Biography
Premeditando o Breque produces work that resists conventional labels, functioning instead as a referential and intellectually driven comedy ensemble reminiscent of the Argentinean Les Luthiers or, in cinematic terms, Monty Python. Known popularly as Premê, the ensemble builds its sound around instrumental prowess under the direction of veteran musician, producer, and arranger Mário Manga, channeling parodies across nearly every genre while favoring deliberately kitschy material yet incorporating samba, bossa nova, pop, rock, and modern classical idioms; composer Igor Lintz Maués supplies original classical electronic pieces for the repertoire. Among its most prominent successes stand “Garota de Copacabana,” the rock treatment of Alvarenga e Ranchinho’s caipira number “Pinga com Limão,” “Lua-de-Mel em Cubatão,” and “Rubens,” the latter a homosexual love song prohibited by the censorship board in the 1980s and later recorded in 1990 by Cássia Eller.
Formed in 1976 at São Paulo’s School of Communication and Arts (ECA) of the University of São Paulo by Mário Manga, Marcelo Galbetti, Claus, and Wandy Doratiotto, the ensemble quickly emerged as one of the city’s foremost humor acts of the 1980s. Its 1979 appearance at the I Festival Universitário da Música Popular Brasileira on TV Cultura earned second place for Manga’s “Brigando na Lua.” The following year the group performed César Brunetti’s “Empada Molotov” at the MPB Shell Festival on TV Globo, issuing the track as a single. The debut album Premeditando o Breque arrived in 1981 and gained traction with Doratiotto’s “Fim de Semana” and “Marcha da Kombi.” In 1982 the ensemble returned to the MPB Shell with Doratiotto’s “O Destino Assim o Quis,” released as a single paired with “Pinga Com Limão.” The 1983 LP Quase Lindo scored with “São Paulo, São Paulo,” after which the group joined major label EMI for the 1985 release O Melhor dos Iguais, which featured the successes “Balão Trágico” (Manga/Dionísio Moreno) and “Lua-de-Mel em Cubatão.” Grande Coisa followed in 1986 and included “Rubens,” whose lyrics had been altered at the censors’ insistence; Cássia Eller would preserve the original text four years later. In 1998 Premê contributed a Hervê Cordovil version of “Anamaria” to the double album Há Sempre um Nome de Mulher, which surpassed 350,000 copies sold.
Formed in 1976 at São Paulo’s School of Communication and Arts (ECA) of the University of São Paulo by Mário Manga, Marcelo Galbetti, Claus, and Wandy Doratiotto, the ensemble quickly emerged as one of the city’s foremost humor acts of the 1980s. Its 1979 appearance at the I Festival Universitário da Música Popular Brasileira on TV Cultura earned second place for Manga’s “Brigando na Lua.” The following year the group performed César Brunetti’s “Empada Molotov” at the MPB Shell Festival on TV Globo, issuing the track as a single. The debut album Premeditando o Breque arrived in 1981 and gained traction with Doratiotto’s “Fim de Semana” and “Marcha da Kombi.” In 1982 the ensemble returned to the MPB Shell with Doratiotto’s “O Destino Assim o Quis,” released as a single paired with “Pinga Com Limão.” The 1983 LP Quase Lindo scored with “São Paulo, São Paulo,” after which the group joined major label EMI for the 1985 release O Melhor dos Iguais, which featured the successes “Balão Trágico” (Manga/Dionísio Moreno) and “Lua-de-Mel em Cubatão.” Grande Coisa followed in 1986 and included “Rubens,” whose lyrics had been altered at the censors’ insistence; Cássia Eller would preserve the original text four years later. In 1998 Premê contributed a Hervê Cordovil version of “Anamaria” to the double album Há Sempre um Nome de Mulher, which surpassed 350,000 copies sold.
Albums