“My pleasure and my life is music”: A conversation with Marcos Valle

For Marcos Valle, retirement is something unimaginable. It’s not in his plans. In the transition from 80 to 81 years old, he wants more. From August to October 2024, he will tour Europe, Brazil and the United States, with 30 scheduled shows, and will release his 23rd album, Túnel Acústico, on September 20th via Far Out Recordings. “It is an overview of my life, of my musical mix”, he says. “I tried to get in touch with various aspects, both harmony, melody and groove. I was very happy with the result. It’s called the Acoustic Tunnel, because I think my life is a tunnel that I’m going through and I don’t want to see the end, no light at the end.”

Produced by Daniel Maunick, Túnel Acústico features Valle’s main band featuring two members of the renowned Brazilian jazz-funk group Azymuth: Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums. The rhythm section is completed by percussionist Ian Moreira, with additional contributions from guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc. The compositions were written by Marcos himself, Joyce Moreno (“Bora Meu bem”), Céu (“Não Sei”) and Moreno Veloso (“Palavras Tão Gentis”), as well as his brother Paulo Sergio Valle (“Tem Que Ser Feliz”) .

Full of joviality and friendliness, the always smiling Brazilian composer, arranger, singer and multi-instrumentalist speaks via Zoom to Sounds and Colours about his 60 years of music, partnerships with new generation artists, samples made by rappers, such as Jay-Z, Kanye West and Pusha T, interpretations of Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Sergio Mendes, Elis Regina and Emma Button from the Spice Girls, the new album, partnerships with soul icon Leon Ware and the future.

“I don’t want to stand still because if I stand still I’m going to be boring as hell, I’m going to piss people off,” he says, laughing. “Now, there may come a time, I don’t know. Everyone goes as far as God wants, right!? But for now, my friend, my pleasure and my life is music, stage, studio, show.”

To begin with, I want to ask what is the secret to staying active at age 80, doing shows, records, music… where do you get all that energy?

Look, Adailton, the truth is: I really like life in the first place. I’m a very happy guy with life, I think positively and always try to see the glass full. I also think that music (logically) gives me this opportunity to do something that I love, and besides the fact that after a 60-year career… as you said, doing so much, being so sought after by the new generations, by the new artists, I am very grateful. So, this all gives me happiness in my soul. I have a very childlike, dreamy side… I always have, from the beginning of my career until today. Of course, I try to take care of myself, I do my exercises, I eat right… nothing radical. But the secret is to be happy.

You are so jovial and talked about your connection with younger people… you also recently did a show with Emicida, Rashid, Céu and Moreno Veloso. How has the connection been with these new artists?

They are great and very natural because when they come to me to do something or someone puts us together, I know it’s good for them, but it’s very good for me too. Firstly, because I like new partnerships, I’m not one to sit still and think about what I did. I’m very grateful for what I did, but I always think about today, tomorrow, what I’m going to do. So, when there is a partnership like Emicida, Rashid, Moreno, with Céu, Liniker… they are people that I admire and when I admire and do work with these people, another story emerges. It’s your part that joins with another part and a new baby emerges. This is what gives me great pleasure in creating something new and it becomes very natural because as they like what I do, but I also like what they do, this combination is very good, very pleasurable to create something new.

And these connections do not exist today. Your songs are heavily sampled by rappers and jazz people really like your music…

It’s great because I’m exactly open to that… this thing of having, for example, a song that has a jazz version, another that’s more pop, another that’s more funk. I love it. For example, when Jay Z and Kanye West started sampling my songs, and then other artists came along, I really liked it. I remember when Jay Z sent me the song “Thank You”, which he had sampled from a song of mine called “He and She”, I loved it when I heard it. I loved the construction, because it’s like I said: they take what I did and create something on top of it that is absolutely interesting. And if you think in terms of communication, it’s very good, because the public that hears what Jay-Z did and will know that he sampled Marcos Valle, someone will ask: “Who is Marcos Valle?” So, this communication is great, not only artistically, but in terms of winning over other audiences.

You’re introducing your music to another generation too… to people who didn’t listen to you.

That’s exactly it. One of the secrets for you to maintain your music… Logically, if I’ve been in the business for 60 years, how many generations have I been through, who accompanied me at the beginning, then there, then here… adding, adding, adding, and then form this audience. I love doing shows around the world and in Brazil too, with people standing up and participating. It is generally predominantly young, but there are also people of other ages. This mix is ​​fascinating.

You have lived through various moments in the music industry, today digital has reached a greater number of people and facilitated access to music. What is your view on this current moment in the market and the ease of recording a song today with the possibility of releasing it the following week?

