HI-BRAZIL: atlantic forest

When Justice comes from Nature

The plot

A faint cold still hangs over the island of Guaiaó this spring. It was right here, in this small island to the South of the Atlantic, that the settlers came to the lands known by the Indians, ancient inhabitants of these lands, as Enguaguaçu. That, in Tupi-Guarani, means Great Bay. Received by the natives with awe and curiosity, they responded with gunfire to any attempt of approaching. The reports of the historians are clear to narrate the slaughter that ensued from there.

The genocide did not spare the children or the elderly. It was necessary to establish there, in those lands "wild" and populated by "pagans", the first village of the conquered country. To draw away their wealth and send back portions to the colonialist crown. And the green of the forest was dyed red ...

The same red which tinged the trunk of Brazil Wood, wood so valuable to the trade that they were not slow to cut down forests. Miles and miles of virgin forest were destroyed in the name of the economic growth of the colony. After all, it was necessary to expand the cities ... and ensure the continued extraction of wealth. And the green of the forest was dyed brown …

The same brown that now paints the land infertile and the rivers of the metropolis. Aquatic beds that once sustained fish, but which pollution turned into mud and sewage. Today flooded with putrid waste from residents, who work tirelessly to maintain economic growth of the cities, extracting oil from the depths of the earth, so the settler receives the portions due to him. And the sand was dyed black …

The music

In June 2010, we had programmed some rhythmic bases on tribal divisions with 100 BPM, with a focus on the human heartbeat. Maurício asked Andrew to sing what could come to his mind. Diving in the first layers of percussion, the lyrics and melody came out of his mouth in a single take, recorded in one of the few cold nights of winter here in Southern Hemisphere.

In the arrangement, we agreed to use the instruments and voices tuned based on the Pythagorean musical scale, with the note A = 432 Hz, instead of the usual 440 Hz. The message of the lyrics, we realized during editing, is divided in four different views (voices).
The first of these voices is that of Justice itself, that brings freedom to the enslaved peoples in the form of revenge. Not the vengeance of men, offered under the weight of their laws and judgments. But the rematch, the turnaround practiced by natural laws, theologically symbolized by the Divine Justice, which represents the reaction for every action, the unspeakable consequences of our actions.

She (the Justice) brings fire in her hands, symbolizing the flame of consciousness. The awareness that will make itself known - whether by love, either by pain. Whether because we accept our fate, either because we suffer trying to change it. Only the conscience offers salvation.

The second "voice" is the speech of the conquered peoples. Suffering while waiting for a solution to their destination. But they remain hopeful and are able to redeem their ancestor contact with the Sacred Feminine in the form of Justice, making rise, thus, this power over them. They are the "little ones".

The third is the voice of the shaman, the wise one who, if not reached the ultimate state of enlightenment, yet is able to establish a bridge between the divine and the profane. He emerges as the messenger, who has visions, glimpses of what lies ahead. It is he who sees the flame of consciousness transforming the oppressor, consuming his soul so he can realize his faults and has the opportunity to correct them, transforming this way, himself and the environment.

The fourth and last is exactly the voice of the one who oppresses, of the one who commits injustice against their brethren. And which inevitably will see arises in the horizon the sign of the consequences of his ambition, of his desperate struggle for power. Power over the other because he is unable to maintain control over himself. This character is revealed by the irregular verb conjugation of a few phrases of the lyrics, which identifies him as a "foreigner" who does not speak the language or not knows the the habits of the people which he subjugates.

What is positively astonishing - and there lies the role of lyricism in the lyrics - is that, even knowing that, under the sword of Justice, he will have to abandon the old rules and choices that caused unnecessary pain and suffering in their fellow men, he is able to recognize the flame of consciousness brought by the hand of the vengeful aspect of Justice. And at the end, he gives himself, lets himself be consumed by the fire of virtue, to be born into a new stage in the evolutionary scale. And he understands that only by accepting the inevitability of "death" is that we are reborn into the consciousness of eternity.

"Of course, the lyrics here does not deal with physical death itself, but the" death", the end of the molds, shapes, aspects of our personalities that we do not need or do not want more. And, to be surrounded by the "upper lights," as the song says, we must face this "death" not as the loss of something vital, but as the transformation of an old form to a whole new one. A revival! "explains Andrew.

"To achieve this revitalization, we need to never give up our ideals. And combat the injustice with force within us so that she no longer to exist outside of us. Only the honor of a pure intention, the most beautiful of jewelry, will be able to undo the knots that bind men in their folly, "said Maurício.

The video

Every creative process depends on a number of factors. Internal, such as mood, intent, goal, desire; and external, such as criticism, suggestions, experiences. We, of HI-BRAZIL, we respect each of these signals as contributors of the artistic process. And we blend them to the mass with which we shape, with great care, our small digital "sculptures".

In the case of the Don't Give Up! project, it was no different. With the fluidity of a river that slips through the rocks of a mountain, each piece of the puzzle was coming together with the subtlety of a lotus in bloom. Nothing was imposed, nothing was measured. Everything just flowed, how it would have be.

Excerpts from television reports, documentaries and even video games are responsible for the narrative. Mixed with images captured by the cameras and iPhones of André and Guacymar, they form the intricate plot and undeniable which the music deals with. "Demystifying the doubt, " as Guacymar prefers to say.

"The music was ready a year ago. She waited for the right moment to be revealed, went through a maturation time till it reached the dimension of the images. And the result is an overwhelming encounter between past and future. Shaping the present ..." he concluded.