Karnak (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karnak is a Brazilian band, from São Paulo. It is known for mixing diverse music styles, not only Brazilian but from the whole world, with pop and rock. Many critics consider Karnak's music style being world music, label that they refuse, claiming that their "ethnic" sound results from their intuition, not from researches.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Creation
In 1992, lead singer and guitarist André Abujamra, after finishing his musical duo Os Mulheres Negras with his mate Maurício Pereira, went travelling throughout the world with an audio recorder in his hand, collecting all kinds of music he could get, thinking about creating a band with these influences, but mixing also with Brazilian regional music and modern styles like rock, pop and electronic music. One of the destinations of his trip was the ancient tombs of Karnak. Stumbled upon the beauty of that place, he made the temple's name his band's.
Back to Brazil, he recruited musicians to his band, the most part being really good friends. He even kept two drummers in the band because both were old friends and he couldn't dismiss one of them. Along with 10 musicians, two actors and a dog, the activities of the band were started.
Before the first concert, they rehearsed for one whole year. Karnak's concerts are remarkable by theatrical sketches, creative looks with weird hats, and high-skilled performances by its musicians.
[edit] First album, recognition in Brazil
In 1995 they released their first album, Karnak. The album was released by the extinct Brazilian label Tinitus. It is believed to have sold 50,000-100,000 copies until today (after the label extinction, the album was re-released some years after by another label, Net Records). The album was highly appreciated by critics and despite it didn't become very popular to be played in radio stations, Karnak became well-known in university radios around São Paulo and it even got some videos played in Brazilian MTV.
[edit] Second album, international tours
They released their second album, Universo Umbigo (Bellybutton Universe), in 1998, by a medium-size label called Velas, now extinct. At that time, Karnak added more integrants: a belly dancer (that was in fact André's girlfriend) and some more instrumentists. The band has at that moment his largest formation: 15 band members. In Brazil, the album had less impact that the first one, and to this day it is out of catalog, making it a rare acquisition for a fan. Although it didn't do well in their own country, it became popular in a little extent in college radios of the United States.
After the releasing, Karnak went touring to USA, Canada and Europe. They changed the name of the band to "The Karnak", to adapt themselves to an international career (shortly after they changed the name back). Several members left the band, making its formation shrink to nine. In the same year, they released a "best of" album in France, called Original, in 1999. The album featured songs by the first two albums, plus a French version of the song Alma Não Tem Cor (Souls doesn't have colors) and a remix of the song Comendo Uva na Chuva (Eating grapes in the rain) by André Abujamra.
[edit] Third album
When they returned to Brazil, in the next year, they started to record their third album, Estamos Adorando Tóquio (We are loving Tokio). Its recording lasted about three years - they even went touring internationally again in the middle of the recording, in 2001. With the formation down to seven members, the album was then released in 2002, by Net Records, an independent label that aims to find alternative ways of distributing, selling, etc., to lower costs - making the records less "tempting" to produce pirate copies. So, the album was sold in newspaper stands by a cheaper price than in record stores.
The album, in terms, was as successful as the first one; although in the main media its impact wasn't the same of the 1995 record, they played more shows, gathered more fans and became a little more known outside São Paulo.
[edit] The "end" of the band
However, in December 16, 2002, André Abujamra wrote a message to Karnak producer Belma Ikeda and she forwarded to the largest e-mail based discussion list about the band. The message's content was unbelievable for the fans: it was explaining that the band felt that a cycle was finished, so, they were stopping their activities. Their two scheduled shows for the next week would be the last ones. The concerts, converted to the celebration of the band's existence, had the presence of all Karnak members and ex-members, totalizing almost twenty people on stage.
In the next year, 2003, a two-disc compilation of live recordings was released, under the name Os Piratas do Karnak (The pirates of Karnak).
[edit] Returning to activities?
According to André, Karnak was extinct, without plans to release new material. The only next release would be a DVD with the band's best moments in its career. Still, they performed at least once a year since 2003, usually in SESC Pompéia, a culture complex located in São Paulo. Then, in one of these seasonal performances, in 2006, André announced that the band was resuming their activities. He attributed their pause, humorously or not, to an uncertainness: he was not sure he would survive a gastric bypass surgery.
The documentary The Karnak's Multicolored Book narrates the behind-the-scenes of a 2004 Chinese tour, kept in secret from Brazilian fans. It was released in the end of 2006, in the 30th São Paulo International Film Festival.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 Karnak - 1995 |
 Universo Umbigo - 1998 |
 Estamos Adorando Tóquio - 2002 |
[edit] Compilations
 Original - 1999 |
 Os Piratas do Karnak - 2003 |
[edit] Lineup
[edit] From start to end ("the golden members")
- André Abujamra - vocals, electric guitar
- Marcos Bowie - trumpet, vocals
- Hugo Hori - saxophone, vocals
- Kuki Stolarski - drums
- Eduardo Cabello - electric guitar
[edit] Other members
- Luiz Macedo - electric guitar (1992/1996)
- Paulo Gregori - performances (1992/1996)
- Sérgio Bártolo - bass (1992/2001)
- Lulu Camargo - keyboards and samplers (1992/2001)
- Carneiro Sândalo - drums (1992/1999)
- James Müller - percussion (1992/1999)
- Jeton - Sândalo's dog (1992/1999)
- Lloyd Bonnemaison - saxophone (1997/1999)
- Tiquinho - trombone (1997/1999)
- Zuzu - belly dancer (1997/1999)
- Mano Bap - bass, electric guitar (1996/2000, 2002)
- Juliano Beccari - keyboards and samplers (2001/2002)
[edit] Solo and parallel careers
- André Abujamra: released his solo album, O Infinito de Pé (The Infinite standing up), in 2004.
- Lulu Camargo: currently an official member of Brazilian band Pato Fu.
- Hugo Hori, Kuki Stolarski, Juliano Beccari, Sérgio Bártolo, James Müller: currently members of Brazilian band Funk Como Le Gusta.
- Kuki Stolarski is also member of Brazilian band Bojo. The band has once Lulu Camargo in its lineup.
- Mano Bap, Hugo Hori, Juliano Beccari are also members of the Brazilian band The Central Scrutinizer Band, along with Marcos Bowie.
[edit] External links
- Robson Mafra Home Page (in Portuguese)
