Musica Do Brasil IV

The other three are gone, unfortunately. But I will be updating this thread regularly with information that you may want to check into if you're into the "Nova Bossa Nova" sounds. Coming soon: Brazilectro Vol. 3 and Brazilectro Vol. 4.

 

Jorge Ben is the man... old school style though.

But I guess I will review Brazilectro III. Surprised... I was just going to copy/paste the review I did for Amazon.com but they haven't published it yet.



This is a very very mellow release. It's different from Break & Bossa V that I harped about before. B&B vol V was great because it has the Bossa Italia sound, with tracks from Nicola Conte (the old Acura commercial/that new Joe Boxer add with guy dancing like an idiot), Les Hommes and others. Brazilectro is melancholy and on the slower jazz side. Artists include Janice, Os Ipanemas, Stratospheric, Praful, Loqate, Soulstice and Hacienda to name a few.

This is a double disc set, and while I do like the Brazilectro series, this one had a much darker feel to it. Whereas Brazilectro 1 and 2 had more uptempo tracks by S-Tone Inc., Clara Moreno and etc., this one hardly has that other than Hit the Road Jack by German group Mo Horizons... and I didn't liek that song very much (Or Come Touch the Sun for that matter).

I give this CD three stars out of five. Some tracks are great, excellent cover art. But it doesn't live up to the second release.

 

OF course - if you have music even old stuff just review it. That's what this thread's about.

Fantastic Plastic Machine are cool - a bit different but cool. I have one of their albums - not "Beautiful" but the one before that. It's pretty funky - beach music. haha

But Japan has a big big influence on the new Bossa Nova movement. Yoshinori Sunahara is big - but maybe the biggest ones are Kyoto Jazz Massive and Towa Tei. Towa Tei came out with "Future Listening" almost 8 years ago, and today it is still very good disc. The vocals feature Bebel Gilberto... her first "real" intro to the new movement. Kyoto Jazz Massive is great too - their big tracks are Calmaria and contribute to a compilation called "Crossbreed". Also there's Bossa Tres... Jazz. I'll expand a little later on today.

 

First, about Smoke City. Heroes of Nature is their last one, and it's a great CD. But I didn't like it as much as their first cd "Flying Away". "Flying Away" was incredibly original, and Nina Miranda's vocals were fresh and full of life. Joga Bossa was a cute track, and Jamie Pan was awesome, along with the subtlety of Numbers.

Heroes of Nature on the other hand was a bit more "modern" IMO like folha said. You still have Christian Franck's guitar playing and Nina's vocals, but the sound isn't as original. They kind of remind me of "The Brand New Heavies" in a way... maybe bad analogy but really. I'd get "Flying Away" before Heroes of Nature... and maybe before you get Heroes of Nature, get "Songs from the Tin" by a group called "Da Lata". I'll bring up a review on them later on if you want... and they recently released a new remix cd.

Wow! Honestly, I didn't think many would reply to this thread. But cool - here we go.

The biggest name in your list is actually Ivan Lins. He is a classic Bossa Nova Artists, jazzy, and was considered by many the "heir" to Jobim and Milton Nascimento in Brazilian music. His Live shows are supposed to be absolutely extraordinary. Leila Pinheiro has a wonderful, sweet voice. SHe's also of the older mode of Musica Popular of Brasil (MPB), and one of my favorite tracks by her is "Pra Iluminar". It has an awesome samba beat and just sort of glides.

The rest... Dori Caymmi - awesome. You're gonna have a blast at the show. Great collection of musicians/composers and singers. I'm very jealous!!

 

Suba's awesome. Ha, but you already know I think that. Tributo is pretty cool - but man, it makes you realize how much he is missed. "Are You Sleeping" is sooooo Suba, more so than any of the other tracks besides maybe the rendition of "Tantos Desejos". Can you imagine the sound that would be out now if he hadn't passed away? :sad: But Tributo is good - they have Boyz from Brazil (Hi-Fi Trumpet) and a ton of others on it. But Real Ray, you picked up two Ziriguiboom label releases - I usually get them all too. I didn't get Samba Rock though. How is it?

