Arnaldo Antunes


Arnaldo Antunes is a Brazilian singer, writer, and composer. He was a member of the rock band Titãs, which he co-founded in 1982 and left ten years later. After 1992, he embarked on a solo career. He has published poetry and had his first book published in 1983. He has worked with Marisa Monte, Tribalistas, Carlinhos Brown and Pequeno Cidadão.
WWW arnaldoantunes.com.br𝕏 antunes_arnaldoFB arnaldo.antunes

Childhood

Arnaldo was born on September 2, 1960, to Arnaldo Augusto Nora Antunes and Dora Leme Ferreira. He was the fourth of seven children. In 1967, he enrolled in Luís de Camões school and studied there until 1972. During the following year, he attended PUC SP, where he first got involved with the local art scene. In 1975 he met Paulo Miklos, a classmate at Colégio Equipe. In 1978, he went to study Portuguese and literature at USP.

Career with Titãs

In 1979, Antunes formed his first band, Banda Performática, with his then-wife. In 1982, Titãs do Iê-Iê was formed, with Antunes as a founder. In 1984, they release their self-titled debut album. In 1992, Antunes decided to leave Titãs, after recording seven albums with the band, due to musical differences. His departure was announced on 15 December 1992.
On 13 November 1985, he was arrested for heroin trafficking after the police found 128 mg of the drug in his apartment in São Paulo. The officers arrived there after arresting his Titãs bandmate Tony Bellotto, who was found with 30 mg in a taxi after leaving Antunes's place. Due to the quantity that Antunes had at home, he was accused of trafficking while Bellotto was only charged with possession. Antunes had bought the drug at the Rose Bom Bom nightclub, with money from a performance at a show organized by Fernando Henrique Cardoso's campaign; he was then running for mayor of São Paulo. At the precinct, he was put in an individual cell, since the sheriff considered imprudent to put him among 90 dangerous robbers.

Solo career

In 1993 he released his solo debut album Nome, a "multimedia project associating poetry and music", featuring João Donato, Marisa Monte and Arto Lindsay as guest stars, and short computer animation features. The Nome video was shown in art venues and festivals in Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Netherlands, Monaco, Uruguay, Cuba, Chile, Colombia and the US.
As a solo artist, Arnaldo Antunes later released Ninguém, O Silêncio, Um Som, Paradeiro and Saiba. He also released other albums in special projects, such as O Corpo, a specially produced soundtrack for Grupo Corpo, a dance company from Minas Gerais, and the album Os Tribalistas, a collaborative project with Marisa Monte and Carlinhos Brown.
His compositions have been used in the soundtrack of several films, including Blue in the Face, directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster; Bicho de Sete Cabeças, directed by Lais Bodanzki; Dois Perdidos Numa Noite Suja, adapted from a novel by Plínio Marcos and directed by José Joffily; and Benjamim, adapted from a novel by Chico Buarque and directed by Monique Gardenberg.
His album A Curva da Cintura, a collaboration with Ira! guitarist Edgard Scandurra and Toumani Diabaté from Mali, achieved a number 5 in the World Music Charts Europe in August 2012.
His album RSTUVXZ was ranked as the 16th best Brazilian album of 2018 by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone magazine.
In 2020, humoristic group Porta dos Fundos released a new version of "A Marcha do Demo" by Vestidos de Espaço with Antunes on vocals in order to promote their Christmas special Teocracia em Vertigem. The version received a video in which Antunes is seen singing in studio and the Porta dos Fundos members are seen singing under social distancing. Making-of footage is also shown.

Personal life

From 1980 to 1987, he was married to Go. Right after they broke up, he married Zaba Moreau, with whom he had four children:

Discography

With Titãs

Solo

  • Nome
  • Ninguém
  • O Silêncio
  • Um Som
  • Focus – O Essencial de Arnaldo Antunes
  • O Corpo
  • Paradeiro
  • Saiba
  • Qualquer
  • Ao Vivo em Estúdio
  • Iê Iê Iê
  • Pequeno Cidadão
  • Acústico MTV – Arnaldo Antunes
  • Disco
  • ''Já é''

Collaborations

  • A Curva da Cintura
  • Lágrimas no Mar

Guest appearances