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BOSSACUCANOVA - "Uma Batida Diferente"
New Sounds for your head from Rio!
The latest release in the re-invention of bossa-nova is the gorgeous “Uma Batida Diferente” (A Different Mix) by Bossacucanova. Click on the image for a review and interview with Marcio Menescal.

EMBRACING FUTURE SOUNDS

There is no escaping the sound of the DJ and electronic music. Its role as an omnipresent backdrop to virtually every 21st century activity is irreversible.

You can throw up your hands in exasperation at the numbing conformity, turn yourself off or look for the flecks of gold scattered helter skelter in the sands of corporatism. The evolution of Brazilian electronica is a movement that has been steadily growing since the late 90’s. Fusions with funk, rock, jazz and reggae have been around for decades forming a crucial element of MPB, and so too can the sound of the international club provide a creative template for the shamelessly cannibalistic Brazilian musical sensibility. It might seem a bit premature to start collating classics of the genre yet World Music Network has come up with a 16 track collection “Brazilian Electronica” that is fresh, original and extremely varied... click on the images for a full review...

	Divas do Brasil (Creative Vibes) We all know samba and anyone who has delved even superficially into Brazilian music could have hardly failed to note the plethora of styles that can reflect the different regions of the country...the sensual musicality that runs through the veins of the people personalises everything... click CD for full review
	Nacao Zumbi (Session Records) Imagine a bunch of thrashers who know how to play outside the square and have roots that stretch to the centre of the earth ...their eponymously titled album on Session Records is the second since the untimely death of Chico Science, the group’s founder and Brazil’s leading hard-rocker at the time.
	Trio Mocoto- Beleza! Beleza!! Beleza!!! As living proof of that cannibalistic link, here is the latest release on Crammed Disc/Ziriguiboom by classic group Trio Mocoto, the fathers of samba soul, the inventors along with Jorge Ben of samba rock... click on the CD for a full review
	Arthur Verocai – Arthur Verocai (Luv ‘n Haight) Long before the term world music was coined Brazilian artists such as vocalists Milton Nascimento, Flora Purim and husband and percussionist extraordinaire Airto Moreira were making international waves in the burgeoning jazz-rock experiments of the 70’s... click on the CD for a full review
	Toco – Instalacao Do Samba (Creative Vibes) Sao Paolista Tomaz di Cunto aka Toco is a new name to me. Although he had been playing acoustic guitar from an early age and was involved in musical and TV productions in Brazil in the late 90’s, it wasn’t until he moved to Italy and met electronic keyboardist and programmer Stefano Tirone that the idea for this CD was born, a tribute to samba and bossa nova...
	Ravi – The Afro-Brazilian Project (ARC Music Ltd) Ravi is an Anglo-Indian kora player who has several highly respected releases that fuse the traditions of Africa and Asia with his highly distinctive improvisational flair. He has been attracted to the music of Brazil for many years and has also performed with some of the great musicians of Cape Verde... click on CD for review
	The Pulse of Brazil -(ARC Music) When I first put this one I was struck by the loveliness of Rita Ribeiro’s beautiful chorro-pop, the contemporary afoxe pop of Chico Cesar’s Beleza Mano and some sparkling chorro instrumentals. ... click on the CD for a full review
	Forro Do Brasil (ARC Music) There are a couple of theories where the world forro, comes from. Some say it is derived from a word of African origin forrobodo, a party or high jinks...click on the CD for a full review
	Os Ipanemas Afro-Bossa - (Far Out Recordings) And now for something completely different. Os Ipanemas, a twelve piece group led by widely acclaimed percussion maestro Wilson Das Neves are possibly the leading exponents of the bossa tradition in Brazil today... click on the CD for a full review
	Joyce - Just A Little Bit Crazy (Far Out Recordings) One of the leading bossa-jazz artists to have cemented her reputation over the last two decades is singer/guitarist Joyce. Her latest release is probably her most expansive work yet, covering elements of 60’s era Blue Note jazz , reggae, soulful balladry, North Eastern colours, choro, samba and bossa all linked together with a boundary blurring Brazilian sensibility.
	City of God (Remixes) - Crippled Dick Hot Wax Reviewing film music always presents a dilemma irrespective of genre. Do you listen to it before or after having seen the movie? Should the music be so arresting that it distracts the viewer from the film or should it be subsumed to its action?
	Brazilian Groove (Putumayo) With the current craze for remixes of Brazilian and international music sweeping Brazil, this Putumayo release is pretty timely. The music of that vast territory has always been cannibalistic, turning the world into a reflection of itself, rather than vice-versa...
	Paula Lima - Diva Paulista (Mr Bongo) Sao Paolo soul songstress Paula Lima's Diva Paulista. Paula was voted Brazil's first R&B diva. For those wary of cardboard cookie cutouts, let me tell you that this lady is much more than that. Imagine if the great jazz singer Sarah Vaughan were to be reincarnated in the samba-funk mould and you'd be on the right track.
	Banda Black Rio - Rebirth (Mr Bongo) With the funk revival in full swing it only had to be a matter of time before the reincarnation of Banda Black Rio hit the big time. The original group were the ones to bring Brazilian jazz-funk to international attention in the late 70s with three classic albums, Maria Fumaca, Gafieira Universal and Saci Perere.
	Chieko Kinbara - A Espera (Disorient) It's a bit hard just to know where to slot Japanese songstress/violinist Chieko Kinbara whose debut album A Espera has been released under the appropriately monickered Disorient label.
	Ive Mendes Someone once said that if Spanish is the language of passion then Portuguese is the soft whispering of a lover in your ear...

"People expect more from an artist than they normally expect from a politician..."

It may be difficult to reconcile music with politics but musical superstar and Minister for Culture Gilberto Gil may have found the perfect balance...MORE