Brahma Open Air 2007 – the fest of Brazilian culture on the Kyiv beach
The fans of beach partying should rejoice, as Brahma Open Air’2007 music festival is coming to Ukraine’s three busiest cities: Kyiv, Odessa and Yalta. Since the fest is hosted by a Brazilian beer brand, the theme of the festival is obvious – Brazil, with its traditional music, sports, dances and visual art all taking place on a sunny beach.
In terms of music the festival will be like a Brazilian carnival, with its fusion of various styles and trends. Among the artists to perform are world famous deejays: Yonderboi from Hungary, Telepopmusic and deejay Antipop from France, Lucio K from Brazil, DJ Menno De Jong from Netherlands and the Ukrainian musicians Esthetic Education, Tomato Jaws and A Banda Brazil, all of them playing very diverse music styles that have just one thing in common – they are all quite similar in their unconventionality.
The Brazilian theme of the fest should be exemplified by the music by Lucio K from Rio de Janeiro, who mixes drum’n’bass, jazz, samba and bossa nova at the disco parties of Ibiza, Germany, Italy and Canada. The energetic, light sound of Brazilian music is also vividly utilized by the Ukrainian music group A Banda Brazil, playing Brazilian folk music and adding original Portuguese lyrics to the authentic tunes. Another Ukrainian band, Tomato Jaws, will entertain the audience with their deep house electronica, combined with live vocals and light flute tunes. The mild sound of the French trip-hop masters Telepopmusic and deejay Antipop, who were nominated at both the Grammy Music Awards and Les Victoires de la Musique, will also add some positive emotions to the Brazilian party.
The trip-hop part will also be represented by the new guru of electronic music, Yonderboi (Laslo Fogarsi), who this summer will also take part in popular European festivals like B’estival (Bucharest, Romania) and Sziget (Budapest, Hungary). The musician had already become well known by the age of twenty, right after his first album “Shallow and Profound” was released in 2000. His latest album “Splendid Isolation” (2005) only increased his popularity.
The most famous of all local representatives at the festival, Kyiv band Esthetic Education, will add some of its slightly depressive sound to the show. It will be the band’s second performance before a large audience after the presentation of their latest album “Werewolf,” which is a mix of several styles – britpop, indie, rock, and post-punk.
The young and talented DJ Menno De Jong, who is referred to as the future of the world’s trance and electro music, also found time to visit Ukraine. At only 22-years-old, he has already debuted in the DJ Mag Top 100 at number 72 and takes place number 14 on the world’s biggest trance site, Trance Addict.
During the Brahma Open Air fest, the Ukrainian audience will also get acquainted with the Brazilian philosophy ginga, which is an optimistic, festive and passionate attitude towards life. Ginga is considered to be one of the basics of the whole Brazilian lifestyle, which can bee seen in everything – from women walking along the streets to players on the soccer field. Ginga is an element of traditional Brazilian sports – capoeira (a martial art and game at the same time), which will also be held during the festival.
Another Brazilian trademark is graffiti art, which is highly appreciated in the country and makes it a “graffiti capital.” During the festival, you’ll get to see Brazilian graffiti by the graffiti artist Speto (Paulo Cesar Silva) as he creates his works, as well as attend a short master-class by him. Being able to paint in a classic style, he nevertheless enjoys mashing up different national trends, like Russian dolls, Hindi symbolism, Japanese animation, and painted pumpkins, elaborating his own vision of life. Besides graffiti, the audience will be able to take part in body-art, tattoo and hair styling sessions, all done in ginga style.
The fest will also include various sports, fun competitions and master-classes for samba, frisbee, hacky sack, ping-pong, and kite-flying. In the evening, Brazilian art house shorts will be screened, most vividly depicting the philosophy of ginga and the Brazilian lifestyle.
Jeans Beach Club by Opium (Hydropark).June 30. From noon till 4 a.m.
