At 16 years old, Daniel Fonseca is a prodigy. The young guitarist recently released his first EP, Alienize , which features the participation of illustrious giants of Brazilian metal such as Kiko Loureiro , Felipe Andreoli , Leandro Caçoilo and Alexandre Aposan , as well as the international participation of keyboardist Derek Sherinian .
Comprising five entirely original tracks, Alienize plays with concepts involving Daniel's interest in Ancient Egypt and alien figures, while showcasing the undeniable talent of the young guitarist, both in playing guitar and composing. His young age, coupled with the participation of so many important names in his first project, generates curiosity. Who, then, is Daniel Fonseca, and how did his path cross with those of great icons of national and international metal?
In an interview with Wikimetal , Daniel reveals that he started playing using a guitar his sister had received as a gift from her grandfather. He hired a professional teacher to teach him and began learning some classic rock riffs. "At that time I wasn't addicted to music, it wasn't a very strong thing in my life, but when I started playing it became a passion," he says.
Daniel's teacher quickly realized that the boy could do well on the guitar, and the young man's family promptly gave him the instrument as a gift. From then on, it was love at first sight. Daniel played every day, until the strings wore out and his fingers were covered in rust. With his newfound love for the guitar, a new interest emerged: a love for metal.
“My family never listened to [metal]. They listened to a lot of pop music, which I didn’t like so much, so I didn’t know [heavy music]. That must be why I didn’t like music very much: because I didn’t know metal,” reflects Daniel. He says he was very “close-minded” about heavy music, but after he started studying it with the classic riff of “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple , the musical genre began to attract his attention.
The person most responsible for "opening his mind" to other types of music was his guitar teacher. Today, Daniel is a fan not only of metal, but also of bossa nova and classical music, and cites Yngwie Malmsteen , Rainbow , Bach , Zakk Wylde , Megadeth , Marty Friedman , Dio , and many more as his main influences.
Besides all these names, an important figure for Daniel Fonseca is Kiko Loureiro . More than just a guitar reference, Kiko is a central piece in Daniel's musical career, who began mentoring the guitarist around the age of 13 and continues to this day.
“You can tell that Kiko really enjoys [teaching],” says Daniel about his experience as a student. “You can tell he doesn’t do it for the money. He has a passion for helping people. He makes a point of explaining everything in great detail, he talks about very important things. He always wants to share his experiences with those he mentors, and that’s really cool. He helps a lot.”
Like any good mentor, Loureiro noticed Daniel Fonseca's dedication and suggested he buy an audio interface, start composing, and send him the results. At the time, Daniel liked posting covers on his Instagram profile , and with the pandemic, he had even more time to dedicate to studying guitar. Loureiro asked the young man to send him about twenty-five ideas and said he could put together an EP with that material. The guitarist then assembled a heavyweight team with Felipe Andreoli , Leandro Caçoilo , and Alexandre Aposan , but despite the help and participation of all these big names, the intention was for the project to be "100% Daniel's idea," who is credited as the sole composer of the five original tracks on Alienize .
Demonstrating excellent knowledge of music theory, he explains how he improvised much of the solos that can be heard on the EP, having a good understanding of progression, scales, and musical structure. Daniel justifies his choice to play more instinctively as a way to let his emotions flow and be able to pour his feelings into the music:
“That’s the beauty of music: being something more organic,” he declares. “Of course, it’s very cool to play virtuously, to record all the notes perfectly. But what I liked about the album was recording the solos in basically one take. I had to change very few parts, and of course it’s not an absurdly clean sound, but that’s not what I want. This is my style. It’s not worse or better than anyone else’s, but it’s something I wanted to achieve.”
Daniel says he learned a lot from all the artists involved in Alienize , but he particularly highlights the connection with Felipe Andreoli, who produced the EP and gave some tips on adjustments during the process, especially in structuring the lyrics that Daniel Fonseca composed in English and that came to life in Leandro Caçoilo's voice.
“They have an absurd amount of experience,” he declares. “I think I learned a lot from Felipe, especially because I worked on the demos with him and he taught me several composition techniques. He is an extremely brilliant person in that regard. He basically knows everything – lyrics, melody, harmony. He is an extremely complete musician and a sensational producer, in addition to being one of the best bass players in the world.”
In addition to national collaborations, the EP Alienize also features a collaboration with keyboardist Derek Sherinian , who has played in bands such as Alice Cooper , Kiss , and Dream Theater . Daniel regrets not yet having had the chance to meet Sherinian in person, but the two communicated via message and the collaboration took place remotely. "He recorded the solo very quickly, there were no problems. He said it was a take of him shredding and it sounded amazing," he says.
Currently, Daniel Fonseca balances his guitar studies with school, where he attends full-time. He says he uses weekends to practice and reveals that he can spend up to 8 hours practicing guitar if he feels inspired. After school, he plans to study music abroad and admits he can no longer envision a future separate from music. “If I work with music, I’ll be happy. I’d like to compose film scores someday. But I’m enjoying this life of albums, of composing my own music. That’s what I want,” he states.
Next Wednesday, the 5th, Daniel Fonseca will perform his debut show in São Paulo, at Café Piu Piu, starting at 8 PM. Leandro Caçoilo, Felipe Andreoli, Alexandre Aposan, and guitarist Maurício Filho . Tickets can be purchased through Sympla .
