a positive answer to life. A fighting response.”

Ben Harper first heard the melody line of “Boa Sorte/Good Luck” over the telephone in Los Angeles. “This was one of the most organic sessions I’ve ever worked on,” says the rootsy American bluesman. “It was almost too easy. It’s the first time this has happened with someone I didn’t know.” “The song was really missing something until Ben got involved,” adds Vanessa. Ironically, the incredible musical relationship made possible by technology produced a song that talks about a painful break-up.

About half of “Sim” was recorded in Kingston, with the participation of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare on five of the album’s tracks. This wasn’t the first time Vanessa had collaborated with the fabled duo. At the age of nineteen, she had worked as a back-up singer for Black Uhuru on their 1995 tour of Brazil. Bob Marley percussionist Sticky also joined the sessions in Kingston.

Produced by Mario Caldato and Kassin (Orquestra Imperial), the album also features the work of well-known Brazilian musicians João Donato, Wilson das Neves (Os Ipanemas), Don Chacal and up-and-comers such as Pupillo (Nação Zumbi), Fernando Catatau (Cidadão Instigado), Pedro Sá and Davi Moraes.

Vanessa is currently touring Brazil with a new live show “Jardins e Perfumes de Sim” which incorporates many of the songs of the “Sim” album with her prior hits.