"My interest in Orientalism began with Yoko Ono," says Heyss, "whose kabuki* greatly influenced me." Heyss became interested in magic, esotericism, and mythology because of his desire to understand what she was talking about when she used mythological and magical terms in her music. "So I decided to research Oriental folk music and started to consume and sample Egyptian, Bulgarian and Japanese music, among others", he reveals.

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Johann Heyss has already released several demo tapes, and in '98 came his debut album, 'Look Carefully.' Heyss has played in various places in Rio, such as Electric Head, Projeto Bandas and Casa da Matriz. He also played in the United States. "I played at S.ob's in New York," he says, "which is a house of ethnic music and jazz, and it was great in terms of the quality of the venue and professionalism, besides the fun: I brought about twenty friends to devour the typical Brazilian food that was served in the dressing room, a small feast. Before me, two axé music bands played (yes!) and it was surreal. I also played at Baby Jupiter, a small bar in the Lower East Side, but with a more suitable audience and atmosphere for my show and it was super cool."

Heyss is also a writer and has just released the book "Tarot de Thoth," a study on tarot and the philosophy of the English magician Aleister Crowley. In 1996, the book "Iniciação à Numerologia" (Initiation to Numerology) was also released, a study on the symbolism of numbers; both were published by the Nova Era imprint of Record (http://www.record.com.br).

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Regarding the electronic scene in Rio de Janeiro, Heyss doesn't have fantasies. "Rio doesn't have the vibe of electronic music," he opines. "In fact, any place that focuses on beach and sun tends to weaken the culture." But he concludes by reminding that, with or without the beach, it's difficult for cultural expressions in any city in Brazil to survive, beyond those of easy consumption. "In the end, Brazil is complicated in terms of the underground scene," he adds.

Johann Heyss plans to release the album 'Al Aha' soon and has two books coming out by Samuel Weiser (an American publisher) in 2001.

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*Kabuki: A form of Japanese theater known for the stylization of drama and the elaborate makeup worn by its actors.