The 90's were the decade of electronic music, which then invaded other genres and hit the phonographic mainstream. Today, artists by the likes of David Bowie and U2 have returned to basic rock, while other bands that were pioneer in the use of computer effects - Orbital and Underworld, for example - are no longer in evidence. Gone the hype, how is the market for electronic music in Brazil nowadays? In Rio, radios almost don't play electronic music, raves are scarse and there are few nightclubs and venues.

Well, not everything is lost. Some nightclubs still resist, like Fosfobox, besides Dama de Ferro and Bunker. Sygno was recently open in Copacabana; one more place for the electronica affectionate. Last August [2004], Plug Festival celebrated its second edition. It's another wind of hope.

The event gathered bands, DJs and producers from Rio. Unknown names yet, that will shape the future of Rio's electronic music - the complete program can be seen at http://projetoplug.blogspot.com

For Cid Andrade, organizer of Plug Festival with Fernanda Parente, the scenario is positive, although electronica is no longer news.

- After the boom of the genre, things are gonna grow in a more solid and less artificial way. It's a not an industry as popular as of axé music, but it has become bigger and has drawn the attention of thinking heads - he says.

The quantity of material received by the festival proves that, each year, new talents appear, willing to struggle for a place in the sun, as states Cid Andrade:

- Plug is not the last blow, as if a moribund electronic music was trying to revive. The festival comes to supply an enormous demand, and the stuff that I received overcame all my expectations.

Cabbet Araújo, manager of Fosfobox, produced raves two years ago which attracted ten thousand people. He is one of Plug's curators and states that, despite the end of the hype, there is still an existing market:

- I presume that 80% of the people that went to those raves weren't there to see the musical attractions really, but because of the hype. Nowadays, the public is more segmented, each venue plays a type of music. I heard a lot of good stuff that will be playing in Plug, like Voz del Fuego, and I believe that these new names will be able to fit in these small niches that appeared.

At the acme moment, there were not only mega-raves, but also exponents of rock (including Brazilian rock) flirting with computer effects. Gone the euphoria, why wasn't created, in Brazil, a permanent consuming market able to consume albums of the genre and make events be packed yet? For DJ Jay B, there is not enough information around:

- The market is still restricted. There aren't enough medias to give people the information. The ones who enjoy electronic music don't know where to look for it.

DJ Lucio K, curator of Plug, points two factors that disturb the expansion of electronica:

- Some people's posture become elitist in the end, which causes a bad impression in a public that is still far from the scene. Moreover, there are the ones who run parties or go to these parties with the priority of using or selling drugs. This also helps turning our scene misunderstood by some people.

From the fresh talents that performed in the festival - about ten groups - , few are those who can make a living with music. Among the integrants of projects like Estereo Mono, Ouvintes, Voz Del Fuego, DaddyBits, Colortronic and Playlounge, there are doctors, system annalists and designers. All of them dream to live by means of their music, but they won't double their sound just to conquer fans.

- In music, the biggest obstacle is to get some space and, in order to prevail, some of them will only try to please people. But every hype is ephemeral. Doing something that you like is more important than anything - summarizes Mônica Ávila, from Estereo Mono.

AN ELECTRONIC GENERATION
Cid Andrade (PLUG Festival organizer)

Electronic music - better late than later - became popular in Brazil. We are a country internationally known for our good music, and with electronica it couldn't be different: we export some good DJs and producers. But few people know that, giving continuity to the work of those pioneers - which aren't many, and are still the same - there is a new generation of producers, bands and DJs that have shown new and creative paths to the local electronic scene. Names like Colortronic, Two Divided by Zero, Lucio K, Jay B, Dj Oppus, DJ Saduh, Playlounge and many others represent a renovation. In a city like Rio de Janeiro - which goes through a period of heavy crisis in the cultural scene - it's time to give a bit of rest for the known figures, and realize that there isn't lack of variety, we just need a space for the new.

