Karnak is a band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

, from São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. They are known for mixing diverse music styles from around the world with pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 and rock. Many critics consider Karnak's music style to be world music

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

, although the band rejects this label, claiming that their "ethnic" sound results from their intuition, not from researches.

Creation

In 1992, lead singer 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...

 André Abujamra

André Abujamra

André Cibelli Abujamra of Lebanese origin is a critically and internationally acclaimed Brazilian score composer, musician, singer, guitarist, actor and comedian...

, had ended his musical duo Os Mulheres Negras with Maurício Pereira and went travelling throughout the world with an audio recorder

Tape recorder

An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...

 in his hand, collecting every kind of music he could find, with the idea of creating a band that combined these various styles with Brazilian regional music and modern styles like rock, pop and electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

. One of the destinations of his trip was the ancient tomb

Tomb

A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...

s of Karnak

Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...

. He was deeply affected by those tombs and decided to name his band after it.
Upon returning to Brazil, he recruited musicians for the band, mostly from among his friends. He even kept two drummers in the band because both were old friends and he could not dismiss one of them. The project swelled to include 10 musicians, two actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

s and a dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

. The band rehearsed for a year before playing a concert, and soon became known for their unusual shows featuring comedy sketches and unusual attire, especially a penchant for odd hats.

First album, recognition in Brazil

In 1995 they released their first album, Karnak. The album was released by the now defunct Brazilian label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 Tinitus. After the label's demise, the album was re-released some years after by another label, Net Records. The album was praised by critics but got little airtime on commercial radio, however, Karnak became well-known on university radio stations around São Paulo and it even got some videos played in Brazilian MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

.

Second album, international tours

The band's second album, Universo Umbigo (Bellybutton Universe), in 1997, was released by Velas, another now-defunct label. The lineup had by this time reached its apex, with 15 persons, including a belly dancer. In Brazil, the album had less impact that the first one, and to this day it is out of catalog and available only as download at emusic

EMusic

eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City with an office in London and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers....

 stores under the name of "Karnak Universo". Although it did not do well in their own country, it became popular to some extent on college radio in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

After the release, Karnak toured the USA, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 in 1998. They changed the name of the band to "The Karnak", but quickly changed it back. Several members left the band, bringing the total membership down to nine. In the same year, they released a "best of" album in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, called Original. The album featured songs from the first two albums, plus a French version of the song Alma Não Tem Cor (Souls doesn't have colors) and a remix of the song Comendo Uva na Chuva (Eating grapes in the rain) by André Abujamra.

Third album

Upon the band's return to Brazil the next year, they started to record their third album, Estamos Adorando Tóquio (We are loving Tokio). With the lineup down to seven members, the album was released in 2000, by Net Records, an independent label that aims to find alternative ways of distributing, selling, etc., to lower costs - making the records less tempting to music pirates. Thus, the album was sold in newspaper stands at a cheaper price than in record stores.
The band went touring internationally again in 2001.
The album, in terms, was as successful as the first one; although in the mainstream media its impact wasn't the same as the 1995 record, they played more shows, gathered more fans and became a little more known outside São Paulo.

Hiatus

However, on December 16, 2002, André Abujamra wrote a message to Karnak producer Belma Ikeda which she forwarded to the largest e-mail based discussion list about the band. The content of the message stunned the fans: it explained that the band felt that a cycle was finished, so, they were stopping their activities. Their two scheduled shows for the next week would be their last. The concerts were converted into a celebration of the band's existence, and featured the presence of all Karnak members and ex-members, totaling almost twenty people on stage.

The next year, 2003, a two-disc compilation of "pirate" live recordings

Live Music

Live Music is a reggaeton company owned by DJ Giann.-Artists:* Jowell & Randy* Tony Lenta* Watussi* De La Ghetto* Guelo Star* Galante "El Emperador"-Producers:*DJ Blass*Dexter*Mr. Greenz*DJ Giann*Los Hitmen*Dirty Joe*ALX...

 was officially released, under the name Os Piratas do Karnak (The pirates of Karnak).

