Júpiter Maçã

• Name — Jupiter Apple • Birth Name — Flávio Basso • Other Names — * Júpiter Maçã • Woody Apple • Born — 26 January 1968 • Birthplace — Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil • Died — 21 December 2015 • Place of death — Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil • Resting Place — Cemitério Ecumênico João XXIII, Porto Alegre • Years Active — 1984–2015 • Occupation — * Musician • songwriter • filmmaker • Notable Works — A Odisseia: Memórias e Devaneios de Jupiter Apple

Flávio Basso was born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul on 26 January 1968; his father was a physicist and his mother a teacher of German descent. He learned by himself to play the classical guitar when he was 13 years old, and cites Paul McCartney, Syd Barrett, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Brian Jones as some of his influences. In 1984 he formed the rockabilly band TNT alongside his childhood friends Márcio Petracco, Felipe Jotz and Charles Master, being later joined by Nei Van Soria. TNT reached nationwide notoriety after their songs "Entra Nessa" and "Estou na Mão" were included in the 1985 compilation Rock Grande do Sul, made to promote rock bands from Rio Grande do Sul (such as Engenheiros do Hawaii, Os Replicantes, DeFalla and Garotos da Rua) and released by RCA Records. In 1986, one year before TNT released their first studio album, Van Soria and Basso left the band due to creative divergences with RCA to form their own project, Os Cascavelletes, which, despite its relatively short lifespan, managed to release one EP, one studio album and a demo. They self-described their irreverent style, characterized by comical and heavily sexually explicit lyrics, as "porno rock". The band's most famous composition was the 1989 hit "Nêga Bombom", featured in the soundtrack of the telenovela Top Model. Os Cascavelletes broke up in 1992. In 1993, Basso re-joined TNT to record the single "Você Me Deixa Insano/Tá na Lona", but definitely left them again the following year after a falling-out with Charles Master.

After his second departure from TNT, Basso began to perform solo, under the moniker "Woody Apple" (as an homage to musician Woody Guthrie and record label Apple Records, founded by The Beatles). It was not until 1995 when he adopted the stage name he became famous for, Júpiter Maçã (with "Júpiter" being an allusion to the fictional spaceship Jupiter 2, from one of his favorite TV series growing up, Lost in Space), and formed the very short-lived project Os Pereiras Azuiz alongside Ubirajara Guimarães, Rogério Campos and Luiz Wilfrido; they only released a demo tape, Orgasmo Legal, before disbanding. In 1997 he signed with independent label Antídoto to release his first solo full-length album, A Sétima Efervescência, which counted with guest appearances by his former Os Cascavelletes bandmates Frank Jorge and Alexandre Barea, and by Graforreia Xilarmônica guitarist Marcelo Birck; with a heavily psychedelic and experimental sonority comparable to Pink Floyd's 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the album was critically acclaimed at the time of its release and in 2007 was ranked 96th at Rolling Stone Brasils list of 100 Greatest Brazilian Music Records. Its follow-up from 1999, Plastic Soda, came out through Trama, and unlike its predecessor, it was fully sung in English; to reflect this, Basso signed the album as Jupiter Apple. It was characterised by an increase in the experimental elements already present in A Sétima Efervescência, mixing psychedelic rock with bossa nova and jazz. Even though it also had a good reception, critics considered it a very hard album to listen to. After the album's release, Basso temporarily moved to England, returning to Brazil in 2002. Hisscivilization, his third album, was released soon afterwards by Voiceprint Records, and was his most ambitious and elaborate work; it is composed of 13 mostly instrumental tracks, the longest of which opens the album and is over 11 minutes long. Basso experimented more with electronic music elements in this album, what polarized critics and fans alike. In 2003 he moved to Europe once again – this time to Spain – alongside his then-domestic partner Bibiana "Bibmo" Morena to work on further material; after a 4-year hiatus, both returned to Brazil and he released alongside her the collaborative album Bitter through Monstro Discos. Through Elefant Records and in the same year he released his fourth (and ultimately last) album, Uma Tarde na Fruteira. It was re-issued in Brazil by Monstro Discos in 2008. In 2009, he released the non-album single "Modern Kid". In 2006, six of Basso's songs – "Um Lugar do Caralho", "Querida Superhist x Mr. Frog", "Canção para Dormir", "The Freaking Alice (Hippie Under Groove)", "As Mesmas Coisas" and "A Marchinha Psicótica de Dr. Soup" – were included in the soundtrack of the animated film Wood & Stock: Sexo, Orégano e Rock'n'Roll, directed by Otto Guerra. On 23 November 2011, Basso performed live at the Bar Opinião in Porto Alegre, accompanied by his newly founded supporting band, J.A.C.K. (an acronym for "Jupiter Apple Corporation and Kingdom"), at the time composed of Julio Sasquatt (drums), Julio Cascaes (electric guitar), Felipe Faraco (bass guitar) and Astronauta Pinguim (keyboards). A DVD of the performance, entitled Six Colours Frenesi, was released in 2014. On 20 July 2012, he accidentally fell off the second floor of the building where he lived, and fractured one of his wrists and a vertebra. He was then admitted at the Hospital de Pronto Socorro de Porto Alegre, and eventually recovered after a successful surgery. His final releases were the digital singles "Constantine's Empires" and "They're All Beatniks", which came out through Marquise 51 Records in 2015. The first one is available for listening at the record label's official SoundCloud page. Alongside Tatá Aeroplano, he wrote and directed in 2001 the short film Apartment Jazz, which was broadcast for the first time by MTV in 2010. In 2011, he appeared in "Kreuko", a segment of the anthology film Mundo Invisível, alongside José Wilker and Sônia Braga. In 2015, he began work on a second short, Jane's Nightmare; a trailer was uploaded to YouTube on 15 July, but the film was left unfinished following Basso's death. He also hosted the short-lived talk show Júpiter Maçã Show on MTV. Basso played his final show on 5 December 2015 at the Panamá Studio Pub, in Porto Alegre.

