Max De Castro

Introduced to music by his father, singer Wilson Simonal, in 1992 Max de Castro joined the band Confraria, formed by Pedro Camargo Mariano and his brother João Marcello Mariano (Daniel Carlomagno would come to the group in the next year). The band had success in several school festivals. After participating in Cia da Música for two years, Castro worked as an arranger and also had songs recorded on the albums João Marcello Bôscoli e Cia and Pedro Camargo Mariano. As a producer, de Castro worked for Thalma de Freitas, Klébi, Patrícia Marx, and Cláudio Zoli. De Castro also wrote the soundtrack for the play Opus Profundo, directed by Dionísio Neto. From 1998 to 1999, he was a member of the Artistas Reunidos project, together with Jairzinho Oliveira, Daniel Carlomagno, Luciana Mello, Pedro Camargo Mariano, and Wilson Simoninha. The performances at the Supremo Musical had guests like Djavan, Jair Rodrigues, César Camargo Mariano, Cláudio Zoli, Netinho (from Negritude Jr.), and Otto, among others. The same was done at the Blen Blen Brasil nightclub (São Paulo), where the live CD Projeto Artistas Reunidos (released in 2000) was recorded. That same year, de Castro also had his first CD released, Samba Raro, to enthusiastic reviews from Nelson Motta's and was praised by artists like Ed Motta and Jorge Ben Jor. DJ Patife remixed "Pra Você Lembrar," one of the album's tracks, and had a hit in the alternative London dance charts. The Artistas Reunidos also represented Brazil at the Beny Moré Festival in Cuba.