I like it, because this modern technology has made so many things easier, including the ability to do work quickly, to collaborate with artists. For example, I here in Rio de Janeiro do it with Tom Misch who is there in England, I do it with the people who are in Los Angeles… this possibility of doing something immediately, and also if you think about new artists, it’s fascinating because there are a lot of good people there, they no longer depend on the big multinational record companies, having to be signed and proving that they could sell. Not today, new artists conquer their audiences through the internet. It’s faster. I think this is fundamental for current Brazilian music: I sign below… there may be problems, because you have to control different rights and I’m lucky that my son Daniel, who is 31 years old, is a copyright lawyer and he knows how to control these samples, these things, because that part of the business isn’t my thing, I just make music.

Talking about Tom Misch… you guys created a connection. He came to play in Brazil and you played with him in Rio at the MITA festival. I went to the edition in São Paulo, but unfortunately you didn’t play. How did you get closer?

Man, I met Tom Misch… I talked about my son Daniel, but I have another son who is Tiago. He was a fan of Tom Misch; I didn’t know him. And because he was such a fan, he began to realize that the photo that Tom Misch put on his page was mine, the cover of that album that has “Estrelar” (“You have to run, you have to sweat”). Then, Tiago established this and we met in Europe, after a festival. We became friends, partners, we did that show at MITA, we made new songs, and now that I’m going on a tour in Europe and then in the United States, I’ve already arranged with him to reserve a day in the studio in London because we’re going to compose things, new ones.

And will these new songs be present on this new album that you are preparing or is the album already ready?

This one is ready, it’s already mixed. Tom Misch will have to stay for the next one. This new one is all new, unreleased songs… I wrote the songs and lyrics on the album, but I have Céu, Joyce, Moreno Veloso and my brother Paulo César in four lyrics. The rest was me who made everything new. It’s an overview of my life, my musical mix… I tried to get in touch with various aspects, both harmony, melody and groove. I was very happy with the result. It’s called Túnel Acústico (Acoustic Tunnel), because I think my life is a tunnel that I’m going through and I don’t want to see the end, no light at the end.

And will it really be acoustic?

No, it doesn’t have a lot of electronic stuff, but it’s very based on my Rhodes [piano], which I like to play. But there’s guitar, there’s brass, but it’s not just acoustic. The acoustic is more due to the fact that it is the name of my life. It was a very interesting mix.

It’s impossible not to recognize Marcos Valle’s sound. It has a signature. Do you have any idea how you developed this architecture?

Look, I think this was formed when I was a kid, because I became interested in music at a very young age when I was 3-4 years old. My parents said that I was very interested in music. On one side I had my grandmother who played classical music and on the other side I had my father who was a lawyer and loved popular music. So, I listened to that all the time. It was classical music, popular music, carnival marches, frevo, baião, that whole mix. This was forming in my head. Then, I studied piano and as my life continued I became more interested in things that pleased me: rock, jazz, samba and black music… a mixture of things that interested me and with that my style was formed. I mixed all this together in my head… and it’s not a formula. So, I think this mix of harmony, melody and rhythm was very interesting and reached DJs. It was not a very common mix.

Was there someone who inspired you there at the beginning?

There were many people. I can mention that in popular music there was (Dorival) Caymmi, from the beginning (later I became a good friend of the family), Jackson do Pandeiro, Luiz Gonzaga, Marlene, Emilinha Borba, Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Doris Monteiro, Nora Nei, Little Richard… man, there are so many people. Then (until I got to bossa nova) there was Agostinho dos Santos, João Gilberto, Tom [Jobim], Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder… All of this I listened to and assimilated. I really like listening, I’m very attentive. And it’s not listening to copy, it’s not that. It’s listening to like it, and by liking it you end up being influenced in some way.

Brazilian music is widely consumed, widely heard in Japan, Europe and the United States. Is language a barrier or does it not exist?

On the contrary, they like me to sing in Portuguese. When it comes to the chorus, “It’s a lie… a lie…”, they sing it with me. This doesn’t just happen in the United States, it happens in Japan, Europe, Kazakhstan… I went to play in Kazakhstan. Then I asked: “Kazakhstan? But do they know my music there?” I got there and all the kids were singing: “It’s a lie.” I said: I don’t believe it, because I’m singing in Portuguese. So they actually like the sound. Of course, in the USA I will put some things out in English that I did with my partner Leon Ware, who was Marvin Gaye’s partner, but there are only three songs, the rest is in Portuguese. And I tell you one more thing, nowadays the public is very similar. Those people standing up dancing and singing. Dude, in Europe it’s local people, not Brazilians. It’s the same reaction. I think younger generations have the same response when they like your music.

Is this generation more open to the new, to new discoveries?

These new generations are very intelligent. At the same time as they enjoy the dance, the groove, they are super into their solos, the brass… they pay attention to the details. They are knowledgeable and I don’t even know if they are knowledgeable about studying, but they have a very good ear. At the same time as the body is moving, the ear is attentive to every detail and that is fantastic.

You mentioned this song with Leon Ware, “Feels So Good.” Was it lost?

