QSONICS São Paulo based producer
& DJ fusing SP & UK vibes
Back in 2001 producer Andrew White (hereafter known as "I"!) moved from London to São Paulo after 13 years in UK radio.
With a long-standing interest in those world famous, intricate Brazilian rhythms and a fascination with the rich variety of instrumentation used by performance musicians, it was the ideal place to develop musically.
After absorbing as much as any sane human could, I took some time back in the UK in 2003 and found that the UK electronic & nu-jazz music scenes had been making rapid advances. There were some styles and sounds that had yet to show up in new productions in Brasil and it seemed essential to introduce these to the Brasilian public.
Back in São Paulo, I found my DJ sets caused a real curiosity about these "new sounds from London" and so, more as a musical experiment than an effort to create something commercial, Qsonics was formed to explore ways of integrating the two musical cultures, first through remix ideas and then through original music.
The goal was always to find a sound that would appeal to both Brasilian and UK music lovers, but I wanted to avoid just taking samba beats and doing everything else UK style. Instead I wanted to build my interpretation of a Brazilian musical texture using my perspective as a "gringo" producer to add those more unusual things that maybe a local producer wouldn’t. After all. it’s easier to break the rules of a musical style if you didn’t know them in the first place!
Even without obvious rhythmical and musical references, Brazilian music still carries a spirit and soul in the musicianship that is uniquely "Brasileiro". This has helped avoid the need (or tendancy) to adopt clichés and means the tracks take on a strong identity combining the two cultures, without ending up as just another bolting together of two styles.
Qsonics tracks have been played at clubs in São Paulo, online radio shows in the US and by Brasilian DJs in Europe + one was used as a music bed by BBC 1Xtra’s Benji B. In 2006 the Qsonics studio was proud to play host to Gilles Peterson’s BBC Radio 1 WorldWide show and was used in production & presentation of Brownswood in Brasil.
I really hope you enjoy the music - and am always open to new ideas and comments.. so please get in touch!
drew