Returning to activities

Although André confirmed that Karnak was finished, they have performed at least once a year since 2003, usually in SESC Pompéia, a culture complex located in São Paulo. Then, in one of these seasonal performances, in 2006, André announced that the band was resuming their activities. He attributed their pause, humorously or not, to his uncertainty whether or not he would survive a gastric bypass surgery

Gastric bypass surgery

Gastric bypass procedures are any of a group of similar operations that first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to allow both pouches to stay connected to it. Surgeons have developed several different ways...

. He promised that the band would record a new album with new original songs.

Karnak can be seen now giving concerts in the city of São Paulo and sometimes in other nearby cities. The lineup changes constantly from one gig to another, except for the "golden members", who are present at almost every show.

Karnak's Multicolored Book

At the end of 2006 the mockumentary

Mockumentary

A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...

 The Karnak's Multicolored Book was released. The film narrates a fictitious behind-the-scenes of a 2004 secret Chinese

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 tour, but in fact it documents the bands supposed "final gig" in 2002. It premiered in the 30th annual São Paulo International Film Festival, and is available for download for those who access Karnak's community on orkut

Orkut

Orkut is a social networking website that is owned and operated by Google Inc. The service is designed to help users meet new and old friends and maintain existing relationships...

.

Albums

• Karnak - 1995
• Universo Umbigo - 1997
• Estamos Adorando Tóquio - 2000

Compilations

• Original - 1999
• Os Piratas do Karnak (live recordings) - 2003

From start to end ("the golden members")

• André Abujamra
  André Abujamra
  André Cibelli Abujamra of Lebanese origin is a critically and internationally acclaimed Brazilian score composer, musician, singer, guitarist, actor and comedian...
  
   - vocals, electric guitar
• Marcos Bowie - trumpet, vocals
• Hugo Hori - saxophone, vocals
• Kuki Stolarski - drums
• Eduardo Cabello - electric guitar

Other members

• Luiz Macedo - electric guitar (1992–1996)
• Paulo Gregori - performances (1992–1996)
• Sérgio Bártolo - bass (1992–2001, occasionally since)
• Lulu Camargo - keyboards and samplers (1992–2001)
• Carneiro Sândalo - drums (1992–1999)
• James Müller - percussion (1992/1999)
• Jeton - Sândalo's dog (1992–1999)
• Lloyd Bonnemaison - saxophone (1997–1999)
• Tiquinho - trombone (1997–1999)
• Zuzu - belly dancer (1997–1999)
• Mano Bap - bass, electric guitar (1996–2000, occasionally since)
• Juliano Beccari - keyboards and samplers (2001-)

Solo and parallel careers

• André Abujamra: released three solo albums: O Infinito de Pé (The Infinite standing up), in 2004; Retransformafrikando (a pun on the words Retransforming, Staying and Africa), in 2007; and Mafaro (Laughter in Shona language
  Shona language
  Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...
  
  ), in 2010.
• Lulu Camargo: official member of Brazilian band Pato Fu
  Pato Fu
  Pato Fu is a Brazilian rock band from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The band was formed by lead singer Fernanda Takai, guitarist John Ulhoa and bassist Ricardo Koctus, in 1992. Their drummer, Xande Tamietti, joined the band in 1996, as did keyboardist Lulu Camargo in 2005...
  
   since 2005.
• Hugo Hori, Kuki Stolarski, Juliano Beccari, Sérgio Bártolo, James Müller: currently members of Brazilian band Funk Como Le Gusta.
• Kuki Stolarski is also member of Brazilian band Bojo. The band had once Lulu Camargo in its lineup.
• Mano Bap, Hugo Hori and Juliano Beccari are also members of the Brazilian band The Central Scrutinizer Band, along with Marcos Bowie.