Vinicius Cantuaria is amazing - but to be honest, this one wasn't his best release. "Sol Na Cara" was, IMO. He is very much dark, as you say, and more Bossa Nova style. His sound is acoustic and he is sort of a poet and reflects on nature - if you like this, you would probably also like Joao Gilberto's Voz e Voz (woman "shhhing" on the cover). Don't listen to Vinicius Cantuaria if you're looking to get energized for a big date or game. A little unknown fact, he did work on "Ondha Sonora", or "Red Hot + Lisbon" back in 1999. Very different CD - has Caetano, Marisa Monte, David Byrne etc.

I would usually describe Musica Popular Brasil as sort of a definition of Brazilian music in the late 70's, eighties. Gal Costa, Caetano more Nascimento, Djavan, etc. Rock was big there, and of course there's regular "pop" in Brasil too.

And yes, The Girl from Ipanema is probably the most popular Bossa Nova song. But is it the best - maybe not. Check out "Nova Bossa - Red Hot on Verve". It has that track and several other classic Bossa Nova's as they were originally recorded, including "Agua De Beber", Desafinado, Surfboard, Mas Que Nada, Waters of March and the original: A Felicidade" from the movie "Orfeu Negro". Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Elis Regina... when you think Bossa Nova, usually you think of a song with their musicianship or voices.

 

Speaking of Vinicius Cantuaria, Just wrote an Amazon review on his first album... will post it here.

Sol Na Cara:


This is Vinicius Cantuaria's best US release. I first really got into him with the Brasil 2Mil compilation piece (first track here) and it was togetherness ever since. I first picked up his latest realease, Vinicius, followed by Tocuma, and oddly, I found the quality better as I went back in time to his earlier releases until I picked this one up.
His sound is very dark and soulful, this is an acoustic album. His style tends to use sound effects in the background, but there is a charm to his style that makes him very easy to listen to. A smooth voice and a nice message. He is a poet. This particular release has the translations in the cover sheet which also is a nice touch to those that cannot speak portuguese. Good touch IMO.

I'd pick this one up - definitely before the later two. And if you like this, pick up some of Joao Gilberto's acoustic releases - namely Voz e Viola.

 

One more review... one of my first real thumbs downs on Brazil compilations:



The artists on this release include Deja Move, Superpulse, Lauren, Kokomono and Michal and some of the tracks are solid. However it's hard to really label this. Maybe the "new" sound is just getting old, but most of the tracks hardly have that charming bossa feeling that you get from some of the wider known compilations. It isn't just about the Bossa being from Brazil, but it's about the sound and rythme and feel. To be honest, this CD is eerily similar to Brazilectro session 3. Melancholy, and not all that upbeat. Difference is that some of the tracks here on Brazil 5000 are just plain bad bossa... cliched, no identity and, no offense, but almost Americanly forced. I did enjoy the track by Lauren and Michal. But I could have pretty much done without the rest.

I'd recommend one of the other compilations, like Boss-A-Troniq or Brazilectro 1 and 2. Even Break N Bossa 5, or simply go back to Brasil 2Mil or check out Serve Chilled Vol. 3. All of those I'd recommend before this one. Unless you want something slow, I might hold off on this purchase - and even if you do want something slow, just pick up some real Bossa Nova - like Nova Bossa or Getz/Gilberto.

In otherwords, folks, this is "Bad Bossa". A bit too contrived, cliched, and sounds incredibly forced into melancholic molasses. Not a recommendation - just get Brazilectro 3...


I do tons of reviews like these on Amazon on comps and stuff, and if you want a "playlist", just say the word and I'll post one.

 

No kiddin'! lol

 

She was smokin'... I'll post a pic later on today. But yeah, any review on Amazon that has "bordersj" is pretty much one of mine. I'm not a master of writing them but try to put a few titles out there if I can.

 

S-Tone INc....

