Sunshine, Brazil

Hello, it's obvious to me that not everyone is that interested in 'other' music, as we in the west don't get much exposed to it. This is a pity because in places like the Caribean and Brazil music is constantly reinvented and infused not only with rhythm but more often then not with lyrics that say something...remember those..? Not much of that around in our culture, the average western-music act has nothing to say, money has become the expression, drool baby drool. Nitwits, selfaggrandising their lack of substance. It doesnt have to be that way ...

Sunshine from Brazil and samba's from the source, the schools that after much deliberating choose a song for the year, here we have 1974. David Byrne collected his favourite Samba artists for his Brazil Classics 2. Bahia Black was a one off for Bill Lasswell's famous Axiom label, a collaboration of american Jazzbo's with Brazilian/Bahia Singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist Carlihos Brown together with his 10 piece drum ensemble Olodum. Meanwhile Caetano Veloso has released 50 albums or so, and as a 65 year old he's the grand old master of Brazilian music, Estrangeiro produced by Arto Lindsay is one of the highlights of his career. Finally before we leave the Sunshine of South America, a tribute to the night, a living act in the moment as it happens, a collection of Argentinian Tango's .

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VA - Sambas Enredo 74
Bahia Black - Ritual Beating System
VA - Brazil Classics 2
Caetano Veloso - Estrangeiro
VA - Lucho Collected 1
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VA - Sambas Enredo 74 (74 ^ 92mb )

A samba-enredo is a song that is sung by a samba school (or escola de samba) for the festivities of Carnaval. "Samba-enredo" is the Portuguese equivalent of "samba theme". Choosing a the samba-enredo is a long and tedious process. Before Carnaval, months in advance, a samba school holds contests for writing the song. Each school receives many, sometimes hundreds of songs, hoping to be the next samba-enredo for that year. They select the song by the process of elimination and usually ending with between five and ten songs. Around this time, the "finalist samba-enredos" are played with music and are voted on by the leaders of the samba school and the carnavalesco—the director of the school for Carnaval.

After months of deliberation, the new samba-enredo is chosen and becomes the voice of the samba school for Carnaval. The samba-enredo must be well sung by the samba school's puxador (or singer) or the school will lose points for the scoring and judging for the Carnaval competition. While the puxador sings, everyone marching in the Carnaval parade must sing along with him. Harmony is crucial when singing the samba-enredo. This album was compiled from the best songs the samba-schools choose in 1974.



01 - Unidos do Viradouro > Silvinho Da Portela - Acredite Se Quiser (3:32)
02 - Cançadores Da Silva > Edinho - O Astro Rei (3:13)
03 - Branco No Samba > Gilson Pena - No Reino Da Fantasia (3:15)
04 - Academicos Do Cubango > Timbo - Metais E Pedrarias ( 4:11)
05 - Uniao Da Ilha Conceiçao > Lula Da Mangeira - O Sonho Nao Acabou (3:17)
06 - Bugres Do Cubango > Jeremias - O Rei De Quase Tudo (3:35)
07 - Boemios Da Madama > Rico Meideiros - Uma Idea Toda Azul (3:15)
08 - Combinados Do Amor > Kleber - Grande Amores (3:13)
09 - Souza Soares > Beto - Alegria Esta Vida E Uma Folia (3:27)
10 - Mocidade Independente Do Barrio Almerinda > Armando - De Vovo Ao Netinho (3:31)

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Bahia Black - Ritual Beating System ( 92 ^ 241mb)

Bahia Black was a short-lived band featuring Brazilian singer, songwriter, percussionist, guitarist and vocalist Carlinhos Brown and his ten-piece drum ensemble, Olodum. Joined by American jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bernie Worrell, Henry Threadgill and producer Bill Laswell, the group recorded one memorable album, Ritual Beating System, in 1992.

A musical rollercoaster from start to finish, Ritual Beating System jolts us with its abrupt mood changes, yet never really strays from a percussive Brazilian-oriented theme. After opening with the soft Brazilian pop-jazz of "Retrato Calado," Bahia Black dives into hard-edged Portuguese-language rap ("Capitao Do Asfalto") before embracing post-bop jazz on "The Seven Powers." Bahia's "all-star" lineup isn't exactly conventional -- percussionist Olodum (a highly regarded figure in Northeastern Brazil's Afro-Brazilian culture) and other Brazilian players are joined by fusion/post-bop greats Wayne Shorter (soprano sax) and Herbie Hancock (piano), Henry Threadgill (flute) and Bernie Worrell (organ).

Bahia Black represented one step in the illustrious career of Carlinhos Brown. In addition to performing and recording with his Bahian band Timbalada, Brown has collaborated with such top-notch Brazilian musicians and vocalists as Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Sergio Mendes and Sepultura.



01 - Retrado Calado (2:02)
02 - Capitao Do Asfalto (5:05)
03 - The Seven Powers (7:04)
04 - Uma Viagem Del Baldes De Larry Wright (3:30)
05 - Olodum (3:26)
06 - Guia Pro Congal (5:20)
07 - Gwagwa O De (8:08)
08 - Follow Me (4:22)
09 - Nina In The Womb Of The Forest (2:26)

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VA - Brazil Classics 2 Oh Samba  (91 * 337mb)

In his second survey of Brazilian music, David Byrne chose to focus on samba, the rhythmic heartbeat of this melting pot of a country. Not surprisingly for a culture known for syncretic music, samba comes in many varieties. Byrne, however, collected sambas mostly in the traditional vein, sometimes called pagode samba: upbeat music played for the most part on hand-held instruments you might find at a backyard party.

