Saulo Oliveira S. music is revered by Remix magazine
The Prince of Rock is acclaimed by the Remixd Magazine
by Nelson Nielsen, October 15, 2023.
Saulo Oliveira S. has his creativity and music celebrated by the magazine, which considers his work to be more than excellent.
The tittle of the article says it all: Saulo Oliveira S. is renewing Rock N Roll.
We had exclusive access to the raw and complete text of the coverage, which you can read in full below. Plus, the version of the magazine page can be accessed here:
Saulo Oliveira S.: The Prince of Rock is “Renewing Rock N Roll”
When Rock and Roll emerged in the 50’s and 60’s, lots of things were said about the genre, it was considered heretic, devil’s business, a fleeting movement and it was predicted that it would not last that long, some even promised it. But predictions and promises are not immune to the passage of time. And time, itself, often brings new promises.
Born on July 14th, 1993, Birmingham, one of those new promises is Saulo Oliveira S., also known as Prince of Rock. The sign of the times are especially unmistakable when noticed that in a revolutionary day someone can be brought into the world covered in revolutionary ideas for incendiary lyrics. Also not by coincidence, in a year engulfed with the atmosphere of releases such as “Get A Grip” from Aerosmith, “Vs” from Pearl Jam, “Phobia” from The Kinks, and even “In Utero” from Nirvana, artists that would late influence him.
Saulo’s background is almost the same as plenty of common kids; parents divorced when he was three, thus, spend most of the time only with his mother who later remarried. Saulo attended a very-knwon jesuit private school in his city, learnt to read at the age of five and, as a child, enjoyed writing short stories, singing cover versions of Oasis and The Beatles. For someone who grew up writing since childhood, it would be presumable that his skills were quite refined by now. Unequivocally it is. The quality of his compositions are so balanced that it is right to assume he is not just a singer-songwriter but also an old soul.
In Wild Horizon, his conceptual album, the opening song introduces the phrase “(…) as the universe is unbounded, you’re always going somewhere to never get nowhere” signifying in his nihilistic vision that no one can ever be anywhere considering that all is pointless. Notwithstanding, in the second track story, everything that seemed to be settled for a happy ending fell apart. Same with Cosmic Jive where the scenes described a fatalistic meeting that was doomed to result in nothing, in other words, nihilism again. In Memory Lane the listener is sent back to childhood, it’s melancholic and makes an alert: “the time is passing by, just like a cloud on cloudy sky”. The Doors of Perception is a climax, pure and rough, one of the main reasons why people who predicted the death of rock were wrong. When the catharsis is reached with the last three songs, it’s already the end.
The last song of the album, then, gives sense to everything. Every song is recapitulated at “In the Beginning Was the End”, the whole concept is sewn with the last phrase “To think that in the beginning was the end” followed by a beating outro. Although it may seem to be a risk to reference Pink Floyd, it couldn’t be more spot-on. Wild Horizon heartbeat is actually one of the best closing effects in an album in a whole time. And it’s all tempered with well-executed rhymes, acoustic guitar, vocals, piano, drums, and, obviously, harmonica solos.
But Saulo not only creates characters and stories with hidden messages in a Dylan way. The musician can be either metaphoric or literal if he wants. In Old MTV, one of his singles, there is nostalgia in the claiming of good things from past to last in present. “In What Governs Behind Them?” he answers the title song question in a grave and compelling tone: “You’re the one who governs behind them” giving the people the responsibility for those they vote for.
As someone who is also a pacifist, vegetarian, environmentalist and atheist engaged in many actions, his Lockdown single, in which he criticizes those who refuse to get vaccine, it is a protest against misinformation, from the revolutionary essence of the artist. On the other hand, Kool Kids Klub, openly inspired in Lord of the Flies, depictures a dystopian world ruled by corrupted kids, assuming that violence and corruption are intrinsic to the human race.
When it comes to music, during a long time, most of the people probably got hooked by the beat, the melody, rhythm or charisma of the artist and only a few would admit they noticed the whole meaning behind the writing of it. This is also an ongoing major change. That’s so irrefutable that in the present moment no one would dare to claim Lana Del Rey’s work is not poetry, for an example. And that’s also the reason why songwriters with something to spread, such as Saulo, are needful.
From Lennon-McCartney partnership to the siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas it’s been half a century of lyricism's evolution through music. Some of the Grammy winners of last decade not only sing their songs but also wrote it. That’s the case of Adele, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, among many others. There’s a good reason why the front man of Nirvana was considered the spokesman of a generation and it is because he used to write things people would like to say but they just couldn’t get to those specific words. So, when Mr. Oliveira’s mocks the holiday saying all he wants for Christmas is no Christmas, in Antichrist-Mas, a single in which he despises the date, this is not random proselytism, it is the feeling of thousands in a new generation that it is more skeptical, faithless. Then, in a scenario where atheism is increasing, he took the words (that would never drop) off the tip of the tongues of thousands and transforms them into a melodic anti-dogmatic manifesto. This song, by the way, it is visceral in a way that Kurt Cobain would totally relate. Bob Dylan, after influencing the deliverance of an innocent Rubin Carter from jail only with his song, ironically, did not win the Nobel Peace Prize but the Nobel Prize in Literature. The lesson here is that words have never mattered more in music business, and, fortunately, there are good songwriters emerging every day.
Considering that the singer is at his beginning, Oliveira’s catalogue, so far, is pretty much complex and mesmerizing. The narratives and statements evoked are current and necessary, features that rock music needs nowadays. This idiosyncrasy can probably be attributed to his devoted sense of completeness: Saulo also composed all the melodies and plays all instruments in every song. Ahead of his own independent label since 2018, British Rock Records, the Prince of Rock is currently looking forward to the release of his debut clip at his official channel.
Apart his music profile, he composed the score of a documentary that he also directed – “Ethics, Politics and Citizenship” (2013). He can also be seen acting in the short film Antichrist-Mas (2020) (V). Saulo got his degree in Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (2020), with emphasis in environmental law. Oliveira also wrote an article published at the most traditional and important legal magazine of Brazil, Review of the Courts, edition of September, number 1031, from Thomson Reuters. He also has a Harvard degree in Arts and Design from a course which the study was Beethoven’s 9th symphony and the 19th Century Orchestra, from Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (2022).
So far, he has been two times the cover of the Rock Life Today Magazine (June edition 2022 and December edition 2022), and in the second time he was granted the title of “Rocker of The Year”. He was also the cover of the Hollywood Gossip’s “Musicians on Musician” in December 2022 and was recently the cover of “Avec Élégance Magazine”, (March 2023).
And the rockstar gives signs that he won't stop there; his team confirms that a new single “Nighthawks” is on the way, to be released soon.
After more than a year since the release of “Lockdown”, the Prince of Rock released, in February 4, 2022, the single “Renewing Rock N Roll” has arrived as part of promotion of a new E.P. called “Prince of Rock”. After that the single “Mcneil” came. This new work combines Rock and Punk-Rock with Hip-Hop. The whole E.P. with four fresh songs arrived March 4. And what a great work that is. Critics have been unanimous about the quality of the work delivered on this sophomore E.P. At this point, it goes without saying that Saulo’s recent music approach exceeds the conception of absolute excellence.
At the end of the day, authenticity is always welcome. If he has what’s needed to be a rockstar? Rumor has it that heavy is the head that wears the crown, but given what the musician has achieved, and considering his public appearances, he has style, presence, creativity and the potential to galvanize a devoted audience with the power of Rock and Roll magnetism. It would not be exaggerate to join in the fun of the formidable title and nod a bow once in a while; the guy looks like he already is His Royal Highness, the Prince of Rock, and, which is more, a rising needed songwriter.
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