Inspired by: Candy Mel
Miista
Sat Jun 22 2024
At Miista, we’re inspired by people who do the opposite thing – the pioneers who take risks, challenge conventions and encourage bold decisions.
In our Inspired By series, we showcase the stories of these individuals, whose attitudes embody everything we celebrate in our designs and production process.
There’s something special about watching a musician perform in a tiny room.
On our recent trip to Rio De Janeiro, that’s exactly where we ended up: in an empty, picturesque karaoke bar, in the middle of the afternoon, watching Candy Mel serenade us with a medley of some of her biggest tunes.
Mel has overcome plenty of obstacles to reach where she’s at today. As a young trans woman raised in a religious family in Goiânia, central Brazil, she felt immense pressure to suppress her true identity. But at the age of 16, she decided enough was enough: she had to push back and live life as her authentic self. That was the beginning of a whole new – and wholly inspiring – journey.
Mel found her passion for music in her local Baptist choir. “My grandmother loved to have me with the hymnal, singing,” she says, explaining that she sang in the choir until she was 17, before “very naturally” transferring over to Banda Uó. “I didn't feel a big break or rupture,” she says. “For me, this is the coolest part of everything, being able to transform myself.”
As lead singer of the pioneering group, Mel and her bandmates pushed at the boundaries of pop by introducing elements of the Brazilian genre tecnobrega.
"Our pop – Banda Uó's pop – mixes tropical rhythms, international rhythms and Brazilian music, and on our first album we gave more emphasis to tecnobrega,” says Mel. "Obviously it's a sound that we love a lot, and there's always some element being used in our [music].”
The band moved from Goiânia to São Paulo to chase their dream, and the risk paid off in a big way: their debut album hit number one and in 2012 the band blew up. “We found ourselves in a place of reconstruction, of connecting the sound we liked and what people were listening to in that moment,” Mel remembers. “And I think that worked very well.”
The next five years were a back-to-back succession of tours, hit singles and – at one point – a guest star spot on the telenovela I Love Paraisópolis. Their reach and influence grew, and the group helped to inspire a whole new wave of Brazilian bands.
Importantly, Mel’s talent and visibility also set the stage for a generation of trans musicians from Brazil. "Artists like Liniker, Urias, Majur, Jup do Bairro, and many others have become my references, because they are my contemporaries and also came after me,” she says. “I see myself in them, and we exchange a lot. That's the most amazing part – it's a joy to have them as references today. I see that it was worth going through everything I did because now there are other sisters with me.”
But the situation wasn’t always so positive. “When I started my career, I felt very rejected by the media,” Mel explains. “I was excluded from many opportunities because I was a trans woman facing a lot of prejudice and many barriers. However, as my career progressed, many doors began to open.”
These days, Mel is rightfully seen as both a role model – someone who succeeded after taking their destiny into their own hands, despite the risks – and an enduring symbol of progress in a country that was recently named the most dangerous place to be trans or gender-diverse.
After their whirlwind success, Banda Uó went on an extended hiatus and Mel went solo. “It was really cool and important for me to assert myself as a musical researcher, as a person who wants to sing and likes to sing,” she says. “Because more than a singer, I consider myself a person who likes to sing.”
Now, Banda Uó are back with a tour and a new single – so while we were out in Rio shooting our SS24 campaign, we figured it was the perfect time to meet up with Mel.
We linked up with our friend, the Brazilian photographer Fernanda Liberti, and dove right into a packed day. Our first stop was the beautiful Copacabana Palace Theatre, a Rio gem that was recently restored to its former glory.
The place is dripping with history, and you can sense the stories stockpiled in its sparkling chandeliers, plush green curtains and grand marble floors.
Having started life as a casino, it was converted into a theatre when gambling was made illegal, and visited by the likes of Nat King Cole, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
After being closed in 1994 and sitting empty for years, more than 600 craftspeople meticulously transformed the space into its current dazzling state.
At Miista, we’re a bit obsessed with craft, process and making things by hand, so it was an honour to explore the place and to join Mel and Fernanda in walking the same boards as Ella Fitzgerald and The Rolling Stones.
Talking of musical history, we got chatting with Mel about the artists who have had the biggest impact on her as a singer. “For me, there’s always a reference, because I see someone’s [talent] and I want to steal it artistically in some way, to make me better,” she says.“Kenny G, Bee Gees – that's what I heard when I was a kid. I’m in love with Sade and Tina Turner. And in Brazil, there are so many: Baby do Brasil, Gal Costa, Elba Ramalho, the band Rouge... I loved it all. And the list goes on.”
Next up was a trip to a warehouse where one samba school’s gigantic Rio Carnival floats are stored during the off months.
This year, the Carnival paid tribute to the rich cultural diversity of Brazil's indigenous people and denounced the injustices they face. Seeing the craft and creativity put into this celebration of the country’s history was incredibly inspiring, and it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the scale of these beautiful structures.
Being surrounded by the enormous, hyper-colourful floats felt almost otherworldly, like we’d been transported into another dimension where giant bedazzled fish weave their way through an Atlantis made of sequins, beads and bright blue spray paint. In fact, the supernatural sensation we felt wandering around this technicolour dreamland wasn’t far off the magic of a Mel Candy performance.
Finally, to round off our day, we headed to Astros e Estrelas Karaokê, in Rio’s Centro district. This place deserves its very own 10-part documentary series – but for now we’ll tell you this: the interiors were hand-built by Manuel, a retired carpenter and music-lover, using scraps from his workshop. It was quite incredible to witness this tangible, living tribute to one man’s passion for music, made up of a lifetime’s collection of materials.
“I think the best of the human being is in the essence: what the person wants to do, transform, wants to modify,” says Mel. "I've always been like that, but unintentionally. I discovered this power much later, when people discovered my sound, discovered me, and I continue to discover and transform myself. I always like to think about freedom – and I think freedom is a word that goes along with me, maybe because I'm a Sagittarius.
The karaoke bar was a real reminder of the transformative power of passion, and the incredible things that can be achieved when someone pours their heart and soul into their dreams. Standing in Manuel’s DIY labour of love, we watched Mel rip through some of the songs she’ll be performing on tour later this year.
If you’ve got tickets, you’re in for a treat.
Shot by @libertife