Have another album on the way entitled "Supernatural". However, much like the last two, I anticipate this being a hellacious find. Their previous albums "Love Unlimited" and "Free SPirit" took months to track down - and I had to get both of mine from Europe. Yikes.

Since then, I've tracked down a lot of miscellaneous singles like "La Boca Del Rio", "Rendevous-a-minuit", "Saudade" and etc. Problem with them was that their sound on their CD's isn't the same as their latin/Brazilian flavored releases on compilations. They are sort of like Mo Horizons in that way... who are like a better versiou of Zuco 103.

OH well. Let you know how the disc is if I can get it.

 

I know that I usually focus on compilations - borderline Eurocentric/Brazil style compilations. So if anyone wants to focus on the individual artists by all means go ahead. Especially if you know more about the day to day MPB/Pop stars. TO be honest I haven't really bene into that since Marisa Monte was big... or more specifically, I haven't gottne into it again since maybe 1998 or so. But I do know the classicals and older Bossa Nova and the new stuff.

Hey so far with my Brazli compilations the artists have ranged from Germany, Italy, France, Holland, England and, most surprisingly to me, Japan. Japan is huge with the Bossa Nova sound and heavily contributes today. I'd lvoe to go to Japan to hear the Jazz clubs, but from Ryiuchi Sakamoto to Towa Tei to Kyoto Jazz Massive, it's all there. This CD:



is awesome. Bossa Trez.... Jazz. I love it. It's a double disc compilation that fuzes Brazilian sounds with European, Brazilian and predominately Japanese DJ's and producers. IT's awesome. Some of my favorite tracks are the St. Ernesto "Easy In" track. The CD has it's beats, but it also has some smooth, laid back renditions like the acoustic remake of Vai Minha Tristeza... and this CD also features Salome De Bahia!! When I first got this, I was a bit hard on it but over time really got to appreciate the artistry that went into the work. IT is a great collection piece and I recommend it to diversify the collection. IT's great too - I slip it into the CD player on my way out for the weekend.

 

Good news! Amazon.com has Los Ladrone's album "Montana Rusa", but at last check, only two copies remained. They're an awesome group... based out of the UK with Brazilian/Latin rythm's and beats. Mostly, they go for a latin fusion style.



I love this CD. It's one of my top 20 list for sure - despite the semi-amateur singing the girl does in Spanish. But to be fair, there are better, like Reminiscence Quartet, which is far and away, IMO, the best in that genre. WHen it comes to beats and festive moods, I'd pick them over Zuco 103, Ladrones, Nicola Conte and etc. And actually, I recommend getting chillout comps with Los Ladrone's on them instead of shelling out the 26 bucks for the 11 track CD. Serve Chilled has one of their tracks, as does "Beach House" (same label - HedKandi).

Anyway, I did reviews on both groups on Amazon - but I picked mine up last time I was travelling abroad though + can't find it anywhere in the US. I'd pick up Reminiscence Quartet first, however. Remember Orlandivo? Their remake to Onde Anda Meu Amor is kickin'.

 

Bossa Italia...

I almost forgot - Nicola Conte is coming out wit ha new album.. well, sorta. It's a remix of Jet Sounds, or "Bossa Per Due" as it is sold in the United States. Since i am cool I got Jet Sounds j/k, I got Jet Sounds because the US one wasn't out yet.


"Jet Sounds"

It's gonna be a remix of the Jet Sounds/Bossa tracks. Hopefully he'll throw a few bones in there too, like what he did to Mo Horizon's Foto-Viva on the Best of BossaBrava compilation + what he did with Schema (the label he's under in Italy) in Break & Bossa vol V. That was an awesome double disc set.

Still no news on S-Tone Inc's new one... or Soulstance for that matter. I'm dying to see if Soulstance pipes out another release. If you heard B&B vol V, you'll know their tracks there were decidedly different than on En Route, Act On, and Truth, SImplicity and Love (which is a combo of En Route and Act On). I have a feeling I'll be making an order to pick those up nad not find em'.


Break N' Bossa V