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CSS

 
Artist: CSS
CSS

Group Members:

Iracema Trevisan, Luiza Sá, Ana Rezende, Carolina Parra, Adriano Cintra, Lovefoxxx

Similar Artists:

Formal Connection With:

Thee Butchers' Orchestra
See CSS Lyrics
  • Formed: 2003, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "Cansei de Ser Sexy," "Donkey"
  • Representative Songs: "Let's Make Love and Listen to," "Alala," "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex"

Biography

São Paulo, Brazil's provocative, freewheeling dance-rock sextet CSS take their name from an abbreviation of "cansei de ser sexy," which is Portuguese for "tired of being sexy" (though, considering that the lead singer goes by the name Lovefoxxx, it's arguable how much that phrase actually applies to the band). CSS also include bassist Iracema Trevisan, guitarist/drummer/keyboardist Luiza Sá, guitarist Ana Rezende, guitarist/drummer Carolina Parra, and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Adriano Cintra (also a member of Thee Butchers' Orchestra).

The band formed in 2003, after meeting at clubs and through Internet social networking groups such as Fotolog and Trama Virtual, and began crafting its unique but unpretentious sound through trial and error. CSS' net-savvy ways led to them becoming a phenomenon on the Web; their extensively downloaded songs eventually caught the attention of more traditional media in Brazil and Europe. The band released two EPs on their own in 2004, Em Rotterdam Ja e uma Febre and A Onda Mortal/Uma Tarde com PJ, before signing to Trama Virtual in 2005. That fall, their debut album, Cansei de Ser Sexy, was released in Brazil, along with a bonus EP, CSS SUXXX. The members of CSS also used their other talents to forge the band's distinctive image: Lovefoxxx and Parra are graphic designers, Trevisan is a fashion designer, Rezende is a film student (and directed the video for the song "Off the Hook"), while Sá attends art school.

Early in 2006, Sub Pop signed the band and the label released Cansei de Ser Sexy in North America that summer. Shortly after the album's release, CSS did a string of dates in Canada and the U.S. with Diplo and Bonde do Role. The band's touring continued into 2007, with dates supporting Ladytron, Gwen Stefani, and Klaxons as well as a gig at that year's Lollapalooza festival. Late that year, their song "Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex" was used in an iPod commercial, and its popularity made it the highest-charting single by a Brazilian band in Billboard history. CSS' second album, Donkey, was produced by Cintra and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent; shortly before its release in summer 2008, bassist Trevisan left the group. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: CSS (band)
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CSS

CSS performing at Rock en Seine
Background information
Origin São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Genres Indie rock
New Wave
Electronic rock
Electroclash
New Rave
Years active 2003–present
Labels Sub Pop
Website Official website
Members
Lovefoxxx
Adriano Cintra
Luiza Sá
Ana Rezende
Carolina Parra
Jon Harper
Former members
Maria Helena Zerba
Iracema Trevisan
Clara Ribeiro

CSS is a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. The band was labeled as part of the explosion of the New Rave scene. Their songs are in both English and Portuguese. CSS is an abbreviation for Cansei de Ser Sexy (pronounced [kã'sej dʒi seɾ 'sɛksi]), literally "I got tired of being sexy" in Portuguese.

Contents

History

Formation and Cansei de Ser Sexy (Brazilian album): 2003–2006

CSS formed in September 2003, consisting of a group of friends.[1] Their name was taken from a reported quote by Beyoncé, who allegedly declared that she was "tired of being sexy".[2]

The band first achieved notoriety through the Internet. Some of its members, like Adriano Cintra, had been previously known in São Paulo's underground club scene, but not outside of the local alternative subculture. Others, like Lovefoxxx, were owners of popular fotolog and flickr pages. Their collective band fotolog also gained popularity and their songs were frequently downloaded from Trama Virtual's website (a Brazilian website loosely similar to MySpace Music). Several songs by CSS were featured in mainstream media: "Meeting Paris Hilton" was featured in the Latin American broadcasting of The Simple Life, "Superafim" was used in the Brazilian version of the Big Brother, etc. Still without a record deal, they released two independent EPs in 2004, and played that year at TIM Festival.

In 2005, they signed with the Trama Virtual label, and in October their first album was released in Brazil, along with an 7-track EP that was sold at concerts. A limited edition version of the album had a CD-R included, so that the buyer could burn a copy of the album onto the CD-R to give away as a gift.[1] In Brazil the album has reportedly sold 5,000 copies to date, but neither the album nor the singles have reached charts. Two music videos were also released: "Off The Hook" and "Alala". "Off the Hook" was directed by guitar player Ana Rezende, and filmed at the home of band members Carolina Parra and Adriano Cintra, where CSS recorded most of their songs.

Cansei de Ser Sexy (international album): 2006–2008

In the beginning of 2006, CSS signed with Sub Pop to release their international debut album. The first single was "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above", released on 6 June with an accompanying video directed by Cat Solen. In July 2006, along with DJ Diplo and funk group Bonde do Rolê, they began their first international tour.

CSS sold as many as 60,000 copies in Europe and the United States up to February 2007 (according to journalist Lucio Ribeiro in Folha de São Paulo).[3]

They played at various festivals across Europe in the summer of 2007. The band were also scheduled to play the American festival Lollapalooza on 4 August 2007 but were left stranded at LaGuardia Airport en route to the American city of Chicago after an overbooking error by United Airlines.[4] They did arrive in time for their performance at Virgin Festival in Baltimore the next day.

CSS caught an unlikely break when their song "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex" was used in a worldwide television commercial by Apple Inc. for the iPod. Due to the song's exposure in the United States, it charted at number 63[5][6] on the country's Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest charting single in the United States by a Brazilian band to date.[citation needed] Coincidentally, the same song had been used in a promotion for the competing Zune media player a year prior.[7]

Several of CSS's songs feature on the soundtracks of video games. Their singles "Alala" and "Off the Hook" have been featured in the video game Forza Motorsport 2. The video game FIFA 08 also features "Off the Hook".[citation needed] Their song "Jager Yoga" features in the soundtrack of video game FIFA 09.[8] and "Rat Is Dead (Rage)" appears in the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles.[9]

In April 2008, Iracema Trevisan left the band; Adriano Cintra replaced her on bass guitar. The band is currently working with a session drummer [10], Jon Harper of The Cooper Temple Clause.

Donkey: 2008–present

"Rat Is Dead (Rage)", the first single to be taken from their forthcoming second album was made available as a free download from the CSS website in April 2008. The band's second album Donkey, was released on 21 July 2008 with first single proper, "Left Behind", preceding it earlier in the month.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
UK IRE CAN U.S.
2006 "Alala"
89
Cansei de Ser Sexy
"Off the Hook"
43
2007 "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above"
32
37
"Alcohol"
"Music Is My Hot Hot Sex"
12
63
2008 "Rat Is Dead (Rage)"
Donkey
"Left Behind"
78
"Move"

Remixes

Contributions

References

External links

Interviews and live reviews


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