Interview with Denis Kandle, by Milena Garcia Milena - What is Colortronic? Kandle - I see Colortronic as a new kind of artistic appreciation - it's the blend of music and colors. Music is a lot more than a sound sequence. It hits all human feelings. The climate, landscape and mood of a song will result in a specific coloring. Sound is vibration, and every vibration has a color. Each song has a specific coloring. The combination of colors and sounds can be extremely stimulant for the mind. Milena - How does Colortronic work visually? Kandle - I am preparing future presentations together with a VJ, using images and lightning with colors that match those of the songs, filling the ambient with the colors of the songs; it's cromotherapy taken to the dancefloor, literally! For the audience, being able to see and feel the colors that correspond to the sound is a fascinating experience. Milena - What makes Colortronic differ from other music genres? Kandle - Colortronic is like a 3D cinema, which differs from traditional cinema because it has an additive: the glasses that let you see the film in 3D images; Colortronic gives colors to those sounds, it is an extra element that is being offered. Colortronic's debut album, Sonic Rainbow, is a conceptual album, and should be listened with the colors of each song in mind, or even better, with the ambient being colored according to the music! The songs of the album follow the colors of the rainbow, beginning with violet songs, then blue, green, yellow, orange and finally red. It's like a journey through the world of colored sounds. (Curiosity: some songs were born in dreams - Deep Blue Sky, Alimente a Mente e 3rd Eye Open). Milena - What can this genre provide? Kandle - The union of color and music can provide a whirlwind of new sensations, we can be driven to a very pleasant dimension that lead us to states of trance and ecstasy. Cromotherapy allied to music is a rich therapy, for the ability of evoking strong emotions. Either cromotherapy or music, alone, are already powerful tools; now imagine them being used together. It's like a meditation that lets us visualize the aura of the music, its essence in form of colors. The colors also work as an additive, like the lyrics, passing messages in a song. Their colors also mean something. The colors are also the "lyrics" of a song! Milena - When did your studies related to color and music start? Kandle - Since I was a little kid I already associated colors to songs, but I never really thought about it until I read books and texts in the internet about synesthesia, cromotherapy, philosophical and esoteric studies about colors; it was then that the subject really got my attention. I don't know how to explain from where these colors come, I just feel them! What happens is that I realized that the colors were always the same. "Why does this song always make me feel the color pink? Why do I always feel flooded by green when I hear that song?" Making comparisons with cromotherapy, I noticed that the characteristics of each color matched with those of the music. Some people say that I am a kind of a medium that sees the aura of the music; others call it synesthesia... What I know is that I am a big music affectionate, and maybe it's because of this intense passion that I am able to feel its colors, its scents... Because music is not only about sounds and colors: you can also feel its scent, temperature, density, even taste. We don't hear music with just our ears. Music can lead us to other states of conscience, and the union of colors and music comes to highlight this trance state even more. Milena - What have been people's reactions? Kandle - Several people told me they totally related to the colors of the music, and they agree with everything about the subject. But there are always the more materialistic ones, people who don't believe in colors. Milena - Is it a new genre of trance? Kandle - I try to make my music unique and I don't think I fit in any specific scene, because it includes several genres, going from psy-trance to techno and downtempo. Milena - Can all songs awake the feelings? Kandle - Yes, every sound has a colored vibration, so if you want to know the colors of a song, listen to it carefully and try to feel which colors have more things in common with it. Start trying to find out which of the 3 basic colors are more likely to be there: red, yellow or blue (as these are primary colors, every song shows at least one of them, even if mixed with other colors). For example: if it is an agitated song, associate it to red; if it has a jazzy groove, link it to yellow; if it is melancholic, think it blue (not that every blue song is melancholic, but all melancholic music has blue as its primary color). After a while you will be able to identify the secondary colors too, but it demands a lot of practice and you most really enjoy the music. I elaborated a Table of Colors and Sound which can be found in my website, access www.newagepunk.com/colortronic/colors.html to check it out, and don't forget o listen to samples of music online and visit iTunes to buy the album Sonic Rainbow!

FIBERONLINE (Featured Artist): With several presentations in Rio's effervescent scene, Colortronic is one of the new names to tame the genres war. They navigate with competence between trance and techno, risking even more climatic textures reminding Ibiza. CENA CARIOCA: TRANCE IN LAPA - Tonight Taquicardia E-Party will be taking place at Casarão Cultural dos Arcos. The night is dedicated to trance and its sources and brings in the line-up DJs Marian Flow & Zeo, Alexey, Kandle and Fluorenzo. The first 30 people will win a Sonic Rainbow CD, the debut album of the project Colortronic, which is an innovative proposal that explores the synesthesia between sounds and colors. The clime, landscapes and moods that each song transmit will result in a determinate coloring. (CC)

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - How did you start your career and why did you decide to be a DJ? Where does your interest for electronic music come from?

Kandle - I started in 1998 in the radio program EP Vanguarda, where I aired the latest news in rock and electronica. The program took place every Wednesdays at Imprensa FM, (now extinguished), in Rio de Janeiro. My interest for electronic music started back in 1996, when I heard electronic music for the first time at Mundo Mix Market, which took place in Fundição Progresso at the time.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - What is Colortronic and how did it come to life?

