Rafael Ponde

The artist, who lists five CDs and the documentary “O novíssimo baiano” (2011) in his discography, is representative of the new generation of artists who make music without labels and categories. Influences range from Bossa Nova, Samba Exaltation and beyond, through Afoxé, to the closely related culture of Reggae – which in Bahia merged with Samba, known as Samba Reggae. It’s all part of his work, which is also characterized by activism around the dissemination of Bahian Afro culture.

As a child, Rafael Pondé did not understand why Maria, his grandmother, lovingly kept a trunk next to the closet. At age 11, with the death of his grandmother, he inherited this trunk and found that it was a musical message: an accordion, which she had played in youth. Rafa never learned to play it, but got the message… In adolescence he chose the guitar, and started to express the flow of the lyrics that appeared in his mind. On joining the School of Management UFBA, he formed with colleagues The Diamba Band, with which he toured the country from 1996 to 2002. Rafael’s musical heritage was founded in a previous generation, by his great-uncle Humberto Porto, composer of the radio era, who wrote of the African-Bahian culture in songs as “Na Bahia” and “História de amor”. Humberto’s works were recorded in the ’30s by Carmen Miranda, Dalva de Oliveira, Orlando Silva, Chico Alves, among other great interpreters of the time. He was also a pioneer in the genre known as Lamento, and had written the carnival hit “A Jardineira”, its greatest success. This song has been covered by Rafa in the album, “Afrika Bahia.”

The search for novelty and adventure led Rafael to leave Diamba, his first band with which he played from 1996 to 2002. In 1999, had already formed in parallel The Curupira Band, with which he participated in the Bahia Music Festival by Uesb University in Vitória da Conquista. In this festival he won the blessing of Waly Salomão, which had a positive effect with complimentary notes in newspapers, who placed Rafael in the Hall of the “Last Things from Bahia”. It was Waly who took him to São Paulo to record the program “Brazilian Music” in the studios of Trama, with João Marcelo Bôscoli, the son of Elis Regina.

In 2004, he recorded his first solo CD, “Atomos, Palavras, Canções”. This work generated his greatest commercial success, a remix of the song “Sorriso de Flor”, which topped the charts of Drum n Bass in London. Thus he began his wanderings around the world… In 2005, he joined the band Natiruts as guitarist. In São Paulo, following the Natiruts, he recorded “Horizonte vertical” in 2006, and “Eu e meu violão” in 2007. His shows in Europe became more frequent. “Sorriso de Flor”, the fourth album, was recorded in 2009 in Hannover, Germany, in the studios of Peppermint Park, mixed by Hans Martin Buff (the official sound engineer of Prince, Joss Stone and Scorpion).

A milestone in his career came when he played in The Weltkulture festival in Germany on the same night as Tony Allen (Fela Kuti’s drummer) in July 2009. In 2010, he returned to Brazil, and while living in Rio de Janeiro released his short documentary “O novíssimo baiano” directed by Helio Rodrigues. As a composer, throughout his career he has had songs recorded by: Natiruts (DF), Diamba (BA), Lampirônicos (BA), Adão Negro (BA), Negra cor(BA), In Natura (DF), Manitu (MG), Nosal (MG), Gustavo Maguá (MG), Claus and Vanessa (RS), Janaina Moreno (RJ), and Carlos Pitta (BA), among others.