Music / BaianaSystem

The founding members. ^note  From left to right: Roberto Barreto, Filipe Cartaxo, Russo Passapusso and SekoBass. Not pictured: The numerous collaborateurs they had over the years.

"Tire as construções da minha praia ^note "Take the buildings out of my beach
Não consigo respirar ^note  I can't breathe
As meninas de minissaia ^note  The girls in miniskirts
Não conseguem respirar ^note  Can't breathe
Especulação imobiliária ^note  Real estate speculation
E petróleo em alto mar ^note  And oil in the high seas
Subiu o prédio eu ouço vaia" ^note The building goes up (and) I hear boos"

— "Lucro (Descomprimindo)" ^note  "Profit (Decompressing)"

BaianaSystem is a Brazilian samba-reggae-eletro-pop-ijexá-rock band from Salvador, Bahia. The group was founded in 2009 by Roberto Barreto, who was joined by Roosevelt Ribeiro (Russo Passapusso), Marcelo Seco (SekoBass) and Filipe Cartaxo, with the intent of exploring new musical possibilities for the Bahian guitar. The next year also saw the release of their first album, named after themselves.

After a few quietly successful releases, their 2016 song Playsom was chosen by EA Sports to be on the soundtrack of FIFA Soccer, skyrocketing them to national fame.

In 2019, they were awarded the Latin Grammy's Best Portuguese Language Rock or Alternative Album for O Futuro Não Demora, their third album.

The band's name is a mix between guitarra Baiana and the Jamaican SoundSystem culture.

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Lineup:

Current Members^note  Founding members in bold.

• Russo Passapusso - Vocals
• Roberto Barreto - Bahian Guitar
• SekoBass - Bass
• Filipe Cartaxo - Visual Concepts
• Junix - Electric Guitar
• Claudia Manzo - Vocals
• Ícaro Sá - Percussion
• João Milet Meirelles - Dj, Producer

Frequent Collaborators

• BNegão - Vocals
• Japasystem - Percussion
• VANDAL - Vocals
• Maestro Ubiratan Marques - Piano
• Virgínia Rodrigues - Vocals
• Mahal Pita - Dj, Producer
• Elivan Conceição - Dancer
• Léo Suricate - Dancer, Producer
• Luedji Luna - Vocals

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Studio Albums:

• Baianasystem^note  Baianasystem (2010)
• Duas Cidades^note  Two Cities (2016)
• O Futuro Não Demora^note  The Future Won't Take Long (2019)
• OxeAxeExu^note  Oxe is a multipurpose Bahian slang which often expresses confusion; Axé is a greeting meaning strength and joy, used by people who practice Candomblé, an African-Brazilian religion, the name given to Candomblé's orishas' altars and the name of a Bahian musical rhythm; Exu is the name of a Candomblé orisha, who is associated with communication between the godly and human worlds and language, represented by crossroads. (2021)

Singles/EPs

• Terapia; Amendoim Pão de Mel (2013)
• Calundu; Pangeia; Pangeia Dub (2013)
• Playsom (2015)
• Lucro/Descomprimido (2016)
• Forasteiro (2016)
• Invisível (2017)
• Capim Guiné (2017)
• Ziquizira (2018)
• Alfazema (2018)
• O Segundo Sol (2018)
• Água (Extended version, 2019)
• Fogo (Extended version. 2019)
• Saci (Remix, 2019)
• Libertação (2019)
• Olho de Boi (2019)
• Cabeça de Papel (2019)
• Miçanga (2020)
• Corrida Elétrica (2020)
• Cabeça de Papel (Remix, 2020)
• 2 Cities (Remix, 2020)
• Lockdown (Cidade Perdida) (2020)
• Reza Forte (2021)
• ATOS (2021)
  • ATO 1: Navio Pirata
  • ATO 2: Recital Instrumental
  • ATO 3: América do Sol
• Água Remixes (2021)
• Mixtape Live Raze (2021)
• BALAH IH FOGO (2021)
• Canto para Atabaque (2021)
  • Canto para Atabaque (Remix)
• Água Benta (2022)
• A Mosca (2022)
• Olho do Guloso (2022)
• OlodumBaiana (Ao Vivo na Bahia) (2023)
• Presente (2023)
• Borogodó and Borogodó (Remix) (2023)

