Caspar Supports: Gustavo Telles

Okay, let's do something different here, and now. Let's give a musical acquaintance some support, someone who deserves it. And not because he is nice guy, though I'm sure he is, but because he fills a nice niche spot in the musical spectrum. So here we go.


The other day, Lady Caspar returned home after a couple of weeks in her homestead Porto Alegre, Brazil. With legendary rocker Fughetti Luz as her father, she is well acquainted with the local music scene. Already the last time she got home, she brought home a CD of this fellow called Gustavo Telles. I knew him a little from another band he used to play in with the illusive name Pato de Elephante, which means as much as elephants' foot. His debut CD as a solo artist was called Do seu amor, primeiro é você quem precisa. After listening to it a few times, it got under my skin, and hasn't left since then. I'll try to explain why. There is something peculiar about those Brazilians from the deep South, the Gauchos as they prefer to be called. It is not just that their climate is not as tropical, their beaches not as virgin, or their carnaval not as swinging as they are in the rest of the country, but more importantly for the purpose of this blog: the music is not as sambaesque. Moreover: it reaches from Americana to straightforward rock, and mostly in a tight 4-bar rhythm. And doing this for decades in a, more or less, isolated environment, they have pretty much come up with their own sound. Rocky, folky, with their melodies slipping and sliding. And every now and then, there is this new guy doing it all over again, though rarely beating their predecessors; but Gustavo Telles is doing just that!
Now let's get back to Gustavo's CDs the misses brought home. He recorded this new CD in the studio of a friend of hers. Via-via a copy (not an illegal one mind you!!) got into our hands. It is at this very moment on the stereo, and we're so happy that it is archetypical Gaucho rock, but melodious, folky, almost Americana style. But, you might have guessed from the opening lines of this blog, there is a problem. To finalize the CD, and to give it the premiere it deserves, Gustavo is simply short on cash. Therefore he opened a crowdfunding opportunity, which you can find on: Gustavo-Telles, wwhere you can also find a few songs from his new album. For 10 Brazilian Reais (about 3,50 in Euros) you get a download of the new CD. Of course, there are a lot of extras if you pay more, but I am not sure if you can make it to Porto Alegre in time to see his premiere show ;-)?
Anyway, Caspar thought about it and he says: thumbs up for Gustavo Telles and give him the support he deserves. This guy is a dedicated, talented musician that keeps the sound of Porto Alegre alive and kicking!!!