Mão Morta
Encyclopedia
Mão Morta is a Portuguese avant-garde
rock
band that started its activities in 1985 in Braga
. The group's name means "dead hand", based on a traditional Portuguese
nursery rhyme. They are generally considered to be one of the most important bands in the Portuguese rock scene. Since the start of their career, the bands' live concerts became famous for their intensity and dark mood, due to their signature alternative rock sound and the performance of vocalist Adolfo Luxúria Canibal
(a pseudonym, meaning Adolph Cannibal Lust), known for occasional onstage theatrics and his growling, half-sung, half-spoken singing style. Mão Morta's music is quite difficult to categorize as they seem to incorporate a variety of genres; from punk rock, metal, to industrial and experimental. Their sound, combined with Adolfo's lyrics, reflects urban violence, a human search for pleasure
, freedom and a critique of contemporary consumerist society, often with sarcastic humour.
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band that started its activities in 1985 in Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
. The group's name means "dead hand", based on a traditional Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
nursery rhyme. They are generally considered to be one of the most important bands in the Portuguese rock scene. Since the start of their career, the bands' live concerts became famous for their intensity and dark mood, due to their signature alternative rock sound and the performance of vocalist Adolfo Luxúria Canibal
Adolfo Luxúria Canibal
Adolfo Luxúria Canibal is the stage name of Adolfo Morais de Macedo. He was born in 1959, in Luanda, Angola. Canibal ia a Portuguese musician and lawyer, known for his vocals in both the Portuguese rock band Mão Morta and French electronic noise band Mécanosphère.-External links:...
(a pseudonym, meaning Adolph Cannibal Lust), known for occasional onstage theatrics and his growling, half-sung, half-spoken singing style. Mão Morta's music is quite difficult to categorize as they seem to incorporate a variety of genres; from punk rock, metal, to industrial and experimental. Their sound, combined with Adolfo's lyrics, reflects urban violence, a human search for pleasure
Pleasure
Pleasure describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria...
, freedom and a critique of contemporary consumerist society, often with sarcastic humour.
Studio albums
- Mão Morta (1988)
- Corações Felpudos (1990)
- O.D., Rainha do Rock & Crawl (1991)
- Mutantes S.21 (1992)
- Vénus Em Chamas (1994)
- Há Já Muito Tempo Que Nesta Latrina O Ar Se Tornou Irrespirável (1998)
- Primavera de Destroços (2001)
- Nus (2004)
- Pesadelo em Peluche (2010)
Live albums
- Müller No Hotel Hessischer Hof (1997)
- Ao Vivo na Aula Magna 8 de Maio 2001 (2001, bonus disc from Primavera de Destroços)
- Carícias Malícias (2003)
- Maldoror (2008)
- Rituais Transfigurados - Mão Morta Vs. Maya Deren (2009)
Singles and promos
- Desmaia, Irmã, Desmaia / Desmaia, Irmã, Desmaia (1990)
- Anjos Marotos / Negra Flor (1993)
- Cães de Crómio (1994)
- Sangue no Asfalto (1995)
- Faixas de Rodagem 5 (1995) - Chabala
- Chabala (1996)
- Em Directo Para a Televisão / Jogos de Guerra (1998)
- É Um Jogo (Radio Edit) (1998)
- Turbulência (1999) - Anjos da Pureza
- Cão da Morte / Chabala (versão longa) (2001)
- Gumes5 (O Rei Mimado) / Gnoma (2004)
Other
- À Sombra de Deus - Braga 1988 (1989) - 1º de Novembro
- Ama Romanta 86-89 (1999) - Oub'lá
- Insurrectos (1990) - Véus Caídos
- Variações - As Canções de António (1994) - Visões - Ficções (Nostradamus) (tribute album to António VariaçõesAntónio VariaçõesAntónio Joaquim Rodrigues Ribeiro, was a Portuguese singer and songwriter. Despite his short-lived career, due to his premature death at the age of thirty-nine, he would, under the stage name of António Variações, become one of the most culturally significant performing artists of recent...
) - Os Filhos da Madrugada (1994) - O Avô Cavernoso (tribute album to José Afonso)
- À Sombra de Deus Vol. 2 - Braga (1994) - Rotte - A Morte é um Acto Solitário
- Uma História de Amor (1995) - Cães de Crómio
- Portugales (1995) - Visões - Ficções (Nostradamus)
- Pop Rock Em Português (1997) - Budapeste (Sempre a Rock & Rollar)
- Blitz - Os Melhores de 97 (1998) - Eu Sou o Anjo do Desespero
- Portugal 98 (1998) - Canção da Revolta
- Expresso 25 Anos - Portugal Rock (1998) - Budapeste (Sempre a Rock & Rollar)
- XX Anos XX Bandas (1999) - Mãe (tribute to Xutos & PontapésXutos & PontapésXutos & Pontapés are a Portuguese rock band, who got together in Almada, Portugal in 1978, 4 years after the Carnation Revolution. They started off in the local punk rock scene and set the trend - singing rock tunes in Portuguese...
) - Ama Romanta - Sempre! (1999) - Oub'lá
- Ar de Rock - Vinte Anos Depois (2000) - No Domingo Fui Às Antas (tribute album to Rui VelosoRui VelosoRui Manuel Gaudêncio Veloso, commonly known as Rui Veloso, CavIH , is a Portuguese rock singer and musician. Regarded as the "father of Portuguese rock", this composer and interpreter had a great impact on the Portuguese music scene with the record Ar de Rock .Songs such as Chico Fininho and A...
) - Rock Sound Volume 8 (2003) - Escravos do Desejo
- Manifesto (2004) - Estilo and Berlim
- Rock Sound Volume 17 (2004) - Vertigem
- À Sombra de Deus Vol. 3 - Braga (2004) - Sobe, Querida, Desce
- 3 Pistas - Antena 3 (2005) - Fado Canibal and Kayatronic (original song by Corpo Diplomático)
- Lisboa@Com.Fusion.Com (2006) - Primavera de Destroços
DVD
- Müller No Hotel Hessischer Hof (2006)
- Maldoror (2008)
Books
- Adolfo Luxúria CANIBAL, Estilhaços. Quasi Edições, 2003.
- Vítor JUNQUEIRA, Narradores da Decadência. Quasi Edições, 2004.
Biographies
- Música Portuguesa - Anos 80 (Portuguese)
- Festival Paredes de Coura (Portuguese)
Interviews
- 123Som with Adolfo Luxúria Canibal (21.05.2002) (Portuguese)
- JornalismoPortoNet with Adolfo Luxúria Canibal (20.03.2005) (Portuguese)
- Portugal Diário part 1 and part 2 with Adolfo Luxúria Canibal (13.04.2006) (Portuguese)
External links
- Official Mão Morta Website (Portuguese and English version)
- Cobra Discos (Portuguese)