Spinner

Sylvia Patricia Interview: SXSW 2010

Sylvia Patricia Sylvia Patricia is a Brazilian singer-songwriter whose music combines bossa nova, rock and folk. A talented guitarist and pianist, Patricia writes songs that are soulful meditations about her life in and out of Brazil. Spinner caught up with Patricia in anticipation of her upcoming appearance at SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I play a Brazilian mix of jazz, blues and rock. I love playing and writing songs with an acoustic guitar, and many of my songs are influenced by folk guitar players, but in Brazil you play bossa nova and Brazilian rhythms. My sound mixes all of my musical passions into a very Brazilian style of music.

Why did you first start to play music?

My mother played piano, and my grandfather was also a pianist and composer, so I started playing the piano at a very early age. My dad's family [is] a very musical family, and when I was eight he gave me an acoustic guitar. That's really when my passion for songwriting started.

What are your musical influences?

I like individual composers and songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon -- you know, a lot of folk artists. Although Brazilian music and bossa nova are big influences on me, I also listened to a lot of British and American rock 'n' roll growing up. The Stones and Beatles are big for me. And one of my favorite performers is Santana. Honestly, I listen to and appreciate all kinds of music.

How do you come up with you lyrics and the names of your songs and records?

I write lyrics first. The titles just come from the lyrics. Honestly, I'm not really sure where they come from. Ideas in the music move me to write the words.

What's your biggest vice?

Buying guitars, definitely. I have a giant collection.

What's in your festival survival kit?

I like walking around in cities that I've never been to. I go to museums, libraries. I like art very much, and to visit interesting cities that are also artistic centers. I also like exploring cities where music is a big part of the culture. For that reason, I'm very excited to be visiting Austin for the first time. Festivals are a great opportunity to visit countries and cities you've never been to. It's great to work as a musician.

What album have you most recently listened to?

Let me check my computer. Hmm, looks like recently it's a lot of Jorge Ben Jor, a great Brazilian musician.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

That's not really how I think about the music I like. For example, I've been a fan of Burt Bacharach all my life. I love his music and perform his songs. In Brazil, that wasn't really [a] good thing. He wasn't really considered a good singer. I covered his songs anyway -- in Portuguese, of course -- so I'm not really embarrassed of any of the music that I listen to. Times change, though, and now Burt Bacharach is kind of cool in Brazil. So I'm never embarrassed of the musicians who I think play good music. Musicians who I think play bad music, well, that's a different story!

Beatles or Stones?

Stones. It's about the attitude. They are dirtier, crazier. The Beatles are musically better, but the Stones have better attitude.

Do you have a funny or interesting story from being on tour?

My first time out of Brazil playing, I was booked to play for three days in Spain [at] a place in the south of Spain -- a surf spot, kind of, called Tarifa. I was staying there for a week, but only playing three nights at this one club. That is, until the guy who was booked to play the rest of the week didn't show up. I played a full set every night for the entire week. In the end, I was very happy but my arm really hurt from playing the guitar that much!

Bowen Slate-Greene is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.

Spinner has you covered! Trip the road to Austin with us.

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

1 Comment

Filter by:
Brent Harvey

Congrats Sylvia Patricia for May 2010 Hollywood music in Media nomination http://bit.ly/a3cJZE

Jim DeCicco
Executive Producer
Hollywood Music in Media Awards

June 29 2010 at 5:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply