Equilibrio Distante (English: Distant Balance) is the second solo album by Brazilian singer Renato Russo (and the last released before his death), released in December 1995. It consists of covers of Italian songs originally released by musicians from that country. The album came after a troubled period for Russo, who was struggling with depression at that time, and its recording took nine months. It sold 200 thousand copies little after its release. Production Background Russo mentioned the project for the first time to keyboardist Carlos Trilha (who toured with his main band, Legião Urbana, and who had participated in his solo debut, The Stonewall Celebration Concert) after a Legião's show at Metropolitan, in Rio de Janeiro. Trip to Italy Following a suggestion by label EMI-Odeon, Russo traveled to Italy to deepen his researches for the album. Initially, he was reluctant because he feared being mistaken for a terrorist due to his looks - indeed, he was randomly picked for a search at Milan's Airport. He ended up accepting the proposal after he had the opportunity to invite Gilda Mattoso to come long. Mattoso had been a press agent for labels Ariola Discos and PolyGram and in 1989 she had opened an office with her business partner Marcus Vinícius in order to do PR to artists such as Gilberto Gil, Cazuza, Caetano Veloso, Elba Ramalho, among others. Previously, she had lived and studied in Italy, helping producer Franco Fontana take Brazilian artists to the country. She eventually married one of them - Vinicius de Moraes. In the comuna of Sesto ed Uniti (more precisely in the municipality of Sesto Cremonese), Russo learned his ancestors were peasants, and not noble people as he believed. He was less disturbed, however, after he was informed that it was there that the Stradivarius violins were created. The trip, which consisted in four nights in Milan and another four in Rome, resulted in visits to Italian musicians and a big quantity of acquired albums - over 200. He also took the chance to obtain some necessary documents from his great-grandparents Maria and Piero in order to acquire Italian citizenship for him and his son. The chosen repertoire, according to Italians Russo approached during his researches, does not represent Italy. On the other hand, names such as Laura Pausini gained some popularity in Brazil after being revealed on the album. Recording The album's recording took place throughout