Spotlight on Tb Andel

  

TB  (aka Joao Frazao) è un musicista portoghese che suona un tipo raffinato di world music, risultante dalla contaminazione del tradizionale fado portoghese con influenze di jazz e di musica afro.Il suo strumento è l'ukulele elettrico che non è originario come molti pensano delle isole Hawaii, ma lì giunse nel 1879 insieme ad una nave proveniente da Madeira ,con a bordo 419 emigranti destinati a lavorare nei campi di canne da zucchero.Per festeggiare l'arrivo dopo 4 mesi e 15,000 miglia di viaggio in mare, Joao Fernandes, uno di quei lavoratori in cerca di fortuna,cominciò a rallegrare i compagni suonando la sua braguinha (questo il nome portoghese dello strumento).Affascinati dal suono cristallino provocato dalle agili dita saltellanti fra le corda, gli indigeni giunti sul molo apprezzarono l'inatteso concerto e subito ribattezzarono lo strumento col nome di ukulele, che in hawaiano significa "pulce saltellante".TB Andel è un musicista professionista che ha fatto concerti in tutto il mondo, dal Nord America all'India ,dall'Africa a ll'Europa, accompagnato dai migliori musicisti della sua terra, animato dal desiderio di diffonderne la cultura attraverso la musica.Nel suo tour virtuale ripropone il medesimo repertorio,basato sia sui suoi pezzi originali che sulle musiche folk tradizionali completamente riarrangiate in chiave personale.La sua è una musica che difficilmente abbandona la memoria una volta ascoltata...


 TB Andel is a wonderfully energetic musician with the beautiful and traditional rich sound coming from the beautiful Portugal!!
His style of World Music is based on Portuguese Folk Music with a original touch of jazz, fado and afro music.
Played with a hand crafted Electric Ukulele bringing great clearity with the love of music he brings to all listening.
TB is a experienced and professional musician playing around the world for the last 24 years with his original music and also keeping Portuguese Tradition alive!!
TB Andels music is a different and wonderful sound from anything you have ever heard and TB is looking forward to sharing his love with everyone in SecondLife!!

This is the friendly interview I had with him ...

Do you want me to use your real name?/

 You can use my RL name of course :) its the RL musician who is behind TB Andel  so theres no problem at all call me João Frazão as well :)

Where are you from?/

 I'm from Portugal but I live in England at the moment.

How long have you been playing music?/

 I've been playing music for 29 years.. During all this years I've been playing with many well-known portuguese singers ( Rita Guerra, Roberto Leal, João Afonso and more... ) touring all over the world with some of them. I've been making some studio work as well as technician. I mixed and mastered "Joana Rios" CD  and several other CDs 

What instruments do you play?

 Well my main instrument is Guitar, i started playing guitar with 13 years old... but i also play electric ukulele [ this isntrument is designed by me and builted for me... its unique :) ] , eletric bass and Piano [ this 2 instruments im not great eheh but i play enaugh to record my backing tracks... on piano sometimes i need midi editing help ehehehe and of course i use technology.. samplers midi programming and audio editing and mastering.

How did you discover SL?

 Here it is a funny story.... first time i heared about SL it was in a TV show... im also a web programmer.. so i always spent a lot of time on computers, one day i was about to sleep ( my 6 AM   ) and I was eating before going to bed, I turned on my TV and I found a TV program that was talking about a brand new  "game" on t internet... well my "computer freak side" didn't let me go bed and I watched the program... at the the end of    came back to my computer again to install SL instead going to sleep bed ! So well I am here now playing my music ( some original, portuguese folk music and now some blues and rock as well )... and of course I become SL addicted  !

What has influenced you to get your to where you are today musically?/

 Mainly my instinct. I always felt music like my main way to communicate. About influences... I got some... I've always been listening  some Jazz, classical, some rock... loads of world music ,whch is my passion , but let me tell you during this 29 years playing music I never tried to copy any of the guitar players I listen to... I think I will never be able to feel the same as they feel.. so I guess it's better for me to play what I feel , and I hope that people will like it.

Do you think SL can be a valid showcase for your RL works?

 Sure! through SL, RL people can listen my music played live. Like in RL, every show in SL is different, musician mood to play depends on the crowd mood, just like in RL. I guess musician can make real good RL contacts here in SL to play RL. I'm still looking for my opportunities. I have some hundreds of people here in SL following  me in  every show,. I guess that if  I will play  RL next to their home town, I hopefully  think they will be there for me....

How would you describe your style?

 Hard  question! I don't know. I guess as TB Andel i would descibe my self as a world music player. I play portuguese folk music and original music. The portuguese folk music have a lot of influencies ( arabic, african, celtic) so i guess i mix a bit of all this styles in my music.  

Which are the sources of your inspiration?

 EVERYTHING !!!! all around me inspire me... if I feel sad for any reason i'll make sad music if I feel romantic I'll make romantic music etc etc... Every little thing might make me feel some music... thats why I love music I guess, I can express my self through sounds

Do you want to use your RL name?

 Sure, no problem: João Frazão 

Do you use other kind of digital promotions?

