CéU’s success story in the past year has been phenomenal for the young artist out of Sao Paolo, Brazil. Her self-titled debut has sold over 180,000 copies worldwide including Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Europe with close to 100,000 copies scanned in the U.S. alone. She was the first international artist featured in the Starbucks Hear Music™ Debut series which led to unprecedented Billboard chart numbers for a Brazilian female artist -- #1 on the World Music and Heatseekers charts, and #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 – the highest position reached in that category by a Brazilian since Astrud Gilberto’s “Garota de Ipanema” in the 1960’s. Her album was also the iTunes U.S. editor’s pick for “World Music Album of The Year.” If that wasn’t enough, she received a Grammy nomination for “Best Contemporary World Music Album” in 2007 and a Latin Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist” in 2006. She is also riding high on a wave of international success in France, where the influential Les Inrockuptibles recognized her as one of the top 5 musical revelations of 2005, Holland, and Italy, as well as in Canada, where she was recently the fourth highest-selling artist for the Archambault chain of music shops while simultaneously holding the number 32 slot on the pop charts.

There are good reasons for the depth and complexity of CéU's songs. She was born into a musical family in the artistically diverse city of São Paulo; her father, a locally renowned composer, arranger and musicologist, taught her at a young age to appreciate the music of Brazil's great classical composers, including Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Nazaré and Orlando Silva. By age 15 she had decided to become a singer, and pursued music studies in lieu of a college education; trained on the violão (a nylon-stringed Brazilian guitar) and in music theory, she was performing onstage with major artists and exploring the repertoire of the marchinhas (turn-of-the-century carnival music) by her late teens. Soon after that she relocated temporarily to New York City, where she had a chance meeting with fellow Brazilian musician Antonio Pinto, who became her flat mate while he was going through some financial difficulties. She later learned that he was actually a distant cousin, and their relationship was renewed when he teamed up with lead producer Beto Villares to help her record her album. Antonio Pinto, who produced CéU's song "Ave Cruz" is the composer of the musical score for two Oscar Nominated films, "Central Station" (1999) and "City of God" (2003.)

CéU

Originally issued in 2005 on the São Paulo-based Urban Jungle label and Beto Villares’ Ambulante Discos, CéU was picked up by Six Degrees/Starbucks/Hear Music in the US and UK (in partenrship with WhatMusic), by LCL/Fusion III in Canada, JVC in Japan and Oplus Music in France and in the Netherlands.

Lenda

Malemolência

Roda

“The 26-year-old São Paulo singer and composer CéU segues easily on her eponymous debut CD from pop to reggae to dub in velvet, jazz-accented vocals. But Brazilian rhythms are still the foundation, especially on soulful cuts like "Samba na Sola" and the stirring "Ave Cruz”.“
Newsweek - November 23rd 2006

“Brazilian singer/songwriter CéU’s self-titled album vaults up the Billboard 200, moving from the 146th position to the 57th with a 50% increase. The set becomes the first non-Celtic Woman title to be nº 1 on Top World Albums since Aug. 6, 2005.”
Billboard Magazine – April 2007

“CéU is an immensely appealing young singer from Brazil. While rooted in samba and bossa nova, her music also reflects the singer’s interests in reggae, electronica, vintage jazz and soul.”
Time Out Magazine New York - October 2007

“Passionate Brazilian singer's debut album, on a San Francisco label, is climbing international charts as she returns to the city to play the Fillmore”
San Francisco Chronicle - June 26th 2007

“With an easy, dragging beat, bossa nova becomes something like light dub in the lithe and playful songs of Céu.”
The New York Times - June 29th 2007

“CéU expands the “new and modern Brazilian Popular Music” horizon.”
Folha de São Paulo – November 17th 2005

“CéU is the revelation of Brazilian Music in 2005.”
Jornal do Brasil – January 10th 2006

“CéU confirms herself as a revelation bringing originality to the crowded terrain of young Brazilian singers.”
O Globo – January 9th 2006

“CéU is the future of Brazilian Popular Music – Caetano Veloso”
Jornal do Brasil – January 12th 2006

“CéU, singer from São Paulo, pointed out as “Brazilian promise” in France, releases her debut CD, full of swing and elegance.”
O Estado de São Paulo – November 17th 2005

“Singer CéU, promise of revelation in Brazilian Pop Music.”
Folha de São Paulo – February 2nd 2006

“Considered the princess of Brazilian Music, CéU has sold over 60.000 copies since April and leads the “World Music” Billboard chart.”
Folha de São Paulo – July 2nd 2007

“CéU, the new voice of Brazil.”
Liberation – Aug 16th 2005

“Light as a flower, the beautiful Brazilian CéU traces with her first CD an impressive sonic route between São Paulo, New York and Paris.”
Le Monde de la Musique – November 2005

“CéU swings calmly with the necessary romantics and poetry. CéU is a future star.”
Figaroscope – Sept 9th 2005

“New music revelation and one of Summer best-sellers, the name CéU diffuses like the wind all over France.”
France Soir – Aug 27th 2005

“Brazilian music has a new ambassador.”
The Guardian - May 4th 2008

“CéU has the seductive, sun kissed croon of a latterday Astrud Gilberto, but couched in a musical esperanto that draws on dub reggae, samba, scratching hip-hop, jazz piano and various native Brazilian guitar modes.”
The Independent - June 6th 2008

“If she's this good live she deserves to become Brazil's next internationally acclaimed celebrity.”
The Guardian – May 30th 2008

Vagarosa - 2009

Ever since Brazilian phenomenon Céu captivated the world with her self-titled debut album in 2007, her follow up release has been widely anticipated. After being chosen as the first international artist featured in Starbucks’ Hear Music™ Debut series, Céu earned both Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, countless press accolades, and chart topping numbers. So how does one of the most successful Brazilian female artists of our time respond? With her typical grace and artistry.

