It’s almost as if Brazilian musician Daniel Arlindo Valente – who goes by the stage name of Valente – could read music at the same time that he learned to read Portuguese, the native language of his country Brazil.
The entertainer has been enveloped in music, art, poetry and other artistic pursuits since a very early age, and now visiting family in Everett, he is hoping to expand his name to the United States – a county whose music he is captivated by.
Valente, 42, grew up surrounded by music in his hometown of Belo Horizonte in the interior of Brazil, about 300 miles from Sao Paulo. It’s a city that is home to lots of traditional Brazilian music, but also home to a lively rock scene that spawned the well-known band Sepultura. Valente began playing when he was 11 years old, but was not influenced so much by Brazilian music as he was American music.
While he plays some drums, Valente mostly plays guitar, and is very skilled at coming up with unique riffs blending American rock with a Brazilian flair. That comes after many years of listening, studying and playing American favorites.
“When I was 13 or 14 I was in a band and we played Nirvana and the Beatles,” he said through a translator last week at Braza Grill in Everett Square. “My influences were American. I loved artists like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, REM and Nirvana. I really like Nirvana and the history of Kurt Cobain. People think of Nirvana as loud rock. No. It’s very quiet on things like Nirvana Unplugged. That is great music.”
Valente has been in bands like Panther and the Gringos, and Rock Brazil, and has appeared all over the country – as well as in Argentina and other South American countries.
From a young age, while playing in those bands, he also wrote a book that was illustrated by his own paintings. With that, he said he ventured into a place where he realized that music, painting and writing were all ways to express ideas, to translate them to the public.
“I receive art as one way and I try to transmit it to others and put it in a way that everyone can see,” he said. “My objective is to recognize art in the music. Art is heart. I am art. Art is in my heart. It’s my book, my paintings, my song and my knowledge.”
At this point in his career, Valente said he is penning catchy rock songs that have a meaning, such as one anti-bullying message he recently wrote for his fourth CD.
“This CD is didactic rock and it’s all my songs,” he said. “I want people to sing it and dance to it, but more importantly, I want them to think about what these lyrics are telling them.”
Valente first came to Everett in 2016 as a tourist and really loved the City, as well as traveling to New York City and Miami during his time here. While here, he said he visits family (his nephew attends Everett High School), but also becomes inspired by accessing and listing to American music. This year, he returned as a tourist to visit again for three month – and has found great inspiration while being here.
He hopes that one day he can bring his band to Everett and Boston, and translate his songs and his book into English.
“This is my dream, to bring my whole band to American and play here,” he said. “This is what I really want to do.