Bar/none To Unleash Red Hot Charity Set

NEW YORK-When the heads of the Red Hot Organization-the New York-based AIDS charity that has distinguished itself with high-profile benefit compilations-were searching for a theme for their 11th project, the prospect of reaching a global audience in AIDS-stricken regions was of paramount importance.
To that end, the organization created "Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon," an all-star project that reflects talent from 11 countries in the Portuguese diaspora, which comprises Portugal, Brazil, culturally distinct island territories like Cape Verde, and former Portuguese colonies in Africa like Mozambique (Billboard, May 29).
"Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon," is due July 20 in the U.S. and Canada on Hoboken, N.J.-based independent Bar/None Records, which is distributed by Koch.
Originally released in Portugal last year on local indie Movieplay, "Onda Sonora" features the first-ever duet between David Byrne and Caetano Veloso in the bilingual original "Dreamworld: Marco De Canavezes"; k.d. lang's first attempt at a Portuguese-language track in "Fado Hilário," a tune in the country's fado tradition; a collaboration among Brazilian-American underground icon Arto Lindsay, poet Arnaldo Antunes, and Brazilian musician Davi Moraes; appearances by Portuguese icons Madredeus, Filipa Pais, Delfins, and Paulo Bragan‡a; and performances by artists from Brazil, Spain, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guin Bissau, Canada, the U.K., and Goa.
Red Hot had already done a Brazilian compilation album titled "Red Hot + Rio," a celebration of the music of late Brazilian bossa nova master Antonio Carlos Jobim with a global cast of stars. That project, released in 1996 on Verve/Antilles in the U.S., raised $500,000 for AIDS charities, according to Red Hot sources.
Since many of the "Red Hot + Rio" participants-including Byrne, Lindsay, Grammy-nominated producer Andres Levin, and Red Hot producer B co Dranoff-were already on "Onda Sonora," the project was a natural fit for Red Hot.
"As an AIDS organization, we're very interested in concentrating on AIDS outside of the U.S., especially drawing attention to African countries," says Red Hot Organization GM Brian Hanna. "We've already raised $100,000 that will go toward AIDS charities in Portuguese-speaking communities."
Bar/None, which had never released a Red Hot project before, got involved through Lindsay, who was signed to the label as a solo artist. Bar/None owner/operator Glenn Morrow says, "We'd done three Arto albums and been interested in the adventurous side of Brazilian and Portuguese music that's been developing for 30 years. We were intrigued by this project and the pool of players who were involved. I was talking to Arto about a few other things, and this came up, and it seemed like a great idea that tied in with our musical interests."
The label has done its largest press mailing in its 13-year history to call attention to "Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon," according to Morrow. He says Bar/None will ship approximately 10,000 copies of the album and hopes to sell up to 30,000 units. The album's focus track is the Byrne/Veloso entry, a meditation on Portuguese-born film star Carmen Miranda named after her hometown. In addition, the lang cut is also a potential airplay candidate in the U.S., given her popularity here.
Besides the press campaign, Bar/None is trying to put together a New York concert featuring some of the project's artists. However, at press time, those plans were still in progress.
For Lindsay, the "Onda Sonora" project stands out from other compilations because of its cohesiveness, for which he credits producers Levin and Dranoff. "I think this is an excellent compilation record," says Lindsay. "Most compilations are dreary, but this is a good one. You can put it on and enjoy it."
Benjamin Kelly, World/Latin buyer at the Virgin Megastore Times Square here, concurs with Lindsay, saying, "Because ["Onda Sonora"] consists of collaborations specifically for the project, it stands alone in a field crowded with compilations where the tracks are licensed from existing albums."
Kelly adds that Virgin will likely play the Byrne-Veloso cut on the store's TV network. In addition, says Kelly, Virgin is "open to work with Red Hot or the label on cross-promoting the record with special events."
In Portugal, "Onda Sonora" was released May 18, 1998, on Movieplay and subsequently certified platinum in that country for sales of 40,000 units. On July 11, 1998, the project received national exposure through the Red Hot + Lisbon Festival, a concert that took place on a stage of the Expo '98 festival in Lisbon. The show featured performances by BraganÁa, Pais, Lura, Madredeus, General D, and Delfins.
Another aspect of the marketing program in Portugal was a special that aired on national TV; footage from that program was carried by MTV in Brazil, according to Hanna.
In October of last year, Movieplay followed up "Onda Sonora" with a companion piece, "Lisboa: Red Hot On Portugal," which featured fado tunes and music by '70s Portuguese acts. The "Lisboa" project has been certified gold, for sales of 20,000 units. Morrow says the U.S. market is primed for a Portuguese compilation.
"We're going to try to connect all these little pockets of interest together," he says. "There's something in the air now about music like this. People are looking for some new directions. This is a music that's so rich, and it's just getting its due now in the U.S."

Assistance in preparing this story was provided by Nuno Galopim in Lisbon, Portugal; Dominic Pride in London; and Robbert Tilli in Amsterdam.