First came Cangote in May of 2009, a teaser four-song EP that was a harbinger of wonderful things to come, as the full-length album Vagarosa demonstrates. Vagarosa, which translates to “slow, easygoing, and leisurely,” perfectly reflects the vibe that runs throughout the album. Everywhere on Vagarosa is evidence of Céu’s ever-deepening musical sophistication and intelligence. Notice the album’s opening track, for example: on the surface it’s all gentle sweetness, nothing but Céu’s flutelike voice accompanied by Rodrigo Campos on the cavaquinho, a sort of Brazilian ukelele. But the song’s title hints at more serious concerns – titled “Sobre o Amor e Seu Trabalho Silencioso” (“Concerning Love and Its Silent Work”), it celebrates, in Céu’s words, “the invisible chemistry of love, when it awakes,” but the song also makes quiet reference to love’s demands. That song leads beautifully into “Cangote,” which deepens and darkens the mood and prepares you for the myriad sounds and flavors to come later in the program.

“Comadi,” a song that Céu co-wrote with with Beto Villares, and that she explains is about “how much women struggle for their position in life,” is dense and funky, with lots of wah-wah guitars, low reeds, and a slow and soulful groove. The musical texture opens up a bit with “Bubuia,” on which the percussion skitters lightly on the surface, hinting at a sort of jungle breakbeat, but Céu’s smoothly languid vocals keep the groove anchored in a relaxed medium tempo even as the intensity begins to build near the middle of the song. “Grains de Beauté” is a sensual love song on which she invites the beloved to draw lines connecting the beauty marks on his lover’s body.

One of the most interesting things about Vagarosa is the extent to which organic acoustic sounds and cutting-edge electronic textures are woven together into a completely natural-sounding whole. On “Nascente,” a basically acoustic backing track is twisted and refracted by electronic means, while a hot horn chart and a feline rhythm give the impression of a cat stalking its prey – perhaps amorously and perhaps not. “Papa,” the album’s only English-language track, encourages you to not “take yourself so seriously” while placing Céu’s voice in an echo chamber with electronically altered acoustic instruments. The combination of the wet ambience and the mysterious, minor-key melody draws you in – until the song suddenly ends after less than a minute and a half.

And yet some of the album’s most transcendentally beautiful moments are also its simplest and least complex. On “Vira Lata,” which deals with the problem of falling in love with “an unfaithful but lovable person,” a flugelhorn and cavaquinho provide tastefully minimal backing, showcasing Céu’s voice as gently as a jewel in a simple but elegant velvet box. When the layers of multi-tracked flutes come in near the song’s end, the effect is like the arrival of a flock of rare and lovely birds. “Ponteiro” (which again touches on serious issues related to the passing of time) features a circus organ and a metronomically plucked electric guitar – a rather blocky arrangement that nicely complements Céu’s airy voice and the delicate melody she sings. On “Cordão da Insônia” she sings of “when the city sleeps and everything becomes quiet,” a moment when often “the creative energy starts to flow, making one stay awake, not able to sleep, creating.” This song returns to a reggae groove, with some nifty backwards guitar and lounge-flavored mallet keyboards. “Espaçonave” layers Céu’s voice on itself, multi-tracking harmony lines in a way that suggests a Brazilian version of Zap Mama, while the churning groove is more like 1960s funk with a slippery New Orleans drum part. This album’s music and lyrics have been informed by a number of recent developments in Céu’s life, including the birth of her daughter – an event that is celebrated here by a gentle and lovely rendition of the old Jorge Ben song “Rosa Menina Rosa.” “Sonâmbulo’s” subject matter is unusually pointed: the song’s image of a sleepwalker is intended as a critique of those who allow their own personalities to atrophy in deference to the preferences and expectations of others.

The production of the album started in mid-2008 at Ambulante Studios in São Paulo, Brazil. Céu teamed up with her old accomplice, producer Beto Villares to produce and record her new compositions. In the process, they also involved producer and engineer Gustavo Lenza (Céu’s touring engineer for the past 4 years, who recently produced Curumin’s last two records) and soundtrack producer Gui Amabis, who has collaborated with Céu on the Sonantes project. Throughout the album Céu enjoyed the assistance of many top-notch musician friends: members of Los Sebozos Postizos make an appearance on “Rosa Menina Rosa”; Curumin plays drums on “Cordão da Insônia”; Luiz Melodia provides exquisite guest vocals on “Vira Lata.” Pupillo and Dengue from Nação Zumbi contribute drums and bass on “Ponteiro,” and Siba (a founder of the regionally famous Pernambucan band Mestre Ambrósio) co-wrote “Nascente” with her.

The ever-proliferating crowd of Brazilian musicians lining up to record with Céu, combined with her deepening penetration of the world’s music markets, is more than enough to bear out the optimistic predictions of the music media. But really, all the proof of her unique talent is right here: in the beautifully simple melodies, the sophisticated complexity of the arrangements, the wide-ranging musical references, and the general warmth and attractiveness of her songwriting.

The album Vagarosa has been released in the United States on Urban Jungle Records and Six Degrees Records.

Cangote

Comadi

Espaçonave