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The future won't take long, let the tropes burn you:

• Anaphora: Used thrice in Barravenida pt. 2, at first being the phrases vou sem duvidar and se duvidar and then the word mina^note  Brazilian slang for girl.
• Angry Dance: Mentioned in Alfazema:
  Diacho, eu não te acho
  Entro na roda
  Eu fico louco
  Danço um côco furioso
  Até o dia acabar.
• Blatant Lies: E na verdade não precisa acreditar na crítica / Não precisa analisar a logística / Toda a cidade vai ficar turística^note  Actually, (You) don't need to believe the criticism, don't need to analyze the logistics, the whole city will become touristic in Dia da Caça.
• Brick Joke: Catraca (referring to a bus ticket gate) has the lyrics aquele tiro, aquele tiro sai pela culatra and mais um elo se quebrou, tão sem corrente de prata as an inside joke to Magnata (Tycoon), which repeats the first line and has magnata guarda ouro e tem corrente de prata.
• Catchphrase: É só amor! ^note  It's only love! usually said by Russo and the crowd during their carnival shows.
  • Pull up!^note Said by Russo to restart a song, either acapella or not. It directly references Reggae (specifically Dub) singers.
  • Baila! ^note  Dance!, usually said during Sulamericano.
  • Conduz, Drácula ^note  When telling João Meirelles to start a song, generally Saci.
  • The tongue-twisting start of the song Devaneios (by Anelis Assumpção), which is actually his solo work:
  Havia um louco no navio
  Viu o céu sorriu
  Fogo no pavio
  Dente na corrente^note  There was a crazy man on the ship, (he) saw the sky and smiled, fire on the wick, teeth on the chain.
• Color Motif: Black, white and blue in their early years. Averted nowadays.
• Concept Album: O Futuro Não Demora is divided in two sections: a water and a fire one.
• Concept Video: The one for Saci has a man finding out he has mind-controlling powers through dance and the help of a cute singing kid.
  • Reza Forte has soldiers preparing to fight against indigenous people (and losing) and a little boy being blessed by a rezadeira.
• Cool Mask: The blue masks designed by Filipe Cartaxo prominently featured in Invisível^note  Invisible videoclip. These masks became the band's symbol and now come in various versions, with fans wearing them to show support.
• Dedication: Duas Cidades dedicated to their long-time friend BNegão.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The video for Guerra Batalha, which is split in color and black and white sections.
  • The music video for Batukerê.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The cover for O Futuro Não Demora◊ features neat geometrical illustrations and blue/yellow contrast on white background and black detailing, fitting in with one side of it being themed water and the one being themed fire. All that is owed to the band's resident graphic designer, Filipe Cartaxo and collaborator Filipe Bezerra.
  • The same goes for the cover of singles Água◊ and Fogo◊, which have blue/yellow illustrations on black background.
• Elemental Motifs: Water (and often in the shape of beaches). It shows up, directly or not, in Água^note  Water(obviously), Miçanga, Alfazema (its clip features Yemanjá Day Celebrations and sea views), Navio, Lucro, Reza Forte, Sambaqui, Melô do Centro da Terra, Tubarão and Água Benta.
  • Also the trio Navio Pirata^note  Pirate Ship.
• Epic Rocking: Barravenida is six minutes long.
  • Barravenida pt 2 is also six minutes long.
• Fan Community Nickname: Pirataria, coined due to the band's trio elétrico being called Navio Pirata.
• Female Empowerment Song: Libertação ^note Freedom, featuring Elza Soares, Letieres Leite and Virgínia Reis.
  "Eu não vou sucumbir ^note  "I am not going to succumb
  Eu não vou sucumbir ^note  I am not going to succumb
  Avisa na hora que tremer o chão ^note  Tell me when the ground starts trembling
  Amiga é agora ^note  (Girl) Friend, (the time) is now
  Segura a minha mão" ^note  Hold my hand".
  • Capucha also, featuring Claudia Manzo.
• Genki Dude: Russo, who'll always be dancing, jumping around and taking to the audience while singing.
  • Roberto Barreto and JapaSystem also fit this trope to a point.
