Various Artists

“Brazilian Electronica” (Rough Guide)

From Gilberto Gil to Tom Ze to Caetano Veloso, Brazilian musicians have always been on the cutting edge of innovation in pop music, combining homegrown rhythms with international forms to make for unique fusions. This sampler of 16 tracks by contemporary Brazilian electronic artists shows that Brazil continues to push the world-pop envelope into the 21st century. From Suba’s dreamy, swirling ambient “Sereia” which opens the album, through Claudia Telles’ bossa-meets-techno “Samba de Uma Nota So” to “O Sertao” by O Discurso, which finds common ground between samba and drum ‘n’ bass, regional rhythms and melodies are variously recontextualized in hip-hop, techno and breakbeat settings, making for a vital, new Brazilian dance-pop that is still emotionally and intellectually challenging and resonant of its homeland. [ 5/23/04 ]

---Seth Rogovoy
www.rogovoy.com

[This review originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 23, 2004. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2004. All rights reserved.]


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