Biography
Domenico Lancellotti functions as a vocalist, composer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and visual creator whose lineage traces directly to samba pioneer Ivor Lancellotti. Since the mid-1990s he has driven innovation inside Brazilian music through his involvement with Mulheres Q Dizem Sim, whose self-titled 1994 debut integrated samba, bossa nova, alternative rock, and jazz. Across dozens of projects he has contributed performances, songwriting, engineering, and production while broadening the country’s established forms by layering textures drawn from EDM, rock, psychedelia, Latin traditions, post-punk, cumbia, reggae, hip-hop, and funk. As a sought-after studio musician he has collaborated with Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, and Bebel Gilberto. His own catalog comprises the widely noted solo releases Cine Privê in 2011, The Good Is a Big God in 2016, Raio in 2021, and SRAMBA in 2023.
During the 1990s he co-founded the experimental rock outfit Mulheres Q Dizem Sim and oversaw its 1994 debut album. In 2000 he launched the +2 collective alongside Moreno Veloso and Alexandre Kassin; the trio rotated leadership across three influential records—Music Typewriter by Moreno + 2 (2000), Sincerely Hot by Domenico +2 (2003), and Futurismo by Kassin +2 (2006). He also performed and recorded with Os Ritmistas, Meia Banda, and Doces Cariocas.
In 2002 he entered Kassin’s Orquestra Imperial, an eighteen-piece ensemble dedicated to updating the samba de gafieira idiom for contemporary settings. The band issued Carnaval Só Ano Que Vem in 2007 and continues to reconvene for occasional performances and sessions. In 2006 Lancellotti assembled Os Ritmistas with Danny Roland, Stephane San Juan, and Zero Awa; their self-titled album followed in 2007. The next year he supplied drums and percussion for the self-titled debut of supergroup Doces Cariocas, fronted by Alexia Bomtempo and Pierre Aderne. In 2009 the +2 members delivered their last joint statement by composing and tracking the original score Imā for dance company Grupo Corpo.
Lancellotti stepped out as a solo artist with the globally praised 2011 album Cine Privê, enlisting assistance from Veloso, Kassin, Money Mark, and additional guests. That same year Orquestra Imperial released Fazendo As Pazes Com O Swing. Over the subsequent two years he arranged, produced, and performed on projects by Gal Costa and his former +2 colleagues. Orquestra Imperial documented a concert performance with Ao Vivo! in 2013, while 2014 saw Lancellotti join Bruno di Lullo, Eduardo Manso, and Estevão Casé to create the experimental collective Meia Banda; their self-titled Rockit debut threaded original material with samba, indie pop, neo-psychedelia, and jazz. Di Lullo also partnered with Danilo Caymmi on the album Danilo Caymmi Canta Dorival.
For the 2017 solo set Serra Dos Órgãos—issued in the United States by Luaka Bop under the title The Good Is a Big God—Lancellotti recruited Sean O’Hagan, whom he had encountered in London amid demonstrations against the 2012 Olympic Games, and Veloso. He simultaneously produced Bruno Capinan’s Divina Graça and joined Gilberto Gil’s touring and recording ensembles, appearing on OK OK OK and the Grupo Corpo project. Os Ritmistas returned that year with Aqui. In 2018 Lancellotti and Veloso issued the club hit “Tudo Ao Redor.” Two years later he composed and performed on Marcos Valle’s widely acclaimed Cinzento.
The year 2021 kept Lancellotti especially active: Meia Banda delivered the live recording Meia Banda no Festival Rockit! and the digital EP Meio Disco featuring guest vocalists Moreno Veloso, Raquel Dimantas, and Taina. He also unveiled the self-produced solo album Raio, recorded and mixed by Daniel Carvalho with a core band that included Continentino, Di Lullo, guitarists Pedro Sa and Bern Gil, and further contributors.
