The new album by the São Paulo band Bloco do Caos, “Os Muros Não Sabet Listening”, comes to establish once and for all the strength and relevance of this band in the Brazilian music scene and can be summed up in one word: mixture. Uniting the most diverse genres, from reggae to rock, passing through maracatu, afrobeat, funk carioca, rap, samba and ijexá, Bloco brings in 13 tracks a sound experience full of reflection and balance. The album will be available on August 5th on all music apps.
To carry this message and musicality with all possible force, Bloco put together a strong team. The album features luxury guest appearances by Maneva, Onze:20, Planta & Raiz, Marina Peralta, rapper GOG and Argentine band Los Cafres. “It’s a great honor to have these giant names with us”, celebrates Andrew Lee, the group’s drummer, “It just shows how important our message is and that we’ve done a great, reliable and respectful job so far. These names have embraced the idea. and they came with everything!”
With politically engaged lyrics, the album is a great placement. “For us, art has a social function”, comments Alê Cazarotto, the band’s vocalist and one of the album’s producers and composers, “It makes the listener reflect. It doesn’t change the world, but it changes people. change the world”, he adds.
From the name, the work speaks loudly. Referring to a verse from one of the songs on the album — “Santo nome”, inspired by Carlos Drummond de Andrade and released alongside Planta & Raiz — “Os Muros Não Knows How to Listen” is a title of great symbology. The “walls” symbolize division, separation and oppression. What binds us and surrounds us. These same walls do not listen, they are not open to debate: they have to be torn down with action, with struggle. “The name sums up many aspects of the album to us”, points out Renato Frei, guitarist of the band and one of the producers and composers of the record, “We are not interested in encouraging speech, we want to encourage action.” In addition, the name speaks to the idea that the “walls” will not know how to listen to the album. “We have a side. And that side is not that of oppression, of fascism. It is not the side of these walls. These songs are for us, not for them”, says Cazarotto.
The title and concept of the work go hand in hand with the beautiful art on the cover, produced by Alê Cazarotto. From a radio in the center of the rubble of a house, plants and flowers grow that pierce the stones and concrete walls. The message is straightforward: music has the power to raise hope in the midst of destruction. In the midst of a chaotic Brazil, ruled irresponsibly and inattentive to the social and those underprivileged, the message that the band tries to convey is extremely necessary and extremely current.
The album as a whole makes explicit a great desire for change and the importance of collective struggle as a great transforming force in society. This is clear in songs like “Algum Lugar” — already presented to the public — which sings in its chorus: “Without pain there will be no victory”, the unreleased “Fúria da Rain”, which makes an analogy with the rain representing the people and uses the The popular saying “Water soft in stone hard hits so hard until it breaks” in its chorus, and the also unreleased “Inspiração” – recorded in partnership with Onze:20 – which has a chorus that practically translates the album: “Inspiração e Dança. Liberation, revolution, change”.
Bloco do Caos appeared at the end of 2013 in São Paulo and is known for its explosive show, full of energy and a very diverse sound, full of strong messages. The band brings in its luggage several important shows and festivals, both in Brazil and in Portugal, some relevant awards and other important partnerships such as Toni Garrido, Tato (Falamansa), Izenzêê (Braza/Forfun) and Big Mountain (USA), which yielded two EPs and an official album and made the band have millions of plays and views on the internet. “Os Muros Não Knows Listening” is the 2nd official album of Bloco do Caos’ career and comes to crown this new phase of the band that, with almost 10 years of existence, continues to be active, showing that art is a form of resistance, opposition and an affront to the powers that try to discriminate against sectors of the population. August 5th is the day to follow another great event in the history of this Bloco do Chaos that still has a lot to talk about.