Exclusive Video Interview with Brazilian Singer Pedro Moraes

By Rodrigo Brandão

The last 12 months have been a turning point in the career of Brazilian singer Pedro Moraes, a critically celebrated artist that seems to be (finally) catching the winds of popularity.

In December of 2010, The Boston Globe’s music critic Siddhartha Mitter placed Claroescuro, Pedro Moraes’ latest album, in his top 10 list for the best World Music CDs of 2010. In addition, Pedro’s US tour, which started in September of 2010 and was produced by his new management team, took him to cities like Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, Boston and several others, finally putting him on the international music scene map.

Moraes’ latest album is actually the finished version of a work in progress that has been released in Brazil in other experimental forms. But this latest and definitive version, includes a song titled ‘Zingareio,’ which was recently featured by NPR in their “song of the day” series. ‘Zingareio’ was written by Pedro and performed by him and Alcione, one of Brazil’s most famous samba singers.

While the Boston Globe calls Moraes “a traditionalist,” the man behind this lyrical, layered and upbeat song is also a multi-faceted artist who studied psychology and philosophy, started his career remotely, when a call by famed singer Magos Herrera interrupted his meditation retreat in India, and even organized several collective musical projects, such as the ‘Brotherhood of Free Music’. Oh, and there’s a poetry book in the works!

In this first part of a 30-minute video conference with BrazilNYC, Pedro talks about his latest song, the reception of his work in Brazil and the U.S., and his plans for 2011.