"Self-taught. Maybe this is the best word to express Manoel Tchembo's personality. However, this definition is restrict to the mix between formal learning, institutional and informal, spontaneous. Yes, because life only happens interacting with different people, listening to them, considering, reconsidering, learning. Anyway, living. The thing is that amongst so many dreams, amongst the football, the computers, amongst things and stuff, the guitar and the voice were always there rejoicing the family's parties and the friends' meetings.

The influence? Good music, be it popular, brazilian, regional, world, nativist, afro beats, classical. There's no doors to openning nor closing doors on the way of a musician who seeks expressing the simple things of life, such as love, friendship, family, happiness. The way is clear and the doors are human creations that work toward narrowing, confining, insolating, detaching. The "Open Sesame" of Manoel Tchembo is called "Em Tempo, Sem Tempo", and represents the synthesis of his artistic experience since he's abandoned a successful computers career to walk the path pointed by the muses. Where's Tchembo (Where's Wally)? Looking is not enough, searching is not enough. The most important is to listen to, and understand that a musician was forged by his choices and attitudes, and now set free his voice and inspirations, looking for approach himself to people through his art. Only then it's understandable that he is playing in some pub, in some balcony ou in the square in front of your house. Don't panic if he touches you with his sensibility."

Michel Aranalde - Philosopher and Poet