Marcelo de Campos Velho Birck (born August 13, 1965) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, arranger and guitarist, best known for his work with influential rock band Graforreia Xilarmônica.

Biography

Birck was born in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

, Rio Grande do Sul, on August 13, 1965. He is the nephew of both screenwriter and theater director Carlos Augusto de Campos Velho (better known as Jota Pingo) and film and television actor

Paulo César Pereio Paulo César de Campos Velho, better known as Paulo César Pereio (born 19 October 1940), is a Brazilian actor. Selected filmography * '' The Brave Warrior'' (1968) *'' Iracema: Uma Transa Amazônica'' (1974) * '' A Queda'' (1976) * '' Lucio Flav ...

, and his mother, Rosa Maria de Campos Velho, was the director of the Teatro de Arena de Porto Alegre. Having a penchant for music and arts since his youth, Birck later graduated in music from the

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS) is a Brazilian public federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated univ ...

, and then obtained a master's degree in

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origin ...

at the

Federal University of Goiás The Federal University of Goiás ( pt, Universidade Federal de Goiás, UFG) is a publicly funded university located in the Brazilian state of Goiás, headed in Goiânia and with campuses in the municipalities of Catalão, City of Goiás, and ...

. In 1983, alongside his younger brother Alexandre Birck, future

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...

guitarist Luís "Tchê" Gomes and future Os Cascavelletes bassist Frank Jorge, Marcelo formed the short-lived band Prisão de Ventre, which lasted only for two years. In 1987, he reunited with his brother and Jorge to form, alongside Carlo Pianta, the

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal ...

band Graforreia Xilarmônica. After releasing two critically acclaimed albums, ''Coisa de Louco II'' (1995) and ''Chapinhas de Ouro'' (1998), they broke up in 2000, but reunited after a 5-year hiatus. In 1988, Birck founded a more experimental and "performatic"

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

to Graforreia Xilarmônica, named Aristóteles de Ananias Jr., alongside names such as

Luciano Zanatta Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of '' Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque form is ''Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rapp ...

, Diego Silveira and Chico Machado. They have released a single, self-titled studio album in 1996 before disbanding the following year. In 2000 Birck teamed up with Thomas Dreher and Felipe Faraco to form Os Atonais; their first (and so far only) studio album, ''Em Amplitude Moderada'', came out the same year, amid overwhelmingly positive reviews. Later that year he released his first, self-titled solo album. A follow-up, ''Timbres Não Mentem Jamais'', came out in 2008. Birck has also collaborated with

Jupiter Apple Flávio Basso (26 January 1968 – 21 December 2015), better known by his stage name Júpiter Maçã and by its English-language variation Jupiter Apple, was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker. Before beginning a ...

on his 1997 debut , arranging one of the musician's most well-known songs, "Eu e Minha Ex". He later returned for its 1999 follow-up ''

Plastic Soda ''Plastic Soda'' is the second studio album by the Brazilian musician Jupiter Apple, released on September 1, 1999 by independent label Trama. Unlike its predecessor, it is fully sung in English and mixes more elements of jazz and traditional Bra ...

''. In 2009 he was a guest musician on

Rogério Skylab Rogério Tolomei Teixeira (born September 2, 1956), better known by his stage name Rogério Skylab, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, classical guitarist, poet, essayist, record producer, actor and former television presenter. His uni ...

's live album '' Skylab IX''; he and Skylab (a huge fan of Birck) wrote together the song "Samba de uma Nota Só ao Contrário". From 2002 to 2003 he served as a lecturer of

musical analysis Musical analysis is the study of musical structure in either compositions or performances. According to music theorist Ian Bent, music analysis "is the means of answering directly the question 'How does it work?'". The method employed to answer ...

for the

Santa Catarina State University Santa Catarina State University ( pt, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, UDESC) is a State Public University in Brazil. It was established in 1965. UDESC is located in Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil, primarily in Florianópolis a ...

Discography

With Graforreia Xilarmônica

: ''For a more comprehensive list, see Graforreia Xilarmônica#Discography''

With Aristóteles de Ananias Jr.

With Os Atonais

Solo

Guest appearances

;Jupiter Apple * 1997: (orchestral arrangements in "Eu e Minha Ex") * 1999: ''

'' (electric guitar and arrangements in "The True Love of the Spider") ;Rogério Skylab * 2009: '' Skylab IX'' (lyrics, additional vocals and electric guitar in "Samba de uma Nota Só ao Contrário")

References

External links

Marcelo Birck
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birck, Marcelo 1965 births Living people Brazilian rock singers Brazilian rock musicians Musicians from Rio Grande do Sul Musicians from Porto Alegre 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Brazilian lyricists Brazilian male guitarists 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul alumni Federal University of Goiás alumni Brazilian male singer-songwriters Brazilian singer-songwriters