“There’s no point in me complaining, country music isn’t going to change,” says Guilherme Arantes

Although he is receptive to contemporary artists, William Arantes maintains a critical tone when addressing the singers who are currently taking over the mainstream — especially the sertanejo. Now, however, he recognizes that such reflections would not be enough to provoke any change.

In an interview with Danilo Casaletti for the newspaper The State of S. PauloGuilherme was asked about an older interview with the same newspaper, where he appeared unmotivated in relation to Brazilian music as a whole. The reporter wanted to know if the artist still had the same feeling.

In response, Arantes expressed his enthusiasm and willingness to make the change he wants to see. He said:

Movements are born from the desire to do something new, just as Tom (Jobim), Vinicius de Moraes), Roberto Menescal, Carlos Lyra It is Baden (Powell) “They did it in bossa nova. There’s no point in me complaining. I’m not going to waste my time criticizing anymore. Sertanejo music isn’t going to change. It’s a powerful market. We have to respect it.”

Continuing his reasoning, the musician drew a connection between the Brazilian music market and the political ideologies that have been clashing in the country for years. He stated:

Brazil is also an agricultural country. It is time for Brazil, sociologically speaking, to recognize that Santa Catarina is also Brazil. If we don’t resolve this, everything will fall apart. It is a problem of language, not ideology. It is language that creates ideology, not the other way around. Fascism is born from signs, from gestures. [Guilherme faz gesto de arma com as mãos]of toxic phrases and speech.”

Guilherme Arantes and the countryman

Guilherme Arantes’ criticism of sertanejo music is not new. In a show in Recife, held in 2015 (via Pernambuco Diary), the singer had a conversation with the audience where he said that “not even they (the country singers) listen to what they produce”.

The comments are aimed more at an “industrialization” of art, not exactly at the ability of the musicians involved. Back to the interview with Statehe said:

“From the 1990s onwards, there was a ‘curralization’ of pop culture in concert settings. It’s pagode, sertanejo… The songs started to be made to work in this corral. There is no open proposal. This is the case with forró, sofrência, piseiro, funk and trap. With this, you lose reflection, anguish, these softer feelings of the human being. It’s a worldwide movement.”

This does not mean, however, that Guilherme rejects everything that is currently produced in the national mainstream. The artist cited some positive examples in his taste, such as Victor Kley, Ana Vitoria It is Tiago Iorc.

The revolution of Guilherme Arantes

On the other hand, Guilherme Arantes’ plans do not involve any of these current artists. For the See SPat the end of 2023, the artist revealed that he has no intention of getting closer musically to the big names of today: the idea is to look back to move forward. In his own words:

I’m going to enter a period of great productivity. I’m not interested in partnering with Luisa Sonzawith the new ones, as other colleagues are doing. I’m interested in the great ones, the old ones. I’m going backwards, because that’s how we’re going to solve the riddle of Brazilian music moving forward. I desperately want to be bigger than I am.”

To the Statehe also criticized what he calls minimalism in music. Guilherme wants to bring a re-enchantment to the current scenario, in his view. To do this, the composer doesn’t mind escaping from algorithms. There was even a slight “pinprick” left for the U2:

I have been researching the roots of bossa nova. It is a period of pure gold. Much more than a rhythm, bossa nova is a harmonic system. To us [músicos e compositores] It is up to us to create a new era of charm, of romance, with melodic music. In other words, everything that algorithms deny us. No one can stand minimalism anymore. Minimalism is unbearable! Those U2 songs that never leave the Mi Mi Mi/La La La. It is up to us to bring the splendor of the songs, the melodies and the harmonies.”

Guilherme Arantes’ most recent album is The Disorder of the Templarsreleased in 2021. The work was recorded in Spain, where the musician lives for half the year. In the material, the composer even resumed ties with progressive rock, a genre that marked the beginning of his career, in the band Perpetual Motion.

Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.