Ed Motta - AOR (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) '2013; 2021

Tracks list

Maybe it’s because ever since my adolescence, I’ve always been a
keen record collector. So recording is the apex of my career, the moment I most
look forward to, the great reason for making music.

What is AOR? A north-American expression invented by radio stations in the
70’s -“Album Oriented Rock” and also “Adult Oriented
Rock”. The term AOR has several meanings and aesthetic representations:
records of different kinds of music like funk, soul, Brazilian, Argentine,
French, Italian, reggae music, etc, can be described as AOR. Earth Wind & Fire
is one of the best examples. A legendary soul/funk band that has been called AOR
because of its extremely precise production standard.

One of the AOR offshoots is the Westcoast sound, California music, from the
Beach Boys (actually, sunshine pop) to the great production Midas, David Foster.
Pop music at its best as far as technical quality is concerned, both musically
and sonically speaking. Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Pages, Chicago, Toto,
Christopher Cross, Player, Hall & Oates, Boz Scaggs, etc, etc. Thousands of
artists escorted by a whole cult following of sites, parties, new bands and
artists dedicated to this universe. Naturally, all the AOR hits and rarities are
available on YouTube.

This has been one of the most intricate records I’ve ever made. The
mixing rate, for instance, was of one week per song. On most records, especially
in Brazil, one day is set aside for each song. I used to work with two, three
days. One of the greatest talents that I’ve ever encountered in sound
engineering, MarioLeo, was the technician in charge. A shining sound is what you
want in AOR culture, just like an extremely low bass is in a reggae recording.
In the world of pop music, politeness is wrongly taken for coldness, mannerism.
In AOR, technical perfection is a virtue, as in jazz and classical music.

I am very lucky to have had great musicians by my side, each one’s
signature and accent is indispensable so that my arrangements can take on the
life and shape I imagine for them. All of them are outstanding musicians, with
personality and their own sound and style. And I got lucky: Chico Pinheiro,
Bluey, leader of Incognito, as well as legendary guitarist David T.Walker, who
has recorded just about everything and a little more of North-American music
from the 70’s to the present day.

Before listening to this record, the modus vivendi and the AOR imaginary would
put on a Hawaiian shirt à la Magnum PI, slip on a pair of loafers with no
socks like in Miami Vice, get inside a convertible car and drive by coconut
trees at sunset. Drive through Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Miami, Hawaii.
Aloha!

Brazilian producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, translator, and
fanatical record collector, Ed Motta has long been a musical renaissance man; a
forward-thinking standard bearer to music fans in his own country, as well as a
club, radio and festival presence in Europe and Japan; hes less well known on
the American side of the Atlantic. While previous offerings -- notably Poptical,
Dwitza, and Aystelum -- have brought his love for the crossover jazz, rock, and
R&B of the late 1970s into MPB, and he has never assembled them so completely as
he does here. As a genre/radio format, AOR refers to album-oriented rock. For
Motta it has always been more complex, deeper, and wider; it was American music,
regardless of popular genre, that displayed a specific standard in writing,
playing, and production. Though this adheres closely to Steely Dans Becker and
Fagen, one can also hear Maurice White, Rene & Angela, Gino Vannelli, and Jay
Graydon in both charts and mix. He enlisted a cast of Brazils finest studio
players to assist him in this projects realization. Guitars, horns, crisp drums,
organic hand percussion, elegant basslines, Rhodes piano, clavinet, Moog, etc.,
all capture the vibe perfectly. But the writing and singing are pure Motta:
tender, sensual, soulful, and airy, his voice carries a remarkable range that
adorns gorgeous melodies and poetic lyrics. Virtually any song here could have
been a single. The breezy opener Playthings of Love, with graceful interplay
between his Rhodes, electric guitar, bass, and a ticking snare, create a space
for the horns to enter subtly on the second verse. By then the listener is
completely enveloped in the grooving hook. Simple Guy is a summery love song
with a brilliant horn chart that dialogues -- line for line -- with his vocal.
Dondi features a guest appearance by legendary American session guitarist David
T. Walker (of Innervisions, Lets Get It On, and dozens of others). His colorful
chord voicings and lead fills enhance layers of flutes, horn, and crystalline
Rhodes, while his lyrical solo shines through. Smile, with Incognitos Bluey
Maunick on guitar, contains a funky bassline as irresistible as the tunes
melody. The jazz cadence in Dried Flowers, illustrated by Wurlitzer, ARP
strings, vibes, fat brass, and reeds, is underscored by Sergio Melos breakbeats
binding the tune forever to R&B. The sets most musically ambitious moment is
Farmers Wife, which artfully melds sophisticated pop, progressive rock, and
jazz. The only track in Portuguese (on the American English version) is Mais Do
Que Ei Sei, co-written with Dudu Falçao. It is a sinuous rock tune that adds
considerable contrast and dimension to whats already here. For Motta, AOR is not
mere nostalgia for an era, but a musical standard he aspired to. He not only
accomplished it but left his own mark as well. (Thom Jurek, AMG)

Ed Motta, vocals and keyboard
Paulinho Guitarra, guitar
Miguel Casais, drums
Matti Klein, piano
Hannes Hüfken, bass
Sebastian Borkowski, saxophone
Stefan Ulrich, trumpet

Tracklist:
 01. Ed Motta - Playthings of Luv (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (05:56)
 02. Ed Motta - Simple Guy (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (03:34)
 03. Ed Motta - Lost in the Night (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (03:55)
 04. Ed Motta - Dondi (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (05:28)
 05. Ed Motta - Smile (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (04:20)
 06. Ed Motta - 1978 (Leave the Radio on) (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (04:38)
 07. Ed Motta - Dried Flowers (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (04:40)
 08. Ed Motta - AOR (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (00:22)
 09. Ed Motta - Farmer´s Wife (24 Bit Remaster, 2021) (05:59)

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