• Genre-Busting: They have samba, Bahian pagode, ijexá, rap, reggae, electronic, pop and rock influences on their songs.
• Gratuitous English: On Reza Forte, CertoPeloCertoh and O Que Não me Destrói me Fortalece.
• Gratuitous French: On Playsom.
• Green Aesop: Lucro, as seen by the page's quote.
• Iconic Outfit: Léo Suricate in clown makeup, a red jumper, Brazil's World Cup shirt and the band's socks during Cabeça de Papel and Catraca.
• Improv: Russo relishes on doing this live. Sometimes, these improvs become studio songs in their own rights.
• Instrumentals: Vinheta Baiana, Barravenida and Amerikha Expressa in Baianasystem.
  • Cigano, Mercado and Azul in Duas Cidades.
  • Barbatana and Reza Frevo in Oxeaxeexu.
  • The singles Forasteiro^note  Outsider and Corrida Elétrica ^note  Electric Race.
  • Averted in Act 2 (titled Recital Instrumental), which features vocal songs.
• Interclass Romance: In Arapuca ([...] Que o plebeu se encantou com a filha do rei / Avisa pra corte eu que sequestrei ^{In English} [...] That the commoner fell in love with the king's daughter / Tell the royal court that I was the one who kidnapped her).
• Lucky Rabbit's Foot; Mentioned in Reza Forte, along other good luck charms such as rue and kosher salt.
• Lyric Video: The one for Cabeça de Papel.
• Minimalistic Cover Art: The cover◊ for Oxeaxeexu is all black except for the white, vertical, title.
• Miniscule Rocking: Melô do Centro da Terra is less than two minutes long.
  • So are Arapuca and Sambaqui.
  • So is Raminho.
• Motif: Carnival celebrations (mainly in their first album). It shows up in Frevofoguete ^note  Mix between Frevo, a dance from Pernambuco, and the word "foguete" (rocket), Systema Fobica ^note  a fobica was the nickname for a Ford Model A car, the car that preceded the trio elétrico (created by Dodô e Osmar) in Bahia's carnival. (which is packed with old-time Bahian carnival references), Da Calçada pro Lobato ^note  From Calçada, a borough in Salvador, to Lobato, another borough in Salvador and O Carnaval Quem é que Faz? ^note  Who Makes the Carnival?.
• Motor Mouth: Russo Passapusso, specially live. Just listen to Arapuca^note Trap and try to learn the lyrics without looking them up.
• Multilingual Song: Sulamericano^note  Southamerican, thanks to Manu Chao's part. Averted in live performances.
  • Happens in Capucha, as Claudia Manzo mixes both Spanish (being born in Chile) and Portuguese. Amplified live, as Capucha is sung blended with Chapéu Panamá.
    • The same goes for Água Benta.
  • The remix for Duas Cidades features UK rapper YT.
  • The song Nauliza, courtesy of Tanzanian artists Makaveli and Jay Mitta.
• Non-Appearing Title: Forasteiro, as it's an instrumental song.
• Popularity Cycle: Sem Crise references this trope:
  Esqueça aquela luz
  Não pague o preço da fama
  A mesma que seduz
  Não hesita pra difamar. ^note  Forget about that light, don't pay the price of fame, the same one that allures doesn't hesitate to defame.
• Portmanteau: BaianaSystem itself, as explained above.
  • Barravenida (and later, Barravenida pt. 2, mix between the neighborhood of Barra, in Salvador and the word "avenida" (avenue).
  • BembaDub
  • Frevofoguete, as explained above.
  • Sambaqui, mix between Samba and the word "aqui" (here).^note  It's also the name of a place where there are many accumulated, discarded shells.
• Protest Song: Lucro, which is about the destruction of beaches and other natural, protected, spaces by real estate greed.
  • Dia da Caça ^note  Day of the Hunted, as in "one day is the hunter's, the other is the hunted's", Brazilian idiom meaning you should be aware that some days you win and some days you'll lose. , as it goes on about the rise of violence in Salvador.
  • Cabeça de Papel ^note  Paperhead is about aftereffects of European colonialism in Brazil and political insatisfaction.
  • Sulamericano is about the neocolonial exploration of Latin America.
• Recycled Lyrics: If one is familiar with the early career of Russo and Mahal, they might notice that the line cara de pau de madeira de lei, vem pra roubar a cadeira do rei (meaning somebody who's so shameless/bold they might seize power against the odds) in Capim Guiné has also been in their collab song Mizerê.
  • A mais de mil decibéis, virado numa goteira shows up in both Playsom (later song) and Terapia (older).
• Rule of Three: In Cabeça de Papel:
  Três Cristos tristes pedindo carona na pista ^note  Three sad Christs asking for a ride on the road
  Um era o bom, segundo era o mau, terceiro era um vigarista ^note  One was the good one, (the) second one was the bad one, (the) third one was a conman.
• Sampling: Reza Forte^note  Strong Prayer samples Cantata para Alagamar, written by José Alberto Kaplan and Waldemar José Solha, about poor farmer families threatened with eviction.
  • A Mosca samples Raul Seixas' song of the same name.
• Shout-Out: Oh boy.
  • Systema Fobica has references to Dodô e Osmar (a Brazilian musical duo who created the first trio elétrico through a Ford car) in its title (also the lyric fobica na avenida e o abadá pra vestir), to Luiz Gonzaga through the lyric só deixo o meu Cariri no último pau de arara, a direct lift from the song Último Pau de Arara, and to Moraes Moreira in the lyrics pra navegar no mar azul badauê, é ubaranamaralina que alucina a multidão and colombina namorar na massa do massapê which partially quote his song Eu Sou o Carnaval.
  • Bala na Agulha references the neighborhoods of Liberdade and Pero Vaz, in Salvador. It also cites the Afro-Bahian Carnival blocos Ilê Aiyê and Malê Debalê.
  • Invisível name-drops Mahatma Gandhi, Sathya Sai Baba, Shabba and Luiz Gonzaga.
  • Salve features direct shout-outs to Zulunation, Nação Zumbi, Ilê Ayê, Rumpilezz, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.
  • CertoPeloCertoh cites Fuck The Police by N.W.A and record label Ugangue.
  • Sulamericano mentions Barack Obama and Che Guevara, Manu Chao also references Señor Matanza. It directly name-drops Open Veins of Latin America.
  • Navio has a shout-out to the Mercado Modelo and indirectly references the children's musical group Superfantástico's song Balão Mágico through the lyric meu mundo mágico, colorido e trágico.
  • Cabeça de Papel references the childhood standard Marcha Soldado^note  (Go) March, Soldier through its title and music video. It also cites Donald Trump and ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
  • Corneteiro Luís tells the Bahian legend of a bugler who, during Bahia's battle for independence (in which the Bahians were already tired and losing), played the order to go forward instead of retreat (which was what the Commanders wanted). This made the Portuguese retreat in fear of reinforcements instead and the Bahians won, with the bugler becoming a Bahia folk hero.
  • Oxe references Muhammad Ali and Superman. It also name-drops Maria Quitéria (who fought in Bahia's Independence disguised as a man), Maria Tomásia Figueira (abolitionist from Ceará) and Tupinambá leader Maria Amaral.
  • Vixe name-drops Frei Caneca, Padre Roma, Padre Ciço, Luiz Gonzaga, José do Patrocínio, Joaquim Nabuco, Frei Damião, Dragão do Mar, Antônio Conselheiro, Mestre Vitalino, Felipe Camarão, Leandro Gomes de Barro, Zumbi, Lampião and Paulo Freire.
  • Reza Forte quotes I Wanna Get High by B-Real and Dj Muggs. Also, it samples Cantata para Alagamar.
  • Chapéu Panamá name-drops the song Guantanamera.
  • A Vida é Curta pra Viver Depois references the Brazilian Military Regime.
  • Miçanga references Caranguejo não é peixe, another childhood standard.
  • Monopólio mentions the Koch brothers, the Rockefellers, Al Pacino and Al Capone.
  • Tubarão references the Tupinambá people's sacred cloaks which are displayed on European museums (along with Brazilian gold and wood being explored and sold there to this day). One of them is getting returned to Brazil in 2024.
  • Olho de Boi references the Maracatu de Baque Virado, a cultural manifestation from Pernambuco.
  • A Mosca quotes Raul Seixas' A Mosca, thanks to the sampling. It also references filmmaker Glauber Rocha, through a name-drop and quoting the title of one of his movies, Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol.
  • Catraca cites Luiz Gonzaga.
  • In some live performances of Lucro, Russo quotes Party for Your Right to Fight, by Public Enemy.
