This June 8th marks 6 years since the death of the beloved Andre Matos . The artist was a Brazilian singer, composer, conductor, producer, and pianist, best known for his participation as the vocalist of bands such as Viper , Angra , and Shaman .
Andre's impact on metal was so great that it led him to collaborate with bands such as Avantasia , Soulspell , and Dr. Sin , and his voice was praised by legendary Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson .
To remember the legacy left by the greatest Brazilian metal vocalist, we've retrieved a video recorded by a fan at a workshop where Andre explained the origin of the iconic track "Lisbon".
Origin of the name “Lisbon”
According to Andre Matos, the idea came from an "alarm clock that was very annoying." It would play the same note twice, pause briefly, and then play it again in a loop. After finishing, it would repeat the process but with three notes, and finally, "the thing would start playing," incessantly. That's where the vocalist got the song's famous, unmistakable keyboard line from.
Andre says that the sound that came out of his idea is all "broken" and in a "strange scale." He based it on the Greek modes, which "are the predecessors of the scales we know today: major, minor, etc." The vocalist states that "the theme was in Phrygian" and that it reminded him of Portuguese music, hence the name of the track "Lisbon." He explains that the reason it reminded him of Portuguese music was the fact that it has very strong Arabic influences, which use the same Greek modes.
Recording of the track
When questioned by an audience member about the song's tempo, André recalled a curious story about its recording: "That confused me when we were recording, man... Because we were all in the 'Hollywood' style to record this song." According to Matos, they joined the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in England.
“I wrote an arrangement and all that, and then the guy revised the arrangement to transcribe it for the instruments and everything, and this guy didn't think the time signature was broken.” What was passed on to the orchestra musicians was, therefore, the incorrect revision of Andre's arrangement. Everything was resolved, however, after the vocalist helped to fix the problem.
He also explains a bit about his creative process, after being asked if he “thinks about the melody first and not the lyrics.” “Usually, yes,” he replies. “Perhaps because I started my career, theoretically, playing piano, at the age of 10.” According to the artist, “singing was an accident.”
Check out the full video:
Remembering the legacy of Andre Matos
Andre Matos began his musical studies at the age of seven with piano lessons. At 14, he joined his first band, Viper, where he recorded the demo * The Killera Sword * in 1985, and the albums * Soldiers of Sunrise * in 1987 and * Theatre of Fate * in 1989. After the release of * Theatre of Fate *, Andre decided to leave Viper because he could not reconcile the band with his university studies. Matos graduated with a bachelor's degree in Orchestral Conducting and Musical Composition.
In college, Andre Matos met Rafael Bittencourt and together they had the idea of starting a new band where they could blend heavy metal with classical music, which would later result in the creation of Angra . With the band, Matos established himself as one of the leading vocalists in power metal.
Andre Matos passed away at the age of 47 on June 8, 2019, a victim of cardiac arrest.
READ ALSO: VIPER recalls inviting Andre Matos to join the band 40 years ago.
