Firebug

F I R E B U GThe Group Passes easily through most of the vintage Jamaican styles of the 60's and early 70's - the frantic trance that is Ska, the lyricism of Rocksteady, the depths of the One-Drop to the psychedelic heights of Dub. But when it comes to styles, Jamaica is it's extraordinary: here in Brazil, with all the popularity Reggae enjoys (Brazil is the world's second-largest Reggae market), most of Jamaican music remains unknown. Apart from exceptions such as the small city of São Luis on the northern coast (home to many productions with Jamaican artists) and the growing number of weekly Reggae parties in the not small cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.... a vast majority of Jamaican styles have yet to be explored. This is where Firebug comes in.Not the only study - you hear US Surf and Country, and production styles that owe much to the early recordings of Brazil's Os Mutantes.Initially composed of two Brazilians and one relocated American, Firebug is singer/songwriter/guitarist Felipe Machado, drummer Rodrigo Cerqueira (formerly of BR's Skuba and Seattle based Easy Big Fella) and bassist/producer Victor Rice. Bruno Cedola [bass], Olivier Dherte [guitar, vocals] and Leo cunha [keyboards] joined the band soon after the release of the first album. The group, called in Brasil's largest daily Folha de S. Paulo the "Dream Team" of Jamaican stylists, merge the classic timbres with more modern sonorities. Through this they have arrived at their sound, as consistent as it is unique.Recently Rice has gained favor among the Dub and Drum-n-Bass camps with his bass playing on Easy Star Records' Dub Side of the Moon, the Jamaicanization of the Pink Floyd classic. Cerqueira is no rookie either - formant drummer of Seattle's Easy Big Fella, his two-year stay in the States saw him in the middle of American Ska's "Third Wave" of the 90's. It is Machado and his songs that are new here - the discovery of two veteran musicians.Machado himself spent two years in California where he listened to, learned and composed songs in English- Firebug's mother-tongue. "I'll Be Your Guide", "Commercialized Man" and "Gimme Your Love" are some of the results from that time and appear on the self-titled debut CD (alongside alternate versions sung in Portuguese)."Gimme Your Love" opens the disc, immediately bringing you into the sound that you can count on remaining in for the next hour. A sound deeply inspired by the Rocksteady of Desmond Dekker, the work of Jamaican producer Leslie Kong is the foundation of the group's aesthetic. The Reggae of "Commercialized Man" and "Strange (But Nice)" is root-solid. The Ska represents "I'll Be Your Guide", led by the shine of Os Paralamas hornmen Bidu Cordeiro on trombone and Monteiro on tenor sax. Their production technique was made possible only at Estúdio El Rocha, São Paulo's analogue haven.The new record, "On The Move", was released in early 2006, thru Deckdisc [Brazil], Jump Up [U.S.A.] and Grover [Europe].The new album has very special guests such as David Hiliard [sax, The Slackers], Agent Jay [guitar, The Slackers], B Negão [former MC from Brazil's Planet Hemp, now going solo with his own band, Seletores de Frequencia] and Buford O'Sulivan [trombone, former Scofflaws and currently on Easy Star All-Stars].It is no overstatement to say that Firebug is poised to become one of the great successes in Jamaican-Brazilian music for the years to come.