Kiko Loureiro

Biography

It was at 19 years old, after he had studied with master guitarist Mozart Mello, one of Brazil’s leading music educators among others, and had been playing in many bands from São Paulo, that Kiko was invited to become part of the newly formed rock group Angra. In March of 1993, Kiko recorded his instructional video by MPO productions and immediately following that he traveled to Germany to record Angra’s debut album, “Angels Cry”. The success surrounding the album opened several new markets for the band, like Argentina and Europe, outside of Brazil.
Before their next full studio project, Angra released two EPs, “Freedom Call” and “Holy Live”, the latter recorded live in Paris. “Fireworks”, the band’s third album, was released in 1998, a little different from their previous works regarding the concept, as it focused more on the roots of heavy metal. The CD was produced by Chris Tsangarides and was recorded at the famous British studios Abbey Road where the Beatles recorded, and Power House.
On the eve of 2001, Angra presented their new personnel lineup to the fans and press in an event in which the band put out the “Acid Rain” recording. Kiko’s work being in a constant state of technical development without sacrificing his feeling was one of the highlights on this recording, which came before “Rebirth” the band’s new album. Released in October of 2001, “Rebirth” was also recorded in Germany, but this time under producer Dennis Ward’s oversight. The album, as the title indicates, signaled the band’s rebirth which came to be once again acclaimed all over the world, not only because of the album, but also because of the concerts they had performed in Brazil and Europe. In May of 2002, Kiko and his partner in Angra, guitarist Rafael Bittencourt, released the “Rebirth” songbook, with all the notation and tablature from the songs of the album. The book, contains 116 pages, and was the first publication of this kind in Brazil regarding hard rock bands.
In the year of 2003, Angra released the “Rebirth World Tour Live In São Paulo” DVD and double CD, this helped Angra become a very popular rock group, all over the planet. Kiko one again released two more instructional videos, “Técnica e Versatilidade” and “Os Melhores Riffs e Solos do Angra” on VHS and DVD. Both of videos show Kiko on top of his technique and in a clear easily learnable way, which contain countless details that are meant to enrich the musical repertoire of any guitarist.

In September of 2004, Angra released their most recent and long anticipated work “Temple of Shadows” a different recording that brings many diverse nuances and characteristics, without giving up the melodic metal sound that has always characterized the band. The album shows Angra at their most technical and creative peak to date, once again with producer Dennis Ward at the helm. “Temple of Shadows” proves also that the group has achieved the goal of expanding their fame beyond the heavy metal genre, as they count on the participation of the MPB singer and composer Milton Nascimento, who loved the song in which he participates, “Late Redemptions”.
Kiko released his first solo album, “No Gravity”, the album was recorded May 2005, in Germany, with the production help of Dennis Ward, and is comprised of thirteen instrumental tracks. “No Gravity” has the participation of the drummer Mike Terrana, while Kiko played multi-instruments on this project including guitars, acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, piano and percussion. Now Kiko through Boosweet Records releases his second solo project “Universo Inverso” in the USA and Canada, a high octane jazz fusion style release with world class performances by Kiko, Cuban born pianist virtuoso Yaniel Matos, bassist Carlinhos Noronha, and drummer Cuca Teixeira. The compositions are fiery and diverse with Brazilian Samba and Cuban Latin influences, among other styles.
Kiko and Angra’s world recognition keeps bringing many opportunities to the guitarist. Countless corporations have been insisting on associating their names with Kiko through the signing of endorsements deals with companies such as Tagima guitars, Santo Angelo cables, D’Addario strings, Zoom effects, Takamine acoustic guitars, AKG microphones and Warm Music amplifiers. Kiko has been on the cover of many guitar trade magazines in the world, like the Japanese Young Guitar, French Guitar & Bass and Brazilians Cover Guitarra and Guitar Class, besides having already written columns and contents on these publications.