...Music and Stuff...Adrian Howe...: Los Hermanos

Los Hermanos.

Los Hermanos is a rock band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The group was formed in 1997 by Marcelo Camelo (vocals/guitar), Rodrigo Amarante(flute/guitar/vocals), Rodrigo Barba (drums), and Bruno Medina (keyboards/keyboard bass). Currently they are on an extended hiatus.

Although the band is Brazilian, the name is Spanish for "the brothers", which would be "Os Irmãos" in Portuguese.

They recorded two demos that eventually found their way into the hands of Paulo André, the producer of the Abril Pro Rock festival, in Recife. The band was then invited to perform on one of the biggest alternative music festivals in Brazil, the Superdemo. Their self-titled album, released in 1999, became a huge seller on the back of the hit single "Anna Júlia". The success of "Anna Júlia", in a general sense, overshadowed the rest of their career, leading some to think they are a one-hit wonder, despite experiencing success among fans and music enthusiasts with other works. The song has been covered by many different artists, including Jim Capaldi with George Harrison.

After the success of their first album, in 2001 the band released Bloco do Eu Sozinho, leaving behind the hardcore sound that highlighted their debut to a mix of rock, samba, and other Brazilian rhythms. Bloco do Eu Sozinho did not make much of an impact in the mainstream media (it had only two hits, "Todo Carnaval Tem Seu Fim" and "Sentimental"), but it is still regarded as one of the best Brazilian rock albums of all time.

The follow-up to Bloco do Eu Sozinho, Ventura, was released in 2003, and the band's sound was even more influenced by samba,choro and bossa nova. Although these albums weren't as commercially successful as Los Hermanos, they were acclaimed by critics and generated a strong cult following which propelled the band to be regarded as one of the defining alternative rock acts in Brazil, mainly because of their elaborate lyrics and their mixture of Brazilian rhythms with rock. In 2008, both Bloco do Eu Sozinho andVentura figured in Rolling Stone magazine's list The Top 100 Brazilian Albums of All Time, placing 42nd and 68th, respectively.

Their most recent record, simply titled 4, was released in August 2005, to mixed reviews. The record led the band into MPB rhythms with more melancholic lyrics and melody.

In 2006 the band toured Portugal for the second time and Spain with Portuguese band Toranja.

On April 23, 2007, after ten years of uninterrupted career work, the band announced a recess for undetermined time span (hiatus). The note on the official website affirms there were no quarrels whatsoever among the band members, the reason for the recess simply being each one's need of time to dedicate to other personal activities. On the same note the band also announced its three final performances on June 7, 8 and 9th in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2009, Los Hermanos played at "Just a Fest" festival at São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, along with Kraftwerk and Radiohead. But, according to Bruno Medina these two concerts don't mean the band will record an album soon.

In 2010 they played in the SWU Music & Arts Festival and four additional gigs but no one clue to a future reunion or a new album.