 Yes  to

You can visite my website and my Youtube:

Any thing else you would like to add?

I would like to thank to all my fans SL and RL for their support all this time, and thanks to you too for the promotion your making to "João Frazão" aka TB Andel  and to my love Aphrodaite Andel for her HUGE pacience and support 

Mats Milev

Where are you from?


Well first of all, i would like to Introduce myself. My name in real life is Guy Noel and in Second Life I perform as  Mats Milev. I am a singer-songwriter coming from Luxembourg. It's a very tiny country. They call it it the Heart of Europe.

How long have you been playing music?

Well the question is, at what stage did I think that I was able to play it ... I started, as mostly Kids do, practicing every day in order to be able to play some chords. I remember that I have an old guitar with only one string, i think it was the G side...I played it day and night until my girlfriend bought me a new one. Thanks to her ! So it took some years finally to be able to join a Band. But at that time, another Band member told me that i had a very good voice....so that's how i started to become a Singer and a guitarist. If i remember well, i was 20 at that time.

Let's start spending some words about SL :how did you discover SL? what brought you inworld?

I came into Sl due to a later friend called Cyberpiper, a well known inworld musican.
I remember that once I was sitting at home  reading some magazines when I found a very nice report about him, who was used to  playing in a virtual World in front of people from all over the Globe, but in front of his Computer. At that time, streaming wasn't so popular to the people and i found it very interesting. We met later in Sl and became friends. I remember that it was very hard to find out how to stream, which hardware and programs to use. I asked many people in Sl and a lot of them were very helpful. I played my first gig over the computer mic...oh God ! it sounded terrible and awful!. Then  I finally found a stream program for Mac, called : Nicecast. It has a lot of features where you can mix your guitar and voice sound.

Did you ever think to use your real name for what you usually do in Second Life?

Of course. My music is my passion. People should also know my real name as I am selling my music also. It is available on Itunes and on amazon. I’m also distributing it inworld in Sl. I am presenting my originals in Sl when i play and that's why people should know my real name too.

I am juse country who wt a Singer-Songwriter from a littlants to share his original music with people from everywhere. A musician without this one and only dream..i haven't met him yet if you know what I mean

Can you describe your experience in SL:what did you like to do when you were not playing?did you like to go to live music events or to art exhibits?

Of course, my main reason for Sl was music. That is why I am trying to follow and listen to every artist in Sl. I am mostly standing in the back so people can't see me..i don't know why..but i am doing this also in my real life  when I attend to some gig  ..don't ask me why !
I liked very much going to concerts of Ayden Kruh who is not inworld anymore I guess
I like so much  also the music of Craig Lyons. I’ve been  listening  a lot of concerts of Aminius Writer who is a very talented Artist too, even if he’s mainly focused   on covers. I once sent him my cd to his home and when i arrived at his Gig in Sl he was covering a song of mine.... I felt so proud of it, since it seemed to me that people started appreciating my original music!!

What has influenced you to get your to where you are today musically?

I started playing in Sl around 2007 but I did only covers at that time. I was not that much able to write  original songs.
A friend helped me...she was a fan of mine, she never missed But at that time there was a woman from the Uk following me to every Gig  played :unfortunately I cannot remember her name, but...that’s what friends are for, so... Once, she just said to me,” your music makes me feel good every time I listen to it “and that  was a very talented and gifted musician. She asked me why i didn't play my own songs and she convinced me to start writing. Due to her, my life music changed.I got a cd now, over 20 original songs.

Do you think SL could be a valid showcase for your RL works?
No, i don't think so.

How would you describe your style?
I think my style would fall into Rock, Pop, Folk with a touch of melancholy in it.

Which are the sources of your inspiration?
The music of David Gray, Damien Rice just to name a few

You have just released your last CD:in which is it different from your previous ones?
I have released my first CD whose title wasis  ' Let Me Be Myself'. It is a Extended version of 4 songs that I wrote these songs in a time when i felt not that good. I took advantage of that and started to write. These are the most sincere times when your white paper starts to get filled with honest words coming from the heart.

Do you use other kind of digital promotions?
I started to use also Ustream last year so people can see me when I am playing. These concerts are mostly streamed together with Sl. I announce these concerts usually over my Facebook acount.

Where do you see yourself a year from now:will Second Life still exist?

I don't see myself much different in a year. I hope i will write my 12 songs a year and will record them on my next album.

I think Secondlife is very useful for artists, musicians like me in order to promote themselves but it is also very tired if you need to play in irregular hours. Means accepting Gigs at a much later hour just to reach more people with your music. But that is another thing where musicians in Sl surely agree with me. Doing this Gig after gig will let you make feeling very tired in your real life

I think people are still afraid to come into Sl because they think they will become addicted to it....and that's true :)
Best of luck
Guy Noel ( a.k.a Mats Milev )
Here are some links where you can find me :

http://www.wix.com/guynoe5/guynoel
https://www.facebook.com/guy.noel1
http://itunes.apple.com/album/angels-cant-fly/id370880496?i=370880502&ign-mpt=uo