MoMo

MoMo – the artistic name of Marcelo Frota – was born in 2006, after the Brazilian musician got together with childhood friends and started the successful project that has already resulted in two albums: A Estética do Rabisco (Dubas/Universal), released in the end of 2006, and the independent Buscador, released in 2008.
Marcelo Frota's relationship with music started early, when he was 13 years old and got his first guitar. He spent his childhood in Angola, Africa, his teenage years in the United States and, as a young adult, he spent some time in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
This cultural mix brought different flavours to MoMo's music, known today as a psychedelic-folk artist.
His sound is reminiscent of the seventies, thanks to the raw and minimalist way he records his albums. He invites musicians who don't know each other to a home studio and they only get one shot at playing together, with no rehearsing.
The same routine was followed in the two albums and the same band was used.
Marcelo Frota's inspiration comes from a variety of backgrounds: from the French songs of Charles Aznavour to Willie Nelson's country music, from little know Brazilian artists like Belchior and Sérgio Sampaio to groups like Clube da Esquina, from his native State of Minas Gerais.
MoMo has also worked as a musical producer of Clube da Esquina's double album project, placed in the SESC Pompéia in 2007, featuring Beto Guedes.
It was this musical identification with Clube da Esquina that brought Marcelo Frota closer to the composer and member of Clube da Esquina, Ronaldo Bastos.
Bastos was the one who believed in MoMo and released, under his own label Dubas/Universal, A Estética do Rabisco, in the end of 2006.
The album was seen as one of a kind and got good reviews both in the Brazilian media and abroad. It was chosen one of the best albums of the year by the respected American critic Peter Margasak, who writes for Down Beat magazine and the Chicago Reader, and it was rated one of the best albums of 2007 by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. MoMo was also nominated as one of 2007 revelations by the French magazine Muziq.
In 2008, with his second album, Buscador, MoMo's work was once again praised by the critics and he started to be seen as one of Brazilian Music's rising stars.
The main Brazilian newspapers gave him good reviews. He was also nominated to the Quem Awards (Best Brazilian Singer category), alongside famous names like Gilberto Gil and Ney Matogrosso.
In 2009 Momo was invited to play at the Chicago World Music Festival and began a tour of 12 North American states, performing almost 30 shows in 40 days.
In 2011 Momo released '' Serenade of a Sailor ''. The record had great exposure in Brazil gathering great press. In the same year, Momo won a '' Prêmio Multishow Award '', wich is a renowned Music Award in Brazil.