Interviu Tetine

Tetine vor deschide concertul Noblesse Oblige. Despre genul lor spectacol si muzica pe care o fac nu stiam prea multe asa ca i-am intrebat. :) Cei doi brazilieni extravaganti, despre care se spune ca au revolutionat scena underground, vor face show la Amsterdam White House pe 27 octombrie.



You are both from Brazil, how did this influence your work?

Bruno : Yes, we're both from Brazil and the country has been an big influence in our work since the beginning. Tetine music is totally autobiographical therefore it is pretty much about what we live no matter where we are. Brazil has a big part on its poetics.


Why did you move to England? Was it difficult to shift cultural and social environment? What impact had this upon your work and you, personally?

Eli: We were invited to be artists in residence at Queen Mary university for 9 months to produce our work and also work with art students in a piece about a Brazilian author called Nelson Rodrigues. Then after this 9 months working there we got signed by Sulphur Records to make an album called Samba de Monalisa in collaboration with French artist Sophie Calle. 

Then we decided that the best thing was to stay in England for a while to tour and etc… We ended up staying more than the planned and here we are till today. The shifts were all good cos we were really up to experience life in another country. I guess it had a big impact in our music and just add more layers to the whole project.

We live in East London which is an extremely multicultural area, here we got into the whole ghetto thing through grime to the art scene. But what I like the most is the fact I can go to my laundry and talk to locals and then come home and make a song about it.


When speaking about what you do it is enough to say “music” because it’s obviously more than that; that is when you perform live. So…how do you describe your work?

Bruno:  I think we’re artists making music. In Brazil we used to call it "sensorial music."


Is there anything or any place that you get inspiration from?

Eli: As I told you we got inspired by doing simple stuff most of the time - by riding buses, by going to the laundry, by watching a movie/ an art show or going to parties with friends or going to the supermarket. Tetine is totally "a real time" kind of experience.


Supposedly the Europeans were not very familiar with the “funk carioca” or “favela funk” style. How did the public welcome it?

Bruno: Well I think by now people are getting used to it! Back in 2002 it was really a ghetto thing. No one really knew about it except Brazilians.  Most of the time the reception of the style is really cool.

We call what we do in L.I.C.K MY FAVELA more like a Punk Carioca meets Mutant Disco in a Tetine way. It’s all about dancing, sexual politics and raw beats.

What are the genuine “bailes funk” in favelas like and how popular are they in Brazilian culture?

Tetine: They are amazing, sexy and raw with thousands of people dancing and extremely popular since the 70’s.


Have you ever been in Romania? What do you know about the Romanian underground stage and the Romanian public?

Bruno: No we haven’t. I don’t know much about the Romania underground scene . I would love to know more. The only thing I know is about a band called Hector who has just sent us a myspace message, I heard the first song and its sound cool. I’m looking forward to coming to Bucharest!

Do you plan or direct your live performances or have any expectations from a certain show?

Eli: We decide on the songs we want to play according to our mood and the audience.


In Bucharest you are going to share the stage with Noblesse Oblige. Has this happened before? What do you think about Sebastian and Valerie’s style?

Bruno: Yes we played with them once here in East London but they were only Djying. This will be our first time playing live on the same bill. We love them. Great music and sweet people!