Thanks go out to Arvy and Junior Kain for providing the translation.
Translation Caderno B cover:
Alert: Eighties LivesSo, Information Society, a group that made the world dance with technopop of the past, is back in Brazil for the eighth time, and they don’t know why thousands of fans still love the dance floor hits while the rest of the country is listening to local (Brazilian) rock.
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Technopop? Still?Today, it sounds like an old bpm to less nostalgic ears, but in seven visits to Brazil – in 1989, 1990, 1991 (twice), 1993, 1997, 2006 and the eighth about to happen on August 7 at Vivo Rio – the American technopop group Information Society enjoys a rarely-reached status on the world stage.
“I can’t explain how we became so popular there, maybe it’s because the Brazilian people have an excellent musical taste,” said Paul Robb, band co-founder, from New York in a phone interview with Jornal do Brasil. “The interesting thing is that we sold many more records here in the USA and Japan, but we never performed to a huge crowd like the times we’ve been in Brazil.”
Tropical memoriesTogether with DJ’s and original band members Kurt Harland and James Cassidy, Paul Robb expects to face that receptivity one more time. They were the first international artists to perform in many Brazilian cities.
“On the first occasion in Manaus, it was very hot and I got sick,” recalls Robb. “It felt like a hundred degrees. I couldn’t take it and I left the hotel to get some fresh air in the city. I bumped with a school-kind-of band that seemed to be fantastic. I don’t know why, but that military beat made me feel better from fever.”
Many visits to Brazil, with countless stories.“The best tour was in 1991, at Rock in Rio. It was one of the best shows of our career, but the fans complained a lot about the short set. We wanted to play more, but the organizers didn’t allow us. I don’t think they realized how popular we were, between stars like George Michael and Prince. Even now, in interviews, we are asked why that show was too short. I also remember that our success was so big we couldn’t get out from the hotel, so many fans gathered in the hall. To hang out in the city, we had to sneak out of the hotel, so we could take a ride through Rio together with Run DMC.”
It was a time of pop music when guitars, bass and drums gave room to computers, synthesizers and drum machines. And Information Society reigned in that department. The technopop genre had roots from the 70’s, with the sound of bands like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. Soon after, others took flight. Some of them vanished (Human League, Ultravox, A Flock of Seagulls, Soft Cell, Thomas Dolby) while others kept themselves alive (Depeche Mode, New Order, and IS itself). The band - formed by Robb, Harland and Cassidy - had a collection of hits during their career, with a 3-year hiatus in 1993. Now they are back together, not just rehashing a glorious past, but actually producing new material. In 2007 they released a CD with brand new songs called Synthesizer and will release the DVD “It Is Useless to Resist Us” in October.
“The musical styles were changing and we didn’t want to change what we were doing just to keep us popular. We were 30, time to take a break, marry, and raise children.”
The favorite pop gems vary with audiences around the world.“It’s funny, but we noticed that even in our country the people’s taste may vary,” points Paul. “On the west coast, “What’s On Your Mind” is unbeatable. Here in New York and also in Florida, the success is “Running”. In Brazil, it always was “Repetition”. All Brazilian chicks love the ballads!”
All the hits, plus “How Long”, “Peace & Love, Inc.” and “Think”, will be in the set list for this tour. In addition to Rio, the tour includes stops in Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, São Paulo and Ribeirão Preto. Only in Rio de Janeiro, the show will be opened by DJ Memê, playing hits from the 80’s.
“I think the longevity of our success is due to the fact that our shows are very upbeat, compared to other electronic bands. And also, Information Society isn’t a reunion of three unemployed DJ’s, producers or singers. We are a real band,” says Robb.
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“People running out from the restrooms to the dance floor” by Amandio
In late-80’s and early-90’s they played a lot in carioca clubs. They were one of the most popular bands back in the day. Unfortunately, I never saw the band perform live, but I played Information Society a lot. I loved to play it. I remember very well, I was a resident DJ at Columbus, renamed Bunker later. I was doing a partnership with DJ Nino Carlo, who simply adored Information Society. I used to like it too, of course, but he was addicted. He could play “What’s On Your Mind” without stopping if you allowed. This song, by the way, was played a lot. It was a smash hit ’round here, especially on the dance floors. Actually, the whole album was a success.
It had a funky beat, a cool new thing. Not so fast, but enough to fill the dance floor. I just had to play it to see people stop peeing in the restrooms and run out to the dance floor. Those were dance floor hits, sales hits and radio hits. A unanimity, never seen before, because we had bands with huge success on the dance floors but a flop in sales, or a smash hit on radio but not on dance floors. Information Society attacked on all front lines.
When I do 80’s parties, the band repertoire is still a success. It wasn’t just a thing from the past. The people still remember. It wasn’t a squared sound, they were very wild at that time, and that’s why it is still being played and everybody likes it. Some people say unanimity is dumb, but it wasn’t in this case, indeed.