Kandle - Colortronic was born in May 2002 after a two months trip around California and is formed by me and Ricardo Antonio, which is responsible for the visual concept of the band. Our work is done having in mind that sound is vibration and that all vibration has a color, hence music has colors. Each song has its own "aura", which are vibrations that will emanate and produce beams of determined colors. An agitated song, for example, will show a constant background of red or orange, which can oscillate between flaming to dark blood color. Colortronic is the first musical group to design music with its respective colors. The mind is estimulated when the frequency of colors matches with those of the song, generating indescribable new sensations.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - Is it possible to make a living with electronic music in Rio de Janeiro? How does the market work?

Kandle - Oh, it's so hard, because there aren't many available venues, most nightclubs don't play non-commercial electronic music. And those who do will barely pay you anything. The public in Rio is one of the most livened up I know, but the Rio scene, the backstage is so precarious, and now we also have our mayor prohibiting raves in Rio. It's a shame.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - What do you think about all the glamour around DJs that are more famous than the artists they play?

Kandle - I think it's a great accomplishment for the DJ, I just think that he should never let himself be ruined by his ego, like thinking he is more important than music. Music always comes in first place.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - What do you think of DJs that make use of CDs?

Kandle - I think that a person, when coming to a party, doesn't really care if the DJ is playing vinyl, CD, Final Scratch or whatever, he just wants to have fun for all he cares! So if the music is good and sounds great, this is what really matters.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - Which was your best gig and how does it feel like when you're playing?

Kandle - Up to now, my best gig was in Tenda Eletro of Rock in Rio III Festival, in January 2001, about 4,000 people dancing and screaming all the time, it was wild! I feel happy and useful when I'm playing, it's good to know that the songs I'm playing are bringing good moments for the public, it's very gratifying.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - Is electronic music elitist?

Kandle - I don't think it is nowadays, it's becoming more and more popular, but I think that there is still a certain resistance from some people. Many of them have prejudice, they say it's music made by machines (which is not absolutely true, there is a human behind that song, it was not made by monkeys! =-) Maybe it was elitist in the beginning, when the first parties appeared in the early 90's, almost everyone that went to these parties were really into e-music, only later it became more popular. I don't know if elitist is the right word, I would say it was more segmented.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - What's your opinion about big electronic music festivals in Brazil?

Kandle - Rock in Rio was the first Brazilian festival to include an electronic tent and it was very successful, nowadays any festival needs to have an electronic tent, and it became a tradition. I hope more festivals of the kind will appear in Brazil, like Skol Beats.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - When you're at home what kind of music do you listen to?

Kandle - I listen to a lot of rock, mostly alternative rock, and I also enjoy industrial, pop-rock, punk-rock, new metal, 80's etc. I also love listening to electronic music, of course, including many genres: ambient, trance, techno, electro and so on. There are also more different kinds of music, bands like Dead Can Dance (which I love so much), also buddhist mantras and classical music. I just won't listen to commercial music. I really don't fancy listening to radio because most of those songs were payed to be there, it's all about commerce, it really sucks.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - What do you think of the association between electronic music and drugs? (police searching clubs in São Paulo, prohibition of raves in some states, DJs being arrested for drug dealing...)

Kandle - Any kind of party you will see people using drugs, so why doesn't the police also search samba parties in Rio? It's so hypocrite, this crusade against raves. Instead of prohibiting raves, I wish that there was better education for ravers about safe and well-informed drug use.

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - What would you DJs who are starting now?

Kandle - That you must persist, research music, look for new stuff, and if possible produce your own stuff, besides helping you standing out, it's a lot funnier to play your own stuff!

FIRMA PRODUÇÕES - Your top 10 soundtrack....

Kandle - No particular order:
1. Chris McCormack - Sea Level (Chris Liebing remix)
2. Technasia - Acid Storm
3. Tiesto - Trance Energy X-mix
4. Cosmic Gate - Exploration of Space
5. Combichrist - Tractor
6. I-Robots - Frau (Boysnoize mix)
7. Filterheadz vs Tomaz - I Love Techno
8. Oliver Lieb - Subraumstimulation (main mix)
9. Umek vs DJ Misjah - K'pr Norcih
10. Terra Ferma - Fire

COLORTRONIC WAS A FEATURED ARTIST AT UBL.COM IN DECEMBER 2006

COLORTRONIC IS ON THE SOUNDTRACK OF POLARIS BRASIL WEBSITE WITH THE SONG ANGELS OF COLORS