Byrne followed up with this equally revelatory collection of contemporary samba, this time featuring singers even more obscure to North American ears. The highly percussive samba is Brasil's national music, at times furiously rhythmic yet still capable of sustaining a rich songwriting tradition. As befits a "peoples" music (which reaches a yearly apotheosis in the wildly competitive samba schools of Carnaval), the melodies are tougher, the lyrics earthier than the romantic pop music that people usually associate with this most musical of nations. The result is a sound that is earthy, soulful, and, above all, fun. As populist as the Once more we must thank David Byrne for introducing us to great singers like Clara Nunes, reigning samba queen till her untimely death in 1983, as well as the equally celebrated Beth Carvalho and Martinho Da Vila.



01 - Clara Nunes - A Deusa Dos Orixás (2:34)
02 - Clara Nunes - Ijexá (Filhos De Gandhy) (3:48)
03 - Zeca Pagodinho - S.P.C. (3:35)
04 - Alcione - Sufôco (4:07)
05 - Ciro Monteiro - Formosa (2:47)
06 - Alcione Oleré - Camará (3:05)
07 - Beth Carvalho - O Encante Do Gantois (3:39)
08 - Neguinho Da Beija Flor - Aldeira De Okarimbé (3:10)
09 - Chico Da Silva - E Precisio Muito Amor (2:59)
10 - Almir Guineto - Caxambu (3:39)
11 - Almir Guineto - Quem Me Guia (3:14)
12 - Agepê - Ela Nao Gosta De Mim (4:31)
13 - Martinho Da Vila - Claustrofobia (3:21)
14 - Martinho Da Vila - Batuca No Chão (3:36)
15 - Paulinho Da Viola - Sarou Para Ramadés (2:12)

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Caetano Veloso - Estrangeiro (89 ^ 222 mb)

Caetano Veloso began his career singing Latin pop with a bossa nova edge. Veloso developed Tropicalismo, which fused Brazilian pop with rock and roll and avant garde music resulting in a more international, psychedelic, and socially aware sound.His politically active stance, unapologetically leftist, earned him the enmity of Brazil's military dictatorship which ruled until 1985; his songs were frequently censored, and some were banned. Veloso and Gilberto Gil spent several months in jail for "anti-government activity" in 1968 and eventually exiled themselves to London. Veloso was also alienated from the socialist left in Brazil because of his acceptance and integration of non-nationalist influences (like rock and roll) in his music. Caetano Veloso's work upon his return in 1972 was often characterized by frequent merger not only of international styles, but of half-forgotten Brazilian folkloric styles and rhythms as well. In particular, his celebration of the Afro-Brazilian culture of Bahia In the 1980s, Veloso's popularity outside Brazil grew, especially in Israel, Portugal, France and Africa. In the United States, his records, such as O estrangeiro, produced by Arto Lindsay helped gain him a larger audience. Meanwhile, he has become one of the most respected and prolific international artists, with more than fifty recordings available

"Estrangeiro" is the capstone to Caetano's 1980's work. All previous discs released in the 1980's pale in comparison to this work. This work captures perfectly the balance between Brazilian tradition, avant-garde experimentation, and 1980's dance-pop. This is a record still sounds fresh, one of Caetano's best records of all time.



01 - O Estrangeiro
02 - Rai Das Cores
03 - Braquinha
04 - Os Outros Romaticos
05 - Jasper
06 - Este Amor
07 - Outro Retrato
08 - Etc..
09 - Meia-Lua Inteira
10 - Genipapo Absoluto

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VA - Lucho Collected 1 (94 * 314mb)

Argentine Tango consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions and eras, and in response to the crowding of the venue and even the fashions in clothing. Even though they all developed in Argentina and Uruguay, they were also exposed to influences reimported from Europe and North America. Consequently there is a good deal of confusion and overlap between the styles as they are now danced - and fusions continue to evolve.

Argentine Tango relies heavily on improvisation; although certain patterns of movement have been codified by instructors over the years as a device to instruct dancers, there is no "basic step." One of the only constants across all Argentine Tango styles, is that the follower will usually be led to alternate feet. Another is that the follower rarely has her weight on both feet at the same time. Argentine tango is a new orientation of couple dancing. As most dances have a rational-pattern which can be predicted by the follower, the ballast of previous perceptions about strict rules has to be thrown overboard and replaced by a real communication contact, creating a direct non-verbal dialogue. A tango is a living act in the moment as it happens.

Argentine tango music is much more varied than ballroom tango music. A large amount of tango music has been composed by a variety of different orchestras over the last century. Not only is there a large volume of music, there is a breadth of stylistic differences between these orchestras as well, which makes it easier for Argentine tango dancers to spend the whole night dancing only Argentine tango. The four representative schools of the Argentine tango music are: Di Sarli, D’Arienzo, Troilo and Pugliese. They are dance orchestras, playing music for dancing. When the spirit of the music is characterized by counterpoint marking, clarity in the articulation is needed. It has a clear, repetitive pulse or beat, a strong tango-rhythm which is based on the 2x4, 2 strong beats on 4. ...Do try this at home......



01 - Astor Piazzola - Milonga Del Angel
02 - Septeto Turquino - Ave Maria Mujer
03 - Color Tango - Milonga Triste
04 - Nueva Manteca - Bluesongo
05 - Fra Fra Sound - Tuckayana Sound
06 - Fuzué - Ouro Pouro
07 - Sexteto Canyengue - Malena
08 - Piano Con Clave - Sabrosito Asi
09 - Osvaldo Pugliese - Milonga Para Gardel
10 - Nueva Manteca - Ouverture Porgy & Bess
11 - Eric Vaarzon Morel - Farruquita
12 - Sexteto Canyengue - Tiburonero
13 - Fra Fra Big Band - What Me Worry

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