After the success of Tramoia (2021), the Minas Gerais band Roça Nova celebrates renewal and healing with the release of Corta Quebranto, their second studio album. Available on all streaming platforms, the album consolidates the “ caipigroove ” style by mixing regional sounds with a modern and collaborative approach, marking a new chapter in the group’s trajectory.
The new album, Corta Quebranto, reflects a collaborative evolution in the way you compose and arrange your songs. What was it like for you, as a band, to experience this transition from a more individual process to a collective one?
It was a natural process that we always sought. We greatly appreciate each other’s musicality, and since we became friends, composing and arranging together has been one of our greatest pleasures. This album allowed us to release songs that we began creating together since we first met.
You mentioned that some of the songs on the album were tested live before release. How did this interaction with the audience impact the final versions of the songs?
In many ways, “Quebra-Coco,” for example, has a countdown at the end that is a classic from our shows, and we realized that we could take it from the stage to the album. “ Montaña ” is also a song that carries the line “our red mountain flag…”, which came from Pedro’s improvisations on stage at the end of the song “Cambalacho.” This was an idea that came up live after “ Cambalacho ” had already been released, and which has now made it onto the new album as part of “ Montaña ,” because we were able to test it live and it was very well received.
The expression “Corta Quebranto” came from a special moment during a show and ended up marking the essence of the album. What does this phrase represent to you and how does it translate into the sound and messages of the songs?
“Corta Quebranto” suggests movement and healing. The next step after an intense and inert “Tramoia” is the step itself. Reoccupying post-pandemic spaces with popular and regional culture, with the technologies of the present, assuming a future in which only the absurd can bring joy to everyone’s eyes. Bringing to light the pains and riches of our interior. Healing from pain with self-knowledge and evolving in constant movement.
“At our first festival show, back in 2020, I remember someone who was there posting a snippet of our performance on their stories, saying “Roça Nova corta quebranto!”, and that left a lasting impression on all of us. Just like the first album, this name also came as a gift to us, and even after five years, we all fondly remember this expression when we suggested possible names for this new album” – Marco Maia (guitarist)
“Even though we weren’t part of the band at the time, Tiago and I always thought the name was very strong and mystical in an existential way. It has a similar meaning to the first one, and it couldn’t be anything else. Tramoia conveys an idea of inertia and reflection, while Corta Quebrando suggests movement and healing. It’s the natural order. Evolution. The next step.” – Thalles Oliveira (percussionist)
“It represents the initial moment of the album’s development, which was a post-pandemic period of self-care and reoccupation of spaces with culture. Corta Quebranto is that, movement and healing.” – João Manga (drummer)
The album features incredible collaborations with Banda de Pau e Corda and André Prando. How have these partnerships enriched your musical identity and what have you learned most from these exchanges?
“Being able to bring together the new interior of Minas Gerais with the Pernambuco roots of Banda de Pau e Corda is a dream come true. Marco and I have already spent many nights listening to our Banda de Pau e Corda vinyl records.
The most interesting thing is to see the affectionate way in which they valued our work, genuinely, it is in their personality to be like that, and that made my heroes even more incredible to me” – Pedro Tasca (vocalist and composer of the song)
“André has always been one of my biggest musical references. I’ve always been a fan of his songs and singing them. After we met on the road, we had the opportunity to play at countless events together. Today we are great friends and it was only a matter of time before this participation made it to the recording. It was beautiful, strong and I feel fulfilled.” – Hector Eiterer (bassist and composer of the song)
The twelve hand-painted canvases that accompany the album bring a new level of symbiosis between music and visual art. What did you find most challenging or inspiring about this process of translating sounds into images?
“The most challenging part is to go from a great project with such a positive impact as “Tramoia” to a new challenge that pleases and surprises as much as it does. The most inspiring part is having the great artist and friend Leonardo Leitão by my side, who also actively participates in our musical creations, and perhaps that is why he is able to translate our music into images with such mastery” Pedro Tasca (vocalist and art director)
You explore a variety of traditional rhythms and instruments, such as the viola caipira and the berrante. How do you balance these regional influences with a modern and innovative sound?
It’s not really planned, we make the music that comes from us, we play the instruments we know, that we had as a reference during our upbringing… I learned to play the berrante when I was young with my grandfather, Tiago is a great guitarist and so on… The issue of being “innovative” I think is a natural reflection of the world we live in and the contemporary references that are also part of us.
With the album being released on vinyl and the tour on the horizon, how do you see Corta Quebranto’s role in consolidating “ caipigroove ” as a style that unites tradition and modernity?
With “Tramoia” we were able to present our musical proposal, and I see that today with the great partnerships we have already established, including great references for us, we have managed to consolidate this sound that we created as a recognized part of Brazilian music, which has always been like this, so plural and mixed.
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