SRAMBA surfaced in April 2023. Created in tandem with longtime associate and multi-instrumentalist Ricardo Dias Gomes, the project began after Gomes acquired several Russian analog synthesizers and transported them to Lancellotti’s subterranean studio The Cave. The pair tracked the bulk of the record over ensuing months, with Lancellotti handling vocals, guitars, drums, and both acoustic and electronic percussion. The resulting sound traverses eras while fusing the acoustic samba foundations the musicians absorbed in their youth with airy analog synthesizer layers and precisely arranged brass.
During the 1990s he co-founded the experimental rock outfit Mulheres Q Dizem Sim and oversaw its 1994 debut album. In 2000 he launched the +2 collective alongside Moreno Veloso and Alexandre Kassin; the trio rotated leadership across three influential records—Music Typewriter by Moreno + 2 (2000), Sincerely Hot by Domenico +2 (2003), and Futurismo by Kassin +2 (2006). He also performed and recorded with Os Ritmistas, Meia Banda, and Doces Cariocas.
In 2002 he entered Kassin’s Orquestra Imperial, an eighteen-piece ensemble dedicated to updating the samba de gafieira idiom for contemporary settings. The band issued Carnaval Só Ano Que Vem in 2007 and continues to reconvene for occasional performances and sessions. In 2006 Lancellotti assembled Os Ritmistas with Danny Roland, Stephane San Juan, and Zero Awa; their self-titled album followed in 2007. The next year he supplied drums and percussion for the self-titled debut of supergroup Doces Cariocas, fronted by Alexia Bomtempo and Pierre Aderne. In 2009 the +2 members delivered their last joint statement by composing and tracking the original score Imā for dance company Grupo Corpo.
Lancellotti stepped out as a solo artist with the globally praised 2011 album Cine Privê, enlisting assistance from Veloso, Kassin, Money Mark, and additional guests. That same year Orquestra Imperial released Fazendo As Pazes Com O Swing. Over the subsequent two years he arranged, produced, and performed on projects by Gal Costa and his former +2 colleagues. Orquestra Imperial documented a concert performance with Ao Vivo! in 2013, while 2014 saw Lancellotti join Bruno di Lullo, Eduardo Manso, and Estevão Casé to create the experimental collective Meia Banda; their self-titled Rockit debut threaded original material with samba, indie pop, neo-psychedelia, and jazz. Di Lullo also partnered with Danilo Caymmi on the album Danilo Caymmi Canta Dorival.
For the 2017 solo set Serra Dos Órgãos—issued in the United States by Luaka Bop under the title The Good Is a Big God—Lancellotti recruited Sean O’Hagan, whom he had encountered in London amid demonstrations against the 2012 Olympic Games, and Veloso. He simultaneously produced Bruno Capinan’s Divina Graça and joined Gilberto Gil’s touring and recording ensembles, appearing on OK OK OK and the Grupo Corpo project. Os Ritmistas returned that year with Aqui. In 2018 Lancellotti and Veloso issued the club hit “Tudo Ao Redor.” Two years later he composed and performed on Marcos Valle’s widely acclaimed Cinzento.
The year 2021 kept Lancellotti especially active: Meia Banda delivered the live recording Meia Banda no Festival Rockit! and the digital EP Meio Disco featuring guest vocalists Moreno Veloso, Raquel Dimantas, and Taina. He also unveiled the self-produced solo album Raio, recorded and mixed by Daniel Carvalho with a core band that included Continentino, Di Lullo, guitarists Pedro Sa and Bern Gil, and further contributors.
SRAMBA surfaced in April 2023. Created in tandem with longtime associate and multi-instrumentalist Ricardo Dias Gomes, the project began after Gomes acquired several Russian analog synthesizers and transported them to Lancellotti’s subterranean studio The Cave. The pair tracked the bulk of the record over ensuing months, with Lancellotti handling vocals, guitars, drums, and both acoustic and electronic percussion. The resulting sound traverses eras while fusing the acoustic samba foundations the musicians absorbed in their youth with airy analog synthesizer layers and precisely arranged brass.
Albums
sramba.
2023
Raio
2021
The Good is a Big God
2018
Ímã / +2 (Trilha Sonora Original do Espetáculo do Grupo Corpo)
2009
Singles
