Otto

Former percussionist of the mangue beat band mundo livre s/a, having participated in their first two albums, the singer and songwriter came forward from the back of the stage to bring the daring disc Samba Pra Burro to the surface. From Dutch and native Brazilian descent, Otto was born in the countryside of Pernambuco (NE), where he was exposed to an immense variety of folk rhythms around the region. He left Pernambuco in 1989 to spend two years in France, playing percussion on the streets and subways. Upon his return, Otto landed on Rio, and then he moved back to Recife (capital of Pernambuco) and met the two mangue beat forerunners, Chico Science (Chico Science & Nação Zumbi) and Fred 04 (mundo livre s/a). Always influenced by local sounds, he eventually got interested in electronic music. Retrieving Brazilian beats and mixing them in with electronica, roots and newness were brought together in Samba Pra Burro. He was acclaimed by the critics as the author of inventive and stimulating work, having produce a melting pot of maracatu, drum’n’bass, forró and rap. The album was awarded Best of 1998 by the Art Critics Association of São Paulo. Bebel Gilberto, Fred 04 and Ernesto Vasconcelos (Naná Vasconcelos’ brother) appeared in Otto’s debut disc. Soon after hitting the scene, the songs from Samba Pra Burro also hit the stores in America. In 1999, he performed with Tom Zé at the Heineken Concerts, in São Paulo.