Flávio had a son, Glenn Basso, who died on November 3, 2001, at the age of 11, from complications of autoimmune hepatitis.

• Year — Album • 1985 — Rock Grande do Sul (compilation) * Label: RCA Records * Format: Vinyl * Contributed with the songs "Entra Nessa" and "Estou na Mão"

• For a more comprehensive list, see Os Cascavelletes#Discography • Year — Album • 1989 — Rock'a'ula * Label: Odeon Records * Format: Vinyl

• Year — Album • 1995 — Orgasmo Legal (demo) * Label: Self-released * Format: Cassette tape

• Year — Album • 1997 — A Sétima Efervescência * Label: Antídoto * Format: CD, vinyl * Re-released in 2018 by Monstro Discos • 1999 — Plastic Soda * Label: Trama * Format: CD • 2002 — Hisscivilization * Label: Voiceprint Records * Format: CD • 2007 — Uma Tarde na Fruteira * Label: Elefant Records * Format: CD, vinyl * Re-released in 2008 and in 2019 by Monstro Discos • 2021 — Apartment Jazz * Label: Self-released * Format: Digital download * Originally recorded in 1999 • 2022 — The Man Was... Jupiter Apple * Label: Self-released * Format: CD, vinyl • 2023 — Sugar Doors – A Jupiter Apple 4-Track Experience * Label: Monstro Discos * Format: CD, vinyl

• Year — Album • 2007 — Bitter * Label: Monstro Discos * Format: CD * Collaborative album with Bibiana "Bibmo" Morena

• Year — Album • 2014 — Six Colours Frenesi * Label: J.A.C.K. Records * Format: DVD * Recorded in 2011

• Year — Single — Album • 2014 — "Modern Kid" — Non-album song • 2015 — "Constantine's Empires" — Non-album song • 2015 — "They're All Beatniks" — Non-album song

• Apartment Jazz (2001; released in 2010) • Mundo Invisível (2011; acted only) • Jane's Nightmare (2015; unfinished)