Local Brazilian musician sings his graces

Pablo Dias knows no borders.

For the 22-year-old native of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Auburn is another place where he is excited to live and perform amongst welcoming audiences.

Brazil's "Science Without Borders" program has allowed Dias and 100,000 other Brazilian foreign exchange students to come to the United States for a year to study majors in the sciences before returning to Brazil to graduate.

Since January, Dias has been studying materials engineering at Auburn while also honing his guitar playing skills.

Dias comes from a musical family and has been performing since he was 13 years old, when he was first allowed to play the piano in his neighborhood's band.

Dias credits his singer-songwriter mother, Andrea Ribeiro, and his drummer father, Cleimon Dias, with inspiring his love for guitar and performing.

Wanting to learn how to live on his own and create music, Dias left Brazil in 2010 to live abroad in London and perform on the street and in various venues.

Dias has also performed in Buffalo, N.Y., where he had an engineering internship.

In 2011, Dias moved back to Brazil to start recording an album in July, before moving to Auburn in January of 2012.

Dias recently self-released a nine-track CD of his music, titled "The Sound of Simplicity" less than a month ago in Brazil.

Much of the music on "The Sound of Simplicity" is inspired by Dias' travels, with four of the songs sung in English and five in Portuguese.

Complications involving his studio and producer being so far away in Brazil pushed back the release date by almost a year.

Originally, Dias wanted to release his music under the name "The Zero Project," because many of the songs were composed when Dias was abroad and had next to nothing, physically and emotionally. He eventually realized he would like to use his own name.

Dias doesn't charge for his music, but the complications that come from this decision sometimes weigh heavy on his mind.

"When you sell music, certain people will say 'no' simply because they don't want to spend the money," Dias said. "If you give them a CD for free, people will say 'the least I can do is listen to it,' but on the other hand, when you don't charge, people think that the music isn't that good."

While Dias may only be here for a year, his interest in music is always looking toward the future.

Dias is taking classes that would normally be included in a music minor, but he will not be able to complete this minor because of his short time here.

Joseph Ikner, guitar and music appreciation instructor in the music department, has only been at Auburn since the semester started and said he sees potential in Dias.

"He's a very intelligent guy with tremendous talent," Ikner said. "My job as an instructor is to help develop (students') talent, find their musical voice and guide them in their careers."

Ikner's qualifications include having self released an album of classical guitar compositions titled "Joseph Ikner: Premiere" and performing as a concert and studio musician.

Dias' roommate and fellow "Science Without Borders" member, 23-year-old industrial engineering student Felipe Talhari, echoed Ikner's statements on Dias' talent.

"We're always fighting over music (in our apartment)," Talhari said. "I like more electronic music, but sometimes I'll turn it off so that I can hear him play."

Talhari said he believes Dias has the talent to pursue engineering and music simultaneously.

"I always joke with him that he should drop engineering and keep the guitar, but he's a smart guy," Talhari said. "I think he can do both. I encourage him not to give up."

In Auburn, Dias has performed at Zazu gastropub and the open mic night UPC hosts at the campus Starbucks, but he said he's always looking for more venues to showcase his art.

"The best sensation I ever have is when I'm on stage," Dias said. "I'm going to play anywhere I can."

For a copy of "The Sound of Simplicity" or performance information, contact Dias at pablord7@hotmail.com or 334-354-0009.