Gal Costa: “Gil was always daring, and so was I”

I don’t know what my first job with Gil was. It might have been some voice and guitar recordings of Torquato Neto songs.

It might have been when he came back from London. He did musical production for the album “Índia,” which I love and which is very beautiful. And we worked and did a lot of things together, besides me recording his songs.

With Gil, although I had a greater musical connection with Caetano, but with Gil, I also had a lot of that. When I sang “Divino, maravilhoso” during that whole time when I was in a process of musical transformation … Until then I was very radical about the bossa nova thing.

I was focused on João Gilberto, specifically. With Gil, I shared a lot of listening to songs by names like Jimmy Hendrix, many other songs from that time, like The Beatles.

So, we have a connection, let’s say, a certain complicity. Gil has always been very bold, he has a very bold personality, too. I think that I have that as well, and I share that with him. That thing of being bold, I’m like that, too.

My identification with Candomblé is very strong and life has led me down this path. I don’t talk about it much with Gil, no. About Candomblé specifically. Gil didn’t participate much, he didn’t have a specific religion.

And now he's very attached to the Gantois, I think a lot because of Flora. So, in that respect, we don’t have an affinity. I do have an affinity with Gil in other matters.

We’ve experienced a lot of things together: we saw flying saucers, we’ve gone to spiritualist meetings or ufology meetings. There was a time in of our life when we had a lot of that connection.

First, because his music is good, without a shadow of a doubt. He is a wonderful writer. The whole rhythmic part of his work is also very cool. I particularly like the rhythmic things he does in most of his songs.

I really am sweet, I adapt to situations and I have an ability to like different musical styles, different things. I have something that is generous. So I’m easy to handle, and so is Gil.

At work, he is not at all hard to deal with. And we know each other. He knows how I am, and I know how he is. So it’s easy to work with Gil. I have never had any conflict in that professional area with Gil. He’s great to work with.