This is sensational because I have a partnership with Leon Ware from the time I lived in the USA, in 1975-1980, and we have recorded many songs, including “Estrelar”, which is mine and his, which is a mix of funk and baião. So, I had a demo on cassette, from 1978, and I showed it to the co-producer of my new album. And he said: “Man, this song is fantastic, we have to rescue it.” And I said: “But man, this is in a K7.” He replied: “Leave it to me.” The same thing the Beatles did to John Lennon. He picked it up and went through some technological equipment. He took Leon’s voice, where I wasn’t supposed to sing, and I added my voice and I was like this: impressed. Everyone loved it because Leon has already passed away and this is something new that has come out now. It came out as a single, before the album, and will be released on limited colored vinyl. It was an incredible pleasure, man. And there’s more: I’m going to put Leon’s voice out live. I’m already doing something to bring him singing along with me at shows.

This single was released on vinyl and vinyl has now become a trend and soon the cassette will return too.

It’s true, vinyl is selling more than CDs. The stores are back… All my records which I record, even in Brazil, they release on vinyl. Not long ago I recorded Cinzento and Deck also released it on vinyl because there is an interested audience not only of DJs, collectors, but also new generations are interested. It’s really interesting, man, how it came back. I just bought a new record player, a wonderful Technics. I had to renew my devices to listen to everything I’m recording. And the sound these new devices have is fantastic. So this vinyl thing became really strong. When you also release it on vinyl it has a huge impact.

And there’s that thing about materializing the work, holding it in your hand…

Don’t doubt it… When you pick up the vinyl [he goes to the shelf and picks up a record], there’s the cover, the back cover that you’ll read with everything big, there’s the booklet, which you pick up inside and you’ll see who played it. It’s almost a fetish, like it’s a book; you pick it up, you enjoy it.

Now you’re going on a tour in Europe, which you’re preparing for the Europeans. The agenda is full, right!?

It’s too much. There are 16 shows in Europe; I come back, I stay here for 14 days, including September 14th, my birthday. I’m going to turn 81, out of 80, then I’m going to the USA. What I do on these tours: I put on new things, like from the album that’s coming out in September; very well, I’m going to put on this one with Leon, but I also bring back songs from other eras and more recent albums, a little further back: “Mentira”, “Samba de Verão”, “Estrelar”… it’s an attempt to give an overview of my career. I take my whole band, which has been with me for a long time, and let’s go.

In the composition process, how does it work, both in writing and arranging sound creation?

Look, in different ways. I really like working under a certain amount of pressure. I’m thinking about music all the time, my head thinks: music, music, music. But as I do a lot of things, I have to bring the song that’s in my head to the piano so I can work on it, on the arrangement and leave space for the next one, otherwise one thing will overrun the other. But I also often save ideas. I get a lot of ideas when I’m walking, driving or when I come to the piano. Then I say: “Wait, I have to record this idea.” And sometimes I resort to saved ideas. For example: Arnaldo Antunes wanted to do something with me, so I used one I had, I sent it to him and he sent me beautiful lyrics. There are different ways: from time to time I let it come, from time to time I provoke it and sometimes I resort to ideas I already have.

Do you have some old things saved that you still revisit?

This is funny. That’s why I see my music as what it always was. Things from back there that I picked up, but it looks like I did it now. Of course, I use this a lot and it works very well. It gives me pleasure to have a link with what I’ve done, what I’m doing and what I’m going to do. I feel like it’s an acoustic tunnel. You become more experienced; life changes, you have other experiences, but basically it’s the same tunnel, I don’t get out of it. But it gets bigger, getting clearer, there’s a curve here, a curve there, but the tunnel is the same.

The landscape changes…

Exactly, but the form, the elements that made me become a musician are those: the influences, the things I saw and they remain the same.

With that in mind, isn’t retirement in your plans?

No!!! I don’t want it, not at all. I tell you one thing: I want more. Today I value what I do even more, I have much more pleasure being there on stage, traveling… Then you say: I’ve had such a long career and it continues like this. So, I don’t want to stand still because if I stand still I’m going to be annoying as hell, I’m going to bother people. Now, there may come a time, I don’t know. Everyone goes as far as God wants, right!? But for now, my friend, my pleasure and my life is music, stage, studio, show.

Speaking of these two environments, stage and studio, which do you prefer?

Look boy, it’s difficult. Logically, the stage is incredibly stimulating, because the energy that comes from a lot of people is very strong. The moment you are in the studio is yours. You are building something, as if you were building your building. Of course, the pleasure of seeing it coming together, and when you hear: Oops, man, that’s what I had in my head. It’s an incredible pleasure, but a private pleasure. It’s me with myself. It’s difficult, you know? Because this pleasure of building what is in your mind and what you see there is incredible, but so is being in front of the public. When you go on stage, the headache or stomach ache goes away, it’s the best medicine for my health.

Whether you like it or not, it’s also a way of materializing the work, right, because the public is reacting to what you’re bringing.

That’s exactly it. Well said. You come with the thing done, prepared and now you will play it to the public and see how the public will react to it. And when you get the reaction, it’s an absurd pleasure because a sensational bond is formed.

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