Domenico Lancellotti

Domenico Lancellotti is a singer, songwriter, drummer/multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and visual artist. The son of samba legend Ivor Lancellotti, he has been at the forefront of change in Brazilian music since the mid-'90s with the band Mulheres Q Dizem Sim. Their 1994 self-titled debut wed elements of samba, bossa nova, alt rock, and jazz. Further, he has played on, written for, recorded, and produced dozens of records while seeking to extend Brazil's rich musical traditions by grafting sounds and textures from EDM, rock, psychedelia, Latin, post-punk, cumbia, reggae, hip-hop, and funk onto classic folk and pop forms. He is a prolific session player who has worked with Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, and Bebel Gilberto. Further, he's released a handful of notable solo outings including 2011's Cine Privê, 2016's The Good Is a Big God (2016), 2021's Raio, and SRAMBA in 2023. During the '90s, he formed the experimental rock band Mulheres Q Dizem Sim and they issued an eponymous album in 1994. In 2000, he formed the +2s with Moreno Veloso and Alexandre Kassin. They issued three groundbreaking albums with alternating leaders: Music Typewriter by Moreno + 2 (2000), Sincerely Hot by Domenico +2 (2003), and Futurismo by Kassin +2 (2006). He played in and recorded with several bands including Os Ritmistas, Meia Banda, and Doces Cariocas. In 2002 he joined Kassin's Orquestra Imperial, an 18-piece big band with the objective of re-creating the sound of samba de gafieira in modern compositions. They issued Carnaval Só Ano Que Vem in 2007 and remain an occasional recording and performing concern. In 2006 Lancellotti formed Os Ritmistas, a Latin-Brazilian fusion group with Danny Roland, Stephane San Juan, and Zero Awa; their self-titled debut appeared the following year. In 2008, he served as drummer/percussionist on the eponymously titled debut offering by supergroup Doces Cariocas, led by Alexia Bomtempo and Pierre Aderne. In 2009 the +2s issued their final document as a collective when they composed and recorded an original score for the dance troupe Grupo Corpo entitled Imā. Lancellotti made his solo debut with 2011's globally acclaimed Cine Privê with assistance from Veloso, Kassin, and Money Mark, among others. With Orquestra Imperial he released Fazendo As Pazes Com O Swing the same year. He spent the next two years playing, arranging, and producing outings by Gal Costa and his former +2 bandmates. In 2013, Orquestra Imperial released the concert set Ao Vivo! and in 2014, Lancellotti, Bruno di Lullo, Eduardo Manso, and Estevão Casé formed the radical Meia Banda. Their experimental self-titled debut for Rockit offered original songs threaded throughout with samba, indie pop, and neo-psychedelia and jazz. Di Lullo collaborated with Danilo Caymmi on Danilo Caymmi Canta Dorival. In 2017 Lancellotti enlisted Sean O'Hagan (whom he'd met in London during protests against the 2012 Olympic Games) and Veloso to release the internationally acclaimed solo outing Serra Dos Órgãos (issued in the U.S. by Luaka Bop as The Good Is a Big God). He also produced Bruno Capinan's Divina Graça, and joined Gilberto Gil's road and studio bands, playing on albums such as OK OK OK and Grupo Corpo. That same year, Os Ritmistas released the album Aqui. Lancellotti and Veloso teamed to release the hit club single "Tudo Ao Redor" in 2018. In 2020 he composed and played on Marcos Valle's globally acclaimed Cinzento. 2021 proved busy for Lancellotti. Meia Banda issued the live Meia Banda no Festival Rockit! They also cut the digital EP Meio Disco with guest vocalists Moreno Veloso, Raquel Dimantas, and Taina. Lancellotti also released the solo offering Raio. Self-produced, and recorded and mixed by Daniel Carvalho, it included a studio band comprised of Continentino, Di Lullo, and guitarists Pedro Sa and Bern Gil, among others. 2023's SRAMBA appeared in April. It was created in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Ricardo Dias Gomes, an old friend who had just acquired a number of Russian-made analog synthesizers. He brought them to Lancellotti's underground studio, The Cave, and they recorded the majority of the album over several months. Lancellotti sang and played guitars, drums, and percussion -- both organic and electronic. Their sound simultaneously traveled through musical time and wed the acoustic roots of the samba they had heard growing up to layers of breezy analog synthesizers and tastefully charted brass.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo