The Sun, the most controversial song by Ricardo Rangels

 

Hello. Many of you have sent emails asking for details about the most controversial song by Ricardo Rangels, The Sun. Now we will explain what actually happened with this song.

~Recording

The song The Sun was recorded between 1993 and 1995 in a WR studio located in Salvador.

At the time:
• Rangels did not have a band.
• There was a band rehearsing in the studio at that moment.
• They agreed to accompany him for a symbolic amount.

The artist does not remember the exact name of the band, only that it sounded something like “Billy.”

The recording ended up sounding different from what he had imagined, because the band added their own musical influences. Even so, he accepted it because:

• he had very little money
• the band charged cheaply
• the important thing was simply to record the song.

After the recording, he asked the technician to increase the bass in his voice, because he wanted a vocal tone similar to Renato Russo, from the Brazilian band Legião Urbana, and the singer Zé Ramalho. This eventually became one of the characteristics of many of his works.

He then received his copy on a cassette tape and returned to his city.

Promotion

After the recording:
• Rangels made several copies of the cassette tape.
• He sent them to radio stations, television programs, and music magazines.

Only one TV program responded, saying they would analyze the material.

After that, there was never any response.

Over the years he continued:

• composing songs
• participating in other projects
• playing music with friends.
The song The Sun ended up being forgotten.

Survival

The recording was transferred between several formats over the years:

• cassette tape
• CD
• pendrive
• digital files

The last known copy was stored on a Nokia C3.
Since Rangels did not consider this one of his best songs, he never officially released it.

Re-release

Decades later, when he decided to publish his old songs in order to close his musical trajectory, Rangels began releasing several old projects.

In this context, The Sun was also published.
To the artist’s surprise, the song began generating:

• attacks
• reports and complaints
• accusations
• online hate

Investigations

According to a private investigation, a Brazilian young man allegedly spread the song across several internet groups claiming it was a mysterious track of unknown origin from 1997.
This Brazilian had relatives who owned a Brazilian radio station, which may explain where he obtained the song — since, as previously mentioned, it had been sent to several radio stations.

After that, two fictional characters appeared, using names taken from characters of a game. They created the story that they had heard the song on a European radio station 40 years ago, even though the song never appeared before 1997.

These mysterious characters later also attempted to claim the song’s copyright in a well-known music application. In one of the photos associated with them, an image related to Brazilian culture can be seen in the background of a bedroom.

Harassment

After Rangels released the song, some groups that were investigating the track began attacking the artist, who did not even know what the situation was about. They promoted online harassment and bullying against him.

These communities were moderated by the same people connected to the fictional characters.
In these groups:

• criticism was deleted
• skeptical users were banned
• deeper discussions about the truth of the story were prevented.

When Rangels was identified as the author, he was:

• called a “supposed artist”
• targeted with insults and attacks
• harassed online
• threatened regarding his physical safety

Apologies

After investigations:

• the distributor acknowledged that the removal of the song had been unjust
• they admitted that the employee who conspired against Rangels was wrong
• the money invested was returned
• Rangels received apologies.

Even so, Rangels decided not to continue with the same distributor, nor to dispute the authorship of the song, stating that he has many other compositions.

According to him:

“I have more than 150 songs. It makes no difference to be considered the author of this particular one.”

Origin

Rangels was born in a small town in the semi-arid region, which is why the sun has always been present in his life.

During childhood, he used to travel to a coastal city during school vacations, and those trips inspired several poems.

On television he saw advertisements about summer, beaches, and tourism, which increased his excitement about traveling.

It was during this period that he began writing verses about:

• the sun
• the summer
• the happiness of vacations.

He also watched the Hollywood Rock festival on television, which inspired him to sing rock music.

Among his influences were bands such as:

• The Cure
• The Smiths
• Legião Urbana

He decided to sing in English even without mastering the language because he felt embarrassed by his vocal tone, which he always considered unusual. Singing in English reduced the listeners’ direct understanding and helped with his shyness.

He composed using a dictionary and asked an English teacher for help with pronunciation.
This is how the lyrics of the song were created.

~Lyrics

“Wind”
Refers to the feeling of freedom and connection with nature.
It also recalls verses from the author’s poems such as:

• “I walk with the light and invisible wind”
• “in the voice of the wind”
It may also represent the sensation of running, since the author always enjoyed practicing running.

“Running”
Connects with the previous verse and also symbolizes the arrival of the vacation period.

“Consequences”
This line recalls an episode from his childhood.
Before a trip, the author picked up what looked like chalk in his grandmother’s backyard, but it was actually a coal covered with ashes.
He burned his fingers and had to travel while feeling intense pain.
His mother told him that it was the consequence of his actions, a phrase he never forgot.

“Space”
This means two things:
• little space in the travel bag, which needed to carry clothes and supplies
• a feeling of anxiety that he called the “pressure of the world.”

“Tomorrow”
Refers to the sensation of leaving one city and waking up in another reality.
Tomorrow no longer belongs to the place of origin.

“Communication”
During these trips he would spend weeks without talking to friends, because telephones were rare and calls were expensive.

“Checking”
Refers to the anxiety before the trip:
• checking the luggage
• verifying the ticket
• making sure nothing was forgotten.

“Long”
If he missed the bus, he would miss the long-awaited summer.
The trip to the coast was about 570 km and lasted approximately 8 hours.
It was literally a long way.

“Sun”
Represents a special place where the sun illuminates the mind and brings happiness.

“Summer”
Here the central theme finally appears: the journey to live the summer.

“Smile”
Expresses the author’s happiness in relation to the vacation and the trip.

“Sorrow”
Means that there are no complicated problems at that moment.
Life’s difficulties were left behind.

“Dream”
The vacation period was, for the author:
• a rest
• a time to dream
• a stage of adventures.

“Believe”
Refers to the need to believe in oneself.
The author went through many difficulties in life and constantly needed to motivate himself.
This theme also appears in another song called Believe In.

~Authorship

• The lyrics follow the poetic style used in other texts by the author.
• The theme of the sun frequently appears in his artistic work.
• The deep vocal tone is characteristic of his songs.
• He has decades of independent musical career.
• The song never appeared before 1997, meaning the supposed 40-year search was false.
• The DJ and the radio station always denied that the song ever played on their program.
• The supposed old recordings were never submitted to independent technicians appointed by a court.
• The fictional characters remain hidden and have not presented records from the website that supposedly shared the song 40 years ago.
• He presented the song to several people at the university where he studied, leaving dozens of witnesses.

~Decision

After all the controversy, the author decided to close the matter.

He does not intend to continue discussing the authorship of the song, because he believes that one day serious investigations will take place and the truth will appear.

He considers the recording only a historical record of his youth, although he believes that someday the story will be clarified.

He states that he will continue sharing his works out of love for music, regardless of recognition.