Vol.03 NARA LEAO / NARA (1964)
Hello, my name is Takumi Yumikiri.
In this third installment, following the previous "ECM," we present one of the labels with a unified image.
NARA LEAO / NARA (1964 ELENCO)
This is Nala León's first album, Nala , released in 1964 on the Brazilian independent label ELENCO.
. writing about her would be incredibly long, so I will spare you. . for better or worse, she is a wealthy and slightly shadowy tomboy. By the way, I love Elise Regina, who was Nala's natural enemy.... I think she is the best diva in the world.
Although I say one, it is only "Elenco" that I want to focus on this time. The label owner is Aloysio de Oliveira .
As art director, Aloisio has demonstrated his talent without regret.
He made his debut in the United States in the 1930s with Bando da Lua, the backing band for Carmen Miranda, the first Brazilian to achieve the American dream and the most successful musician of all time. In 1955, after Carmen passed away, he returned to Brazil and in 1956 joined the British label Odeon as art director. At that time, Aloisio was 41 years old.
Shortly after Aloisio joined the company, he saw that one of the directors under his supervision had tremendous talent. That was then 29-year-old Antonio Carlos Brasileiro di Almeida Jobim, a.k.a. Tom Jobim.
Aloisio praised Tom as the Brazilian George Gershwin , an American composer who laid the foundation for American music. He is the man who laid the foundation of American music). This tag team brought new life to the Brazilian music world. And on July 10, 1958, Aloisio would produce the historic moment.
At the age of 27, João recorded the 1:59 minute song "Chega de saudade" in the "Odeon" studio. At this moment, Bossa Nova was born.
Aloisio then left "Odeon" and moved to the music label PHILIPS in 1961 with Silvinha Tellis (who would later marry Aloisio), Lucio Alvis, and others. However, he left after only one year because he could not work freely. After a year of preparation, he established his own label, ELENCO, in 1963, in order to introduce talented bossa nova musicians to the world.
The "Elenco" jacket was innovative at the time in both layout and use of color.
The jacket ground of "Elenco" was always white (with a few exceptions). The black background and the red coloring made for a simple, yet impactful design. Soon after, major companies such as "Philips" and "RCA, RGE" began to imitate this design, and it was so well received by the public.
The designer later said, "If I had the money, I would have made the jacket more colorful than any other. . In fact, it was a bitterly contested idea born out of a lack of money. . Needless to say, the resulting approach became a trademark of Bossa Nova.
(I believe that people power and ideas without money can produce great works.) (I believe that human power and ideas in a situation where there is no money can produce great works.) Incidentally, during the three years Aloisio was in charge, 60 records were released.
Although "Elenco" was not a commercial success and was short-lived, Aloisio continued to produce important albums for MPB (Musica Populaire Brasileiro, also known as Emi Peh-Beh, or "Brazilian Popular Music" in English), including ELIS & TOM and Djavan. He produced important albums for MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) and passed away in 1995 at the age of 80.
In the spring of 1994, I was attending an art academy in Tachikawa, Tokyo, with the goal of going to art school. I skipped classes and spent my time in a second-hand record shop in Tachikawa (I eventually gave up on art school and went to the Kuwasawa Design School.... (I eventually gave up on art school and went to the Kuwasawa Design School... (I dropped out of Kuwasawa, too... sorry, Mom...)).
I saw the reissue series of "Elenco" in the new release section of the record store and thought, "This is it! I thought, "This is it! What a cool jacket! This was the beginning of my full-fledged immersion in Brazilian music. At the time, I bought the cover of Lennie Dale, Sambalanco Trio. I was shocked when I heard a fast samba arrangement of a jazz standard called "Night and Day" on the album. Even now, I like Lennie's "Night and Day" the best.
One of the Lenny Dale & San Barranzo Trio.
Anyway, like "ECM," this encounter made me think about the relationship between the jacket and the music.
I am getting more and more opportunities to design jackets for records and CDs, and when I express music visually, I focus on the soundscape. When the finished design is linked to the sound, it is a great feeling. . This is true not only for the creator, but also for the listeners.
With this in mind, it is late afternoon, and I feel that I would like to continue to create and encounter many wonderful works of art.
So, I'll see you next time.
PROFILE
Born in Tokyo in 1974, he dropped out of Kuwasawa Design School in 1996 and started a custom-made shirt brand while working on costumes for theater companies and entertainers. 2000 AW he started his fashion brand "Yuge". In June 2018, he opened "Adult Oriented Records" in Yoyogi Uehara, and is currently presenting "modern AOR". AOR" in the modern age.
