This
interview is the bomb !!!
Here's a supergroup that's about to blow the fuck up !!!
Da silva has been around since the fall
of 1998. The members previous experience in various hip hop och funk
projects have created the basis for a new collaboration in Da silva.
With their original songs Da silva's star shines brightly on the Swedish
r´n b stage.
The four members are: Valeria Da Silva, vocals; Magnus Goethe, keyboards;
Per Nordh, bass; Kuzey Gustavsson, guitar.
Valeria Da Silva is the band´s natural focal point. She has danced
professionally and sung gospel in One Voice. As a backup vocalist for
many performers she has toured extensively, as far away as China...
In Sweden, several recording companies and studios have utilized the
gifted Brazilian´s charismatic voice.
Please introduce the band members.
VALERIA DASILVA - singer, songwriter, producing, and arranging
MAGNUS GOETHE - keyboards, songwriting, producing, and arranging: when
it comes to creating music in the studio,we all participate in the producing,arranging
& the composing process.usually the basic ideas comes from valeria
or kuzéy, then we all finish it up in per's kitchen.
PER NORDH - bass, producing, arranging, beats, programming, and songwriting:
playing live we bring in more people,background vocals & live drums
of course.
KUZÉY - guitars, beats, programming, songwriting, back vocals,
arranging, and producing: playing live is a whole new ballgame.you have
to approach the songs from a totally different perspective.
Where does daSilva originate
from? daSilva is such a exotic name. How did the band end up with that
name?
MAGNUS: the band originate from stockholm. I'm a stockholmer myself.
valeria was born in brazil. dasilva is her last name.
PER: I'm from a small swedish town called linköping. I moved to
stockholm a couple of years ago.
KUZÉY: I'm a cosmopolitan, but I was born in new york. but that's
a book in itself. basically I'm a new yorker.
Where did daSilva meet?
MAGNUS: we all played in different band so we kind of knew of each other.
funny thing is that we where all at the same george clinton concert,standing
right next to each other, and some time later we were all in the same
band.
PER: valeria was about to start a band called "dasilva soul",
consisting of cover songs. I auditioned for the band, got the gig and
soon discovered valerias songwriting talents. I said,why waste our time
on covers when you have these great songs?.
KUZÉY: magnus & I were in a different band at the time,playing
spaced-out instrumental jams.eventually our band split up.
PER: shortly thereafter we joined forces and became today's incarnation
"dasilva"
Your music is so soulful,
what inspired daSilva to do this album?
MAGNUS: we constantly come up with new material, so what you perceive
to be an album is just a compilation of the songs we did at that moment.
PER: the inspiration was to counter all of the generic, mass-produced
artificial music that seems to be the only thing available.
KUZÉY: and the need to reflect all the music that we've taken
in over the years and a need to voice our opinions in some way and tell
about what we've seen and felt.
MAGNUS: if something is missing in the r'n b scene today, there is something
else....our music!
Who are your main influences?
MAGNUS: well,we all have this deep love for the old school 70´s
funk,soul & rock music.personally,if I have to pick a few I have
to say prince,who's been a huge influence on my music.also sly stone
who so beautifully fused genres and created path for the future in modern
music.
PER: I'm a huge frank zappa fan and I also love the whole early hip
hop scene,like "public enemy","cypress hill" &
"beastie boys".
KUZÉY: the whole minneapolis scene,even appolonia 6 & cat(laughing)
P-funk,prince & jimi hendrix are the main influences. I also dig
some of the newer hip hop acts like "outkast", "n.e.r.d"
& "common".also "jane's addiction",just to name
a few. speaking on behalf of miss.dasilva I know she loves a lot of
the new soul movement.artists like jill scott, erykah badu,lauren hill
& india arie.she also listen to "rage against the machine".
Being that I am a fan of
all music...I am always open to music from other countries. What's the
scene like in Sweden?
KUZÉY: lot's of 70´s-like pop/punk right now that seem
to be the big thing over here,like "the hives".
PER: another group that comes to mind is "international noise conspiracy"
,very similar in image.also hard rock groups like "the hellacopters"
seem to be doing well.
MAGNUS: sweden,being such a small country and all,it's hard to break
thru if you don't fit the current format.the r'n b scene here is pretty
underground,but there's a few of us doing it.
What is your Favorite Song?
KUZÉY: my favorite is "users" and "cinnamon girl".
"users" work so well live and "cinnamon girl" really
takes you away to another place.
PER: these songs are like my children.that would be like asking a parent
who's their favorite child.
MAGNUS: I always like our latest songs,or the one we're working on at
the moment the best.I know me & valeria's favorite joint is "what's
on your mind".and I really like "edge of life" too.
What are your plans for
the United States music market? I know I felt the vibe....so will others.
My favorite joint is "Land of Nowhere"...It is deep! Who wrote
that?
PER: our dream is to flood the american air waves with our music and
tour non stop all over the country. I also like "land of nowhere".kuzéy
came up with that one.
What venues has daSilva
played at in Sweden...any other countries?
MAGNUS: first of all,being an unsigned band it's really hard to get
gigs in sweden.they mostly book coverbands. most of the time we play
small clubs for free,just to be seen & heard.we've played a few
bigger places too,like musical festivals. people dig us live even better
it seems.
PER: it would be great fun playing outside sweden.
KUZÉY: the studio recordings only captures a small portion of
"that" which is "dasilva".
I scoped out daSilva's
website....one word, PHAT !! Is there anything daSilva like to say that
is not posted on the site?
EVERYBODY: we always post our latest songs on the website. a new website
is in the works. we would like to give our deepest gratitude to you
and all our fans that have contacted us showing their support. you're
interest in us gives motivation to keep on keeping on.
Interview by Miguel Joubert
Memorial
Day Shoot