Studio Rio emerged from the efforts of the Grammy-winning German production siblings Frank and Christian Berman, collectively recognized as the Berman Brothers. Active since the early 1990s, the pair has maintained an extensive output across numerous projects. Their production credits encompass recordings by Amber, Cher, Hanson, the Baha Men on the track “Who Let the Dogs Out,” Real McCoy, Jakaranda, and scores of additional artists. They have supplied music, production, and arrangements for major motion-picture and television soundtracks such as The Parent Trap, Studio 54, Miss Congeniality, The Sopranos, and Fast Five, along with campaigns for Honda, Casio, and Lexus.
In 2006 the Bermans conceived and co-produced the nonprofit benefit album Rhythms del Mundo: Cuba, which inverted the conventional covers format. The release paired an ensemble of Cuban performers—among them Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo of the Buena Vista Social Club—with material originally associated with Coldplay, Sting, Jack Johnson, Maroon 5, Kaiser Chiefs, and others, incorporating both preserved and newly recorded elements. It simultaneously attained the top position on digital Latin album charts in twenty countries while supporting Artists Project Earth. Two years later the duo oversaw a German-language edition, Rhythms del Mundo: Cubano Aleman, that featured Xavier Naidoo, Udo Lindenberg, Silbermond, Adel Tawil, and Jan Delay.
July 2014 saw the appearance of Studio Rio Presents: The Brazil Connection. Mixed by multi-Grammy-winning engineer Jerry Boys, the project drew upon original multi-track masters and advanced separation techniques to isolate classic vocal and instrumental performances by Bill Withers, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Dave Brubeck, Mel Tormé, Sly & the Family Stone, and additional artists. These elements were then combined with fresh studio backing supplied by Brazilian musicians including Roberto Menescal and Marcos Valle. The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing” subsequently appeared on One Love, One Rhythm: The 2014 FIFA World Cup Official Album.
