Year 2000. Joćo MacDowell, under the stage name of Joćo Kahuna launches his first solo CD: parece que existo - It Seems I Exist. The entire CD was recorded and mixed by the artist himself. Joćo weaves together unusual sound textures in songs that poetically express the urban reality of present day Brazil. The Portuguese lyrics lend an expressive feel to the sound of his voice. The eleven tracks feature varied beats, with one, Uma Noite, being augmented by a multimedia video clip of digital images.
Joćo has been a pioneer in Brazilian electronic music. The sonic mixture in this album places him at the cutting edge of a growing trend. Contemporary Brazilian pop is becoming increasingly popular across the world with the success of works such as the singer Daśde, the band Zuco 103 and the project Bossa Cuca Nova. It Seems I Exist builds on this popularity, while also taking it in exciting new directions.
Kahuna was born and raised in Brasilia, Brazil's remote capital. There he created the experimental-pop band called Tonton Macoute, whose importance was already recognized by the national press in the late eighties. Since then, his musical experience has gone far beyond the hinterlands. His sound track for the short film Féssoas, directed by Mauro Giuntinni, was awarded the first prize in the Thirteenth Guarniź Film and Video Festival of Sao Luiz do Maranhao. His songs, such as Dois Amantes, Electric Light and A Pele have received extensive airplay on independent radio stations all over Brazil.
Having moved to Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago, where he created the label and studio Qualquer Nota Records, Joćo has worked as arranger and producer on several CDs for up and coming Rio artists, such as Fabio Lobo, Patricia Bady, Rodrigo Ponichi and Claudia Otero.
At the beginning of 1999 Joćo returned to the stage. At first, with an acoustic trio, he made his debut in the historical Beco das Garrafas, a jazz club in Copacabana where such great artists as Tom Jobin, Joćo Gilberto, Elis Regina and Elza Soares also started their careers. Since June, Joćo created O Sotaque da Socata, a six piece band that uses, along with conventional instruments, a wide array of junk metal percussion instruments. Joćo's love of rhythmic experimentation comes through powerfully in both this current CD and in his live performances. .
