After leading three big Brazilian bands, André Matos seems to have reached the highest point of his career with his second solo album Mentalize. In this exclusive interview to Rockconnection the singer tells us how the composition process of this new album was, talks about the 25-year career and his plans for the future. 

What were your main influences when you were composing Mentalize?
All members of the band tried not to be swayed by anything, whether old or current.  This time, we tried not to have outside references to compose the album. I think the biggest influence we had on this record was the previous one, Time To Be Free.

How did the album title come up?
It came up after a long talk with Corciolli, our producer, who helped me much in finding a concept for the album, because the first question he asked me was: "I'll do it, but tell me one thing, what do you want this record to sound like?”. And I had to think about this question for a whole week (laughs) and I think it eventually resulted in the name Mentalize.

About Eloy – because he is the youngest member – what has he brought to the Andre Matos sound?
Vitality! When he joined the band we realized it was the best thing we could have done, because the two sides complement each other; on the one hand we are more experienced and we transmit it him. On the other hand, he is a guy who really brought new blood, speed, and if we were already getting a little settled, Eloy woke everyone up, we have to match his pace. It’s more or less when you have a football team, with experienced players, and all of a sudden you hire that guy who runs like hell and you'll have to run together. So it’s very positive for everyone!

Is there the possibility of you returning to do more shows with Viper in the future?
Yes! The other day I met some members of Viper and we got talking and realized that in 2010 is gonna be the 25th anniversary of Viper’s first show, which was on 8th April ‘85!  We are seriously considering doing a proper celebration. We like each other, we love playing together, it's fun, reminds us of old times, and I think there is a good portion of the public who followed it at the time and would like to see it again. Our intention is to, some day soon, do a complete show.

What about Angra and Shaman?
That’s different. Mainly because there’s no friendship among us. Viper was a band formed by people who grew up together, were friends from childhood, it became a band, and was also our first band. It has a very special meaning for us. Angra and Shaman were bands that were very important in my career, I am very proud of them both, have a lot of love for everything I did, for founding these two bands, but maybe the nostalgia is not the same.

Silvia Curado
photo: Luciano Piantonni