Banda do Casaco

Banda do Casaco are a Portuguese Prog-Folk band active from 1974 to 1984 considered by some to be one of Portugal's greatest Progressive rock bands. Their seminal album was the "Hoje há Conquilhas, Amanhã não Sabemos" released in 1976.

Beginnings

After the failure of the Filharmónica Fraude project, more for political reasons than quality, Antonio Pinho (singer) and Luis Linhares (keys) joined with the ex Musica Novarum member Nuno Rodrigues (vocalis and guitar) and Celso de Carvalho (Cello and Contra bass) to form the group Banda do Casaco. Many musicians passesd through the band in their active period and many used the band as a springboard for their own careers.

Career

The first album released was 1975's "Dos Benefícios de um Vendido no Reino dos Bonifácios" followed by "Coisas do Arco da Velha" in 1976 which won the "Album of the Year" award in Portugal, notable for the appearance of Candida Branca Flor on vocals. Their most renowned and considered by some, their most experimental, album was their 1977 release "Hoje há Conquilhas, Amanhã não Sabemos" which featured António Pinheiro da Silva on guitar and multi-instrumentalist Rão Kyao. They went on to release Contos da Barbearia in 1978 followd by "No Jardim da Celeste" in 1981 which featured the inclusion of female singer Né Ladeiras and Jerry Marotta, Peter Gabriel's former drummer.The band played live on only three occasions: at Aula Magna, Festa de S. Mateus in Viseu and Casa do Povo in Cacia.In 1982 Pinho left the group to write for Doce but the band continued and released "Também Eu" in 1982. The bands final studio album was "Com Ti Chitas", released in 1984, which featured Ti Chitas (Catarina Sergentina). The group disbanded shortly after. [ [http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3218 BANDA DO CASACO music, discography, MP3, videos and reviews ] ]

tyle

The group joined traditional Portuguese folk music with Progressive rock and their lyrics were often satirical and included social criticism, approaching the idea of crossing modern urbanisation with Portuguese rural history. The band consisted of eight members with instruments including brass, keyboards, strings (violin, cello, contra bass) and vocals (two female vocalists: Judi Brennan and Helena Afonso) [ [http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3218 BANDA DO CASACO music, discography, MP3, videos and reviews ] ]

Modern Day

In 1993, Universal Music re- released the bands first two albums on CD. In November 2006 , their third album, Hoje Há Conquilhas, Amanhã Não Sabemos, was also re-released by the Companhia Nacional de Música.

Discography

Compilations

External links

* [http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3218 Prog Archive Entry for Banda do Casaco]
* [http://www.geocities.com/vilardemouros1971/bandadocasaco.htm General Information (in Portuguese)]

References

Cotrim, João. [http://www.progarchives.com Prog Archives] [http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3218 Prog Archives Banda do Casaco] . Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
* [http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_do_Casaco Majority of this article is translated from the original Portuguese wiki entry]