Cê
Encyclopedia
cê is an album
by Brazilian
singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Caetano Veloso
. Released on 1 September 2006 on Mercury Records
, the album took its title from the colloquial Portuguese
word meaning you. It was written with Veloso's band in mind, which was chosen in part by percussionist Pedro Sá. cê received mixed critical commentary; several critics specifically noted the album's lyrical focus on human sexuality
.
personal pronoun
você, meaning you. Veloso says that cê is a more "colloquial" version of você, used often in everyday speech. When he writes lyrics, Veloso typically writes the word você, but sings cê when performing. The inspiration for the album's title came when he wrote cê instead of você and thought of it as an appropriate title.
Veloso designed the album's cover himself, as he had done before for three other albums. He went through a long design process in which the cover's colors, fonts, and text positioning were changed frequently. Veloso chose the color purple for the cover's background because it is mentioned multiple times in the album itself.
When asked about the "tightness" of the album's sound by The Boston Globe
s Siddhartha Mitter, Veloso responded that he had intended for the songs to be realized in this manner and that the young musicians he had hired to work on the album allowed him to do this.
subject matter received attention from nearly every critic reviewing it, described as "carnal" by New York Times
reviewer Nate Chinen. Brazilian music expert Dário Borim Jr. wrote, "Veloso's disc as a whole displays a plethora of poetic representations and pervasive preoccupation with sex and gloom." In particular, Borim noted the album's theme of unconventional sexual roles and Veloso's uncertainty of his sexual orientation
.
, which corresponds with "generally favorable reviews." Writing for The New Yorker
, music journalist Sasha Frere-Jones
described the album as closest to indie rock
, compared to Veloso's previous records—"' cê resists the anodyne charms of Brazilian pop, favoring loud, blocky rhythms more common to American garage bands." Frere-Jones went on to describe the fluidity of the album, falling very loosely into the rock music
genre classification. Ben Ratliff, of The New York Times, noted that cê fell on the "petty end of the emotional spectrum" and that its compositions were raw and unpolished.
Allmusic's Philip Jandovský rated the album with three out of five stars. He wrote that cê, while not poor, lacked the creative spark that is Veloso's trademark. Conversely, Mallory O'Donnell of Stylus Magazine
, who gave the album an A- rating, saw it as one of Veloso's better recent works, compared to 2004's A Foreign Sound, in particular. Village Voice
critic Mike Powell also compared cê to A Foreign Sound and noted that cês relative simplicity was its "triumph". David Wilson of Wilson & Alroy's gave the album two stars and felt that "the band is out of tune, out of time, and out of ideas". cê was awarded the Latin Grammy
for Best Singer-Songwriter Album
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Brazilian
Music of Brazil
The music of Brazil encompasses various regional music styles influenced by African, European and Amerindian forms. After 500 years of history, Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, zouk-lambada, lambada, choro, bossa nova, frevo, maracatu, MPB, sertanejo,...
singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
. Released on 1 September 2006 on Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, the album took its title from the colloquial Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
word meaning you. It was written with Veloso's band in mind, which was chosen in part by percussionist Pedro Sá. cê received mixed critical commentary; several critics specifically noted the album's lyrical focus on human sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
.
Title and cover
The word cê is a shortened version of the PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
personal pronoun
Personal pronoun
Personal pronouns are pronouns used as substitutes for proper or common nouns. All known languages contain personal pronouns.- English personal pronouns :English in common use today has seven personal pronouns:*first-person singular...
você, meaning you. Veloso says that cê is a more "colloquial" version of você, used often in everyday speech. When he writes lyrics, Veloso typically writes the word você, but sings cê when performing. The inspiration for the album's title came when he wrote cê instead of você and thought of it as an appropriate title.
Veloso designed the album's cover himself, as he had done before for three other albums. He went through a long design process in which the cover's colors, fonts, and text positioning were changed frequently. Veloso chose the color purple for the cover's background because it is mentioned multiple times in the album itself.
Band and recording
Veloso wrote most of the album's material with its band in mind and played the music as a complete unit with the band. Guitarist and percussionist Pedro Sá had already been confirmed as a participant on the album, and he was invited to pick other musicians for it. cês primary recording was completed in two weeks as a result of the extensive rehearsals conducted in the few months prior, and the extended recording process, including the production of rhythm tracks, extended for another six weeks.When asked about the "tightness" of the album's sound by The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
s Siddhartha Mitter, Veloso responded that he had intended for the songs to be realized in this manner and that the young musicians he had hired to work on the album allowed him to do this.
Lyrics and themes
cês lyricalLyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
subject matter received attention from nearly every critic reviewing it, described as "carnal" by New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer Nate Chinen. Brazilian music expert Dário Borim Jr. wrote, "Veloso's disc as a whole displays a plethora of poetic representations and pervasive preoccupation with sex and gloom." In particular, Borim noted the album's theme of unconventional sexual roles and Veloso's uncertainty of his sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
.
Critical Reception
cê received a rating of 75 percent on the online review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which corresponds with "generally favorable reviews." Writing for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, music journalist Sasha Frere-Jones
Sasha Frere-Jones
Sasha Frere-Jones is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for Pretty Decorating, ego trip, Hit It And Quit It, Mean, Slant, The New York Post, The Wire, The Village Voice, Slate, Spin, and The New York Times...
described the album as closest to indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, compared to Veloso's previous records—"
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
genre classification. Ben Ratliff, of The New York Times, noted that cê fell on the "petty end of the emotional spectrum" and that its compositions were raw and unpolished.
Allmusic's Philip Jandovský rated the album with three out of five stars. He wrote that cê, while not poor, lacked the creative spark that is Veloso's trademark. Conversely, Mallory O'Donnell of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
, who gave the album an A- rating, saw it as one of Veloso's better recent works, compared to 2004's A Foreign Sound, in particular. Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
critic Mike Powell also compared cê to A Foreign Sound and noted that cês relative simplicity was its "triumph". David Wilson of Wilson & Alroy's gave the album two stars and felt that "the band is out of tune, out of time, and out of ideas". cê was awarded the Latin Grammy
Latin Grammy Awards of 2007
The 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place on November 8, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.The show aired on Univision. Juan Luis Guerra was the nights big winner winning 5 awards including Album of the Year...
for Best Singer-Songwriter Album
Latin Grammy Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album
The Latin Grammy Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the United States and internationally. The...
.
Personnel
- Caetano VelosoCaetano VelosoCaetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary... - Pedro Sá – guitar
- Ricardo Dias Gomes – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Marcello Callado – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....