  • Sulamericano becomes Sulamefricano^note  Southamefrican during some performances, in reference to the concept of Amefricanidade (roughly: Amefricanity), coined by Brazilian black feminist Lélia Gonzalez in her article A categoria político-cultural de amefricanidade (The political-cultural category of amefricanity).
• Signature Headgear: Russo Passapusso has his black bowler hat, while Roberto Barreto has his all-black cap.
• Silly Love Songs: Miçanga ^note  Bead.
  "Vou catar concha na beira da praia ^note  "I'm gonna pick up shells at the beach's edge
  Quero fazer um colar de miçanga ^note  I want to make a beaded necklace
  Riscar seu nome na areia com o pé ^note Write your name on the sand with my foot
  Quero te dar um colar de miçanga." ^note  I want to give you a beaded necklace"
  • Bola de Cristal ^note Crystal Ball, which is (partially) about miscommunication in relationships.
  • Alfazema ^note  Lavender, not so silly as one of the lovers is seemingly dying, while the other one is trying to recover from it.
  • Presente^note  Gift, about gifting moments and cheap items with high emotional value to a lover.
  • Both songs of the Terapia EP, with Terapia (the song) being slower and Amendoim; pão de mel being faster-paced.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Firmly idealistic, although their songs often deal with serious, worrying topics.
• Soprano and Gravel: In Guerra Batalha ^note  War Battle, featuring mezzo operatic singer Liz Reis singing along considerably raspier voiced Russo.
• Splash of Color: The music video for Invisível follows a scheme of black-white-blue.
  • The music video for Alfazema is mostly in black and white but its last few shots are in color (mainly blue).
• Spoken Word in Music: Roberto Mendes in Nesse Mundo ^note  (On) This World.
  • Mateus Aleluia in Pangeia ^note  Pangaea.
  • Lucas Santtana in Frevofoguete.
  • An unnamed rezadeira (praying woman, who's usually called on kids to protect them and ward off evil eye) in Raminho ^note  Sprig.
  • Claudia Manzo in Pachamama.
• Step Up to Center Stage: Forasteiro is this to Roberto Barreto.
• Stock Sound Effects: Forasteiro has a famous horse whinny.
• Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion: In O Que Não me Destrói me Fortalece ^note  What Doesn't Destroy me Makes me Stronger there's "eu sou eu, tu é tu, I and I"^note  I am me, you are you, I and I / Diz a prece que o bom filho nunca esquece da mãe". ^note The adage says the good child never forgets about their mother. The expected word would be "pai", which would rhyme with I and I.
• Surreal Music Video: The one for Invisível features masked people dressed in all white clothes seemingly in a Catholic religious procession ceremony.
• Take Over the World: Dia da Caça mentions that polícia violenta vai ditar política^note  the violent police is going to dictate politics.
• Take That!: Fogo no Bozo, fogo no Trump in Cabeça de Papel, meaning "set fire on Bozo (one of the nicknames respectfully given to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro), set fire on Trump".
  • From Sulamericano: "Que eu sou sulamericano
    De Feira de Santana
    Avisa o americano
    Eu não acredito no Obama" ^note  "I'm Southamerican, from Feira de Santana, tell the Americans I don't believe in Obama".
• Textless Album Cover: The covers of Acts 1 (titled Navio Pirata) and 3 (titled América do Sol) have no text on them.
• Title Drop: At least once per album/song, with the exception being Duas Cidades and OxeAxeExu.
  • In Baianasystem there's Systema Fobica, in which the album's name is repeated by BNegão.
  • In O Futuro Não Demora, the title shows up on the verses of Fogo.
  • The title is mentioned in the songs Playsom, Capim Guiné, Arapuca, Saci, O Que Não me Destrói me Fortalece and various others.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Elivan while dressed as the Saci.
• Word Salad Lyrics + Phrase Salad Lyrics: Some songs look like this trope, but are in fact packed with historical/political references. Playsom, however, plays this trope straight.

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What will be of the Bahian guitar? What are future carnivals going to be like?

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