Karnak
Karnak
1995
Why This Album Matters
The album Karnak, released in 1995 by the eponymous band, represents a landmark in Brazilian music due to its audacious fusion of styles and innovative approach. Conceived by André Abujamra, the album transcends easy categorisations, blending rock, pop, jazz, reggae, Brazilian rhythms, and world sounds into a rich and unpredictable sonic tapestry. Karnak's musical proposition, right from its conception, challenged conventions, incorporating circus elements and theatrical performance into its aesthetic, with an initial line-up that included not only musicians but also actors and even a dog, Jeton. More than a mere collection of songs, Karnak is an experience. Its lyrics frequently embrace non-sense and humour, even satirising the very concept of "world music", a label the band consistently rejected, insisting that their "ethnic" sound stemmed from intuition and not formal research. The group's originality and irreverence set a standard for experimentation in Brazilian pop music, transforming the album into a cult work that continues to captivate listeners with its genius and libertarian spirit.
Context
The Karnak project was born in 1992, conceived by André Abujamra after the end of his acclaimed duo Os Mulheres Negras, with Maurício Pereira. Abujamra embarked on a journey around the world, armed with a recorder, collecting a myriad of sounds and musical influences. It was during this trip, specifically whilst visiting the Karnak temple complex in Egypt, that he found the inspiration for the name and the proposition for his new band: to integrate these diverse global sounds with the traditions and modernities of Brazilian music. The album's release in 1995 took place in a Brazil that, following the impeachment of Fernando Collor and the implementation of the Plano Real, was experiencing a period of relative economic stability and cultural effervescence. São Paulo, in particular, was a melting pot of musical innovations, where rock, samba, hip-hop, and experimental genres coexisted, creating an environment conducive to the emergence of audacious propositions such as Karnak's. The band, which rehearsed for a year before its first live performance, already demonstrated a strong theatrical and improvisational inclination, characteristics that would define its artistic identity.
Recording
The album Karnak was released on 30th September 1995, marking the band's debut on the now defunct Brazilian label Tinitus, part of PolyGram. The album's overall production was handled by André Abujamra himself, in collaboration with Aguinaldo Roca, ensuring fidelity to the group's complex and multifaceted artistic vision. The recording process creatively incorporated Abujamra's experiences from his travels. The album not only blended a vast range of instruments and styles, but also included unusual sonic elements, such as a sample from a 1930s African music album and even the laughter of André Abujamra's aunt Celina. The album's extensive list of credits, which includes dozens of musicians and special appearances, such as Chico César, Lulu Santos, Paulo Miklos, Paulinho Moska, Rolando Boldrin, Tom Zé, Marisa Orth, and Antônio Abujamra, André's father, illustrates the richness and breadth of collaborations that shaped this unique work.
Songs
The fourteen tracks on Karnak are a sonic journey that embraces plurality and inventiveness. Compositions like "Alma não tem cor" and "O Mundo", both widely recognised and, in the case of "O Mundo", re-recorded by names such as Ney Matogrosso and Paulinho Moska, exemplify the band's ability to create captivating songs, even amidst their rhythmic and lyrical complexity. The track "Comendo Uva na Chuva" gained prominence with its music video being broadcast on MTV Brasil, reaching a wider audience. The album's lyrics are notable for their playful and non-sense character, with tracks like "Lee-o-Dua" and "Hymboraewqueyra" suggesting an alternative approach to thematic rigidity, sometimes using invented languages, which André Abujamra would later describe as "Karnakian Russian". The closing track, "Cala a boca menino", an adaptation of Dorival Caymmi, gains a theatrical and impactful dimension with Antônio Abujamra's anthology-worthy recitation, along with the participation of Marisa Orth and Tom Zé, consolidating Karnak's performative identity. Predominantly authored by André Abujamra, the songs also feature co-authorship from various band members, such as Sérgio Bartolo, Hugo Hori, Lulu Camargo, and Eduardo Bidlovski, reflecting the group's collaborative spirit.
Legacy
Karnak was not just a debut album, but a watershed moment in Brazilian music, receiving "excellent reviews" since its release. Allmusic magazine awarded it a 4 out of 5-star rating, whilst Rolling Stone described it as "the most criminally underrated album in Latin music". Although it did not achieve great popularity on commercial radio, the album became a phenomenon on São Paulo's university radio stations and had its music videos broadcast by MTV Brasil, building an engaged fanbase. The album's success and recognition transcended national borders. In 2012, the US Rolling Stone magazine elected it as the 7th best Latin rock album of all time, the highest position for a work by a Brazilian band, surpassing acclaimed names such as Os Mutantes and Santana. This recognition was renewed in 2023, reinforcing its status as a seminal work. With estimated sales of between 50 and 100 thousand copies and a re-release by Net Records after the closure of the original label, Karnak consolidated itself as a cult classic. Its pioneering approach to genre fusion and theatrical performance paved the way and indirectly influenced various Brazilian bands that went on to explore experimentation and irreverence in their sound.
Rankings
Tracks
Credits
Danny Tenaglia, Rob Di Stefano
Robin Albers
Rick Essig
Books
Analyses
Karnak – Wikipedia
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Karnak: por dentro de um dos melhores álbuns de rock latino da história
rollingstone.com.br
André Abujamra lembra da surpresa e da comoção com que recebeu a notícia da entrada de Karnak (1995), disco de estreia de sua banda homônima, na sétima posição entre os melhores álbuns de rock latino da Rolling Stone.
Karnak - Karnak (1995) | cenaindie
cenaindie.com
O disco, que teve entre 50 e 100 mil cópias vendidas (e foi relançado pela Net Records), combina pop, MPB e elementos experimentais, com apresentações performáticas recheadas de bom humor.
Criatura de Sebo: Karnak - 1995
criaturadesebo.blogspot.com
Esse é o primeiro álbum do Karnak. A inventividade de André Abujamra, trazendo-nos a música do mundo, o humor, a reflexão sobre a humanidade e a empatia, a cada show da época era um brinde animador.
Não Pulo Uma Faixa — Karnak - Karnak - 1995 Por Marcos Lauro "Karnak...
naopuloumafaixa.tumblr.com
O CD é "mundo", sim, se pensarmos nos elementos que o formam: nasceu depois de uma viagem de Abujamra e Theo Werneck para Karnak, no Egito, e entre as sonoridades temos elementos africanos, árabes, nordestinos, roqueiros e, sim, do pop.