Thiago