Founded in 1999, Argonautas is a band that performs its own works as well as readings of relevant works from MPB (Brazilian Popular Music).
Bossa nova, samba, maracatu, frevo, instrumental music, music from the Armorial Movement, Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque, Edu Lobo, João Gilberto, Luiz Gonzaga, Antônio Nóbrega, Astor Piazzolla, JS Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Villa-Lobos: these are the gorup's main influences.
Argonautas have been working on a sound that is capable of uniting all of these influences. And the result is not only one. In every song, every arrangement, every recording, the band seeks to open new paths.
The quartet works with acoustic guitar, piano, flute, accordion, saxophone, clarinet, guitar, glockenspiel, mandolin, bass, drums and percussion.
History:
1997 - Founding of the first trio, named Mira na Lira, with Ayrton Pessoa, Rafael Torres and Raphael Haluli. They didn't perform live, but they would gather up to write songs and study music.
1997 - Invited by music producer Alencar Júnior, they start to record their songs, not for release, but to create a portfolio.
1999 - First public performance at IBEU-CE, playing their own songs and a couple of well known songs of MPB. The trio was joined by brummer Ponciano Bride just for that performance. This was the year of consolidation of the band and therefore, technically, the year of its founding.
2000 - The group adopts the name Argonautas.
2001 - They release their first demo.
2004 - The group initiates the project "Argonautas sing Edu Lobo", preforming at Centro Cultural Dragão do Mar. Pianist Leonardo Torres joins the band.
2004 - They are invited by Jornal da Globo to appear on the attraction "Band Day".
2004 - They are invited by Jornal da Globo to appear on a report about Chico Buarque's 60th birthday.
2005 - Raphael Haluli quits the band, and Ronaldo Lage (drums and piano) and Germano Lima (bass) join the band. Leonardo Torres continues to perform with them occasionally.
2009 - They release their first album, Interiores, featuring the chamber group Ad Libitum on recorders.
2014 - Ronaldo Lage and Germano Lima quit the band, and Igor Ribeiro (drums and percussion) and Ednar Pinho (bass) join the quartet.
2018 - They release their second album, Jangada Azul (Blue Raft), featuring all original songs.
2018 - They start the project "Argonautas Convidam" ("Argonautas Invite"), in which they act as backup band for singers from all parts of Brazil. The first to be invited is the great singer from São Paulo Mônica Salmaso (Teatro RioMar) and, subsequently, Renato Braz (Cineteatro São Luiz).
2018 - They are invited by Jornal O Povo and by Ronaldo Pessoa to participate on the project Os Cearenses, recording a music video of the song Mucuripe (Belchior e Fagner).