The band Skyscraper , in partnership with Wikimetal , released a moving tribute to Andre Matos with a previously unreleased recording by the singer.
The released version is part of a "lost" Skyscraper demo tape recorded in 1992 that was recently rediscovered and can be heard below.
The audio features only the instrumental track without vocals, but it gifts us with Andre Matos' vocals in the chorus, as well as backing vocals by Rafael Bittencourt . The track, titled "Some Laws of Life," was written by Andre Bastos , who included a beautiful and touching message about its creation.
“In 1991, I was invited to join the new band that Rafael Bittencourt wanted to put together. I accepted, and soon after, Andre Matos joined us, and that's how Angra . At the time, I was playing in another really cool band, Skyscraper. I had to leave that band to focus on Angra. A great friend, João Racy, took my place.”
My time with Angra ended in early 1992, but the friendship remained strong. In January 1992, the band Skyscraper entered the studio to record their new demo tape. The three songs that were to be recorded were from my time, one of them being written by me.
Since my close relationship with Skyscraper remained strong, I participated in the entire process and had the idea of inviting my former Angra bandmates, Rafael and Andre, to participate in this demo. They both readily agreed. On the day of the recording, Rafael went straight to the studio and I picked up Andre from his apartment. On the way, I gave him a score with the parts he was going to sing. Without ever having heard the songs before, he struck the tuning fork, found the "A," and began singing his parts until we arrived at the studio.
When it came time to record the vocals, everyone was amazed. I remember the studio technician, Renatão, saying he'd never seen anyone sing like that before!
There were parts that only Andre recorded, and others that he recorded with Rafael. I believe it was the first time they recorded something together. In those parts, what was interesting was that they both recorded at the same time, singing together. To balance the volumes, Andre stayed close to the microphone and Rafael was at the far end of the room! We know that Andre's incredible and unique technique included the fact that he didn't sing at a high volume. Rafael, on the other hand, projected his voice, and ended up covering Andre's. So, Rafael went far away and Andre stayed close to the microphone, and everything worked out perfectly. We heard both voices perfectly in the two songs they recorded.
And, to top it all off, Andre even recorded the keyboards on one of the songs!
Everyone who was in the studio that day remembers what an incredible experience it was to have those guys there, so humble, recording something that turned out amazing. Rafael already knew several people who were there, so he was more at ease. Andre, on the other hand, only knew 2 or 3 people. Even so, he was attentive, friendly, helpful, and the result was wonderful. After the recording, I took him back to his apartment and we had another great conversation on the way.
Today, Andre has many more fans than he did in 1992. It would be wonderful to be able to share this historical record with those who haven't yet had the chance to see it.
I hope you like it.”
Speaking about the song, Marcos Naza, vocalist and guitarist of Skyscraper, said that the recording was "an immense surprise and honor." He also recounted his experience: "Andre Bastos, aka Andre Biloide, played his farewell show with us to dedicate himself to Angra, his new band with Rafael Bittencourt and a guy named Andre Matos. And he invited the two of them to record some backing vocals on the demo tape we were going to record a few weeks later. I believe it was the first studio recording of the two of them together."
“The two of them recorded backing vocals on 'Captain Frog,' a song I wrote with Val Santos , and on 'Some Laws Of Life,' a song by Bilóide, where Andre also played keyboards. Since I hadn't recorded the lead vocals yet, I took home a mix on cassette tape with just the backing vocals to practice.”
He also recounts how he found the recording and why he decided to release it now: “A few months ago, Bilóide and I remembered this tape, and I found it. It was exciting to hear Andre again and remember this whole story. Bilóide and I thought it would be cool to share this recording and this joy with more people.”
“Some Laws of Life” would be re-recorded and released later with the complete vocals. Listen here to the unreleased demo version featuring only Andre Matos' vocals and Rafael Bittencourt's backing vocals.
