CSS

When the members of CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) slowly started drifting away from the project in 2014, it wasn’t due to a lack of passion. Rather, they decided to pursue other projects because the band had become a job—an ironic twist considering its members started the group to get out of the monotony of day jobs. When the gang of friends decided to pursue music in 2003, they did so as a way to leave work early and perform at clubs. “In São Paulo,” bandleader and vocalist Lovefoxxx explains, “if you did creative things, it was easier to get off work to perform shows.” And so, CSS was born out of a passion for laughter, dance music, and, yes, the occasional chance to ditch the 9-5 job. Fast forward 20 years and the band is bringing its vaunted live show back on the road—a decade after they decided that playing shows nine months out of the year wasn’t sustainable. Armed with a revived live show, CSS is bringing their signature hits back to venues across the world, getting back on the road because there’s nothing better than globetrotting and partying in new cities with your best friends.

When the band of Lovefoxxx, Luiza Sá, Ana Rezende, and Carolina Parra started pursuing other projects, there wasn’t any traditional resentment between members—no animosity at the way things ended, because they didn’t really end. The band was simply on hold. Lovefoxxx wanted more time to work on her visual art, and Ana, Luiza, and Carolina moved around the world and pursued other passions. After all, they derived most of their joy from live performances, which always suggested they had a much bigger audience than record sales did. “Our shows we're always bigger than our records,” Lovefoxxx explains. “The kinds of venues we were playing at were so much bigger than our album sales. We were a touring band and we loved it.”

It made sense to begin this next phase of CSS by honoring the band’s powerful, triumphant live shows. This reemergence is for the love of music, as uncynical of a pursuit as any that has existed. There’s no pressure to promote new music, push vinyl, or rehearse new music until perfected. Rather, the group members—who speak to each other every day and have since the band took a breather—decided it would be a blast to remember the old times, and introduce a whole new group of listeners to their thrilling music.

Part of the band’s decision to do this tour now as opposed to at any other moment came from promoters gauging interest for a new tour from the group. They found this interest touching. A validation that the project was worthwhile. "The fact that we are still resonating is surprising to me. It shows that we truly touched a generation. We were never meant to be role models or inspire. We just wanted to enjoy ourselves. There’s immense power in it,” says Lovefoxxx. The endeavor never would have been worth doing, though, if the women in CSS didn’t love spending time with one another. From long recording sessions to endless travel days in between tours with Klaxons, Diplo, Gwen Stefani, Ssion, Metronomy, and more, the heart and soul of CSS was always the bond the band members shared. Perhaps it’s because they started as friends first and then became CSS that the feelings of them as people before musicians was always paramount. Regardless, CSS 2.0 would have been a worthless pursuit if everyone wasn’t 100% on board. “I can’t believe I get to travel the world and try new foods with my best friends,” says Lovefoxxx. No matter how many sold out shows, album sales, or label bids, friendship remained at the core of the band. Now, it’s what’s inspiring them to come together once again.

“What keeps us together as friends and probably helped convince us to reunite as a band is our humor. We laugh at the same stuff. We have our own language,” Lovefoxxx concludes. The band wanted to do this journey one more time, and a 20th anniversary tour seemed like the best place to begin. While prepping the run, they’ve Zoomed and called and minimized the distances between them now that all four members are spread across the world. No matter how serious planning gets, or how stressful the prospect of a reunion may be, that sense of humor keeps things in perspective. “it's something that doesn't get old. It ages nicely,” adds Lovefoxxx. “This silliness is so important to us.”