How was it in São Paulo?
Fabulous…crazy…very exciting and colder and wetter than you’d imagine! São Paulo is a city of 20-25 million people so it’s like London and Paris and Birmingham and Manchester all rolled into one. Like London, it’s a really cosmopolitan city, full of peoples from all over the world so it’s a great place to be a foreigner because so many people are. And it’s got a really high population of young people so, musically, there is a lot going on.

What’s the news since the troubles they had there recently?
It was really strange being here and reading about the prison riots in São Paulo state — I would have felt more comfortable being back their and knowing what was really going on. I emailed a couple of friends who live just off Avenida Paulista (the main street in the centre of São Paulo, and essentially the economic centre of Latin America) and they said that Paulista was deserted after the weekend (you can quite often be in a traffic jam at 1AM on Paulista!) with virtually no traffic, no buses and no shops open. No shops that is apart from MacDonalds — the wonders of modern capitalism, the city is brought to its knees, you can’t get a bus to work but you can get a Big Mac!

Did you get to go to Rio de Janeiro?
Rio is about 6 hours by bus from São Paulo so yes, I went quite a few times. It’s mental. Beautiful, chaotic, exciting… everything you’ve heard and much much more. We stayed up in Santa Teresa, a lovely boho neighbourhood on a precarious hill, full of gorgeous and run down art deco houses. Ronnie Biggs used to live there — in fact, we met the lady who now owns his house! It’s such a different city from São Paulo, a city where you live to work. Cariocas are so hip (a carioca is someone from Rio de Janeiro) they cut about town like they’re in a movie and they don’t take anything seriously. OK, I know that’s a bit of a cliché… but it’s so true!!!

Thanks to my wonderful friends Alfredo Bello and Simone Soul, I was also lucky enough to meet and do some recording with Robertinho Silva, an amazing drummer and percussionist who played with the likes of Milton Nascimento, Wagner Tiso and Egberto Gismonti as well as recording some extraordinary solo work. It was a fairly bonkers session but wow, what an education!

Did you get to any other parts of Brasil?
We did a couple of trips in the north east of Brasil: going to Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Ceará as well as a few brief weekends in the interior of São Paulo, Espíritu Santo and Minas Gerais. The northeast is like a different country, some of it is just incredibly poor and for me, having done very little traveling outside of Europe it was quite a shock to encounter people living in such unbelievably basic conditions. If you stay in Pelorinho — the old town in Salvador de Bahia — it’s impossible to go for 5 minutes without some kids coming up to you and asking for money or food. Morally, I think it’s really tough to know what the right thing to do is. I bought so many kids lunch, but in the long term that’s not actually helping anyone. That’s quite a serious answer but I think you have to acknowledge this issue. Brasil is both a first world and a third world country and it’s well known that it has the greatest wealth disparities outside of Africa.

Culturally, though the northeast is just extraordinary. It’s the epicentre of the Brazilian experience, the melting pot of African, European and indigenous cultures. A lot of my friends in São Paulo who are musicians are really well hooked up with lots of traditional music around Brasil, so we were lucky enough to get to go to all manner of lesser known events and places like the annual congadas in Espíritu Santo state at Christmas time, the fiesta de São Benedito in Tietê, the Jogos Indigenous (Indian Games) in Fortaleza and to Cocqueiro Seco — a tiny fishing village in Alagoas where we saw a group of Bahian women singing traditional music to the fiercest and heaviest percussion accompaniment I’ve ever heard!

So you’ve got some big tunes to play when you DJ now?
I did pick up a lot of vinyl and CDs when I was in Brasil. I think my top find was a 7” by Johnny Alf, ‘Samba De Retorno’ (1969). I have no idea if I got lots of big tunes or real rarities, I just wanted to buy music I like. I did a mix for Michael Rütten’s Soul Patrol (Compost Radio) a couple of weeks back of all old and new Brasil stuff (see links below. Hectic highly recommends).

There’s just so much stuff in Brasil, but on the new music tip, look out for Cidadão Instigado’s new album E O Método Túfo De Experiências on Slag Records, new albums from the Instituto collective, and their hip hop prodigy Z’Africa Brasil, stunning debuts by Batucajé and Projeto Cru (more info from www.projetocru.com.br - in English and Português) and Dinho Nascimento’s recent Ser-Hum-Mano on Genteboa.

Sterns in London is a good place to start looking for imported Brazilian stuff and if you want to buy vinyl in São Paulo, head to the feira at Bendito Calixto in Pinheiros every Saturday (the prices are fair and I always got a discount when I chatted with the stall holders in Português!) And go down to Praça da Sé and try ALL the second hand shops around there. For CDs, don’t go to FNAC, it’s a rip - go to Pops on Rua Teodoro Sampaio which is bargainous!

