Brazil - Bahia

Hi friends,

Bahia is a huge state, and even its western scene is extensive, but I will try to describe it. The region's cultural level is highly suppressed by the development of agribusiness that alienates the regional culture; in nearby Barreiras (the largest city in the region) this trait is very strong, taking up “cultural” activities such as vaquejada, a kind of rodeo in which they have to overthrow the bull by its tail, to show the cowboy “courage”.

Basically, we have two main rock types here, punk rock and metal. Hardcore is far away. Unfortunately the scene here is too homogeneous, people follow mainstream patterns, reproduce old prejudices, and there are many inexperienced people who, for example, see drugs as a fashion style.

The most rock bands do not last here because there is lack of support. People do not care about bands or events. In most cities there are no musical instrument stores, and sound equipment rental is too expensive, completely out of bands possibilities. Studios are totally out of question, leaving the bands on the sidelines and subjected to totally impromptu recordings, which means lo-fi recordings only.

Despite this lack of support we have bands that are strongly resistant, even with such a lack of information and the underground of the old west conditions. They slowly flutter their defiance and resistance, so maybe one day our region turns into a true anti-capitalist den.

Before concluding I wish to emphasize that even with the conditions previously mentioned, there are bands and people around here who are being a reference in some way, and I want to mention their names here:

Radicaos (something like “Radical + Chaos”) - vegan straight edge band, idealized by the anarchists Volmer and Shedrinks. Radicaos

Projétil Paralelo (Parallel Projectile) - Band that mixes poetry and psychedelic sound, covering various topics such as feminism, libertarian, anti-capitalism and a more harmonious way of life.

Vômitos (Vomit) -punk rock band with energetic concerts, bringing the nihilistic punk spirit and protesting about rock decadence.

Dark Torment 666 - Black metal band from Santa Maria da Vitoria city. It had a short lifespan, but it was a legendary band in the region, because all its thematic caused a big attack on what society expects of a rock band from the interior region of the state.

Mainá Distro – beginner and small distributor of Brazilian bands stuffs, such as CDs and fanzines.
distromania@radicaos.com

Thanks.

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