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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...
The late Mitar Subotic (Suba),
a classically trained pianist born in Austria and who emigrated
to Sao Paolo in the late 80’s from the ex-Yugoslavia is
one of the prime movers of the movement. Two of his most well
known numbers are included here “Samba Do Gringo Paulista”
and “Sereia”, which opens the collection. Although
Suba and Claudia Telles, a songstress from the
original bossa wave of the 60’s who contributes an intriguing
techno-funk version of the classic “Samba De Uma Nota So”
might seem to imply certain parameters, this is not the case.
Brazilian Electronica follows a multi-detoured path that
has the listener peeking through side doors or flinging them wide
open as it fuses hip-hop, drums‘n bass, techno, alternative
rock and jazz with a host of rootsy rhythms and melodies such
as samba, maracatu, cuco and ciranda with everything overarched
by a surprisingly deep Brazilian spirit.
Just give a listen to the stirring improvised interplay between
drums’n bass of DJ Dolores and the traditional
chants and maracatu rhythms of Orchestra Santa Massa
on “Samba De Dez Linhas”. In fact the recasting of
such styles for the new millennium has inspired new interest in
the regional roots music of Brazil among a younger generation.
A number of elements of Brazilian Electronica stand out.
Despite the certainty that the spirit of the late Chico
Science is giving an approving nod to the grungy, dense
yet never overpowering sound that informs much of what’s
here, neither he nor his band Nacao Zumbi are
present. Nor is there much reggae or afro-bloco to speak of or
better-known names that might normally proliferate on such an
endeavour. No criticism here. Just an observation that the compilers
must have been tearing their hair out on this one. In a movement
less than a decade old they’ve scratched the underbelly
and revealed the labyrinthine entrails of an ancient/future dichotomy.
Richard Jasiutowicz