You’re originally from Reading and are now living in Glasgow, what’s that like?
You know, I love the idea of living in London but I just can’t afford it. I’m a musician and I don’t make a lot of money, but you can live a really nice life in a city like Glasgow on a much lower income. It’s a smaller community of musicians and sometimes it feels a bit too small, but generally everyone is very friendly and keen to hook up and help each other. Plus I do so much communication by email with people around the world, so really where you are is less important. And you can get up to the highlands in a few minutes, and if the weather’s good it’s just one of the most beautiful places in the world.

It seems a long time since your album, Resolution (Fenetik) came out, what are your next plans?
I know, it’s been a long time. I got some funding from the Scottish Arts Council to record a new album, which has been a huge help. So I’m currently working on a lot of material that should start to see the light of day soon (i.e. starting next year!) There’s going to be another Sidewinder album, entirely sample based and sounding not dissimilar to ‘Ego Riot’ and then a sample-free kind of Latin-funk-fusion album which is with my band (catch our monthly residency, previewing new material at The Jazz Bar, Chambers St. in Edinburgh starting on Saturday June 17th) and finally a more cinematic soundtrack style album which is a collaboration with two friends David Paul Jones (composer and classical pianist) and Alyth MacCormack (Gaelic singer). Don’t ask me about time scale on that one. I think it’s important for musicians to make good records, regardless of how long it takes. I’m not interested in being fashionable and I don’t care that the industry demands I put a record out every year. When the music is good and finished it will come out, but not before!

On the remix front, you did The Fusion Experience’s ‘Scaramunga’ recently. Any more remixes forthcoming?
I did a mix of Bossa Futura’s ‘Sol A Luna’ for Further Out whilst I was away, I think it’s due out in July. I also did some quite fun folky/electronic mixes of a singer called Ella Bell for a label in Glasgow just before I went away last year but I have no idea what’s happening with it. You can hear some current stuff on my now ubiquitous myspace page (see below links).

Before you do go to his myspace site, check that Compost Radio mix first and I definitely need to get hold of that ‘Sol A Luna’ remix. And if you need some more Sidewinder Radio, there’s his Radio Magnetic show. Blimey! I think Alan’s the most FLY (Global Music Culture) bloke I’ve met so far (apart from the Ed. of course) and it’s great that we’ve got lots to look forward to from the Sidewinder. Stay tuned as they say.

Links:
www.myspace.com/stanwaysrevenge
http://www.stanwaysrevenge.com
www.fenetik.co.uk
Radio Magnetic Archive
The Jazz Bar. 1a Chambers Street. Tel: 0131 220 4298. www.thejazzbar.co.uk “Sidewinder
The Edinburgh debut of Alan Bryden’s Glasgow-based outfit, with fresh live Brazil-electro fusion grooves”
David Paul Jones www.davidpauljones.com
Alyth MacCormack
Ella Bell www.ellabell.co.uk “Free Download of ‘Drink To Love’ as featured in the ITV Drama “Donovon”.
Sterns Music www.sternsmusic.com
SATURN RADIO @ Market Place, 11 Market Place, off Gt Portland St. London W1… 4th Wednesday of the month… 7pm-12am, free entry… Oxford Circus tube www.marketplace-london.com Wednesday 29th May : “This month we welcome back from his sojourn in Brasil Alan Bryden aka Sidewinder… “
Compost Radio 111 Feat. Sidewinder + Phoneheads on SamuraiFM [Click HERE]
Tracklisting: SIDEWINDER’S OLDSCHOOL NEWSCHOOL BRASILIAN SELECTION

• Johnny Alf E Sexteto Contraponto - Samba De Retorno - Rozenblit 7”
• Clara Nunes - E^ Baiana - Odeon
• Elza Soares - Rio Carnaval Dos Carnavais - Odeon
• Os Originais Do Samba - LaL Vem Salgueiro - RCA
• SiLtio Do Picapau Amarelo - SiLtio Do Picapau Amarelo Espacial - Som Livre
• Tim Maia - Voce E Eu, Eu E Voce - Polydor/Universal
• A Barca - Mucura - Petrobras/label unknown
• Monobloco - Rap Do Cartao Postal - MPB / Universal
• BatucajeL - Ginga Simone - Mundo Melhor CDR
• Eduardo Nazarian - Pega Leve - label unknown
• Dinho Nascimento - Saci Perere Tem Uma Pena SoL - Genteboa
• Funk Como Le Gusta - Toneladas (Sixteen Tons) - ST2
• Junio Barreto - Do Caipora Ao Mar - Tratore

Robertinho Silva “one of the most significant Brazilian artists of the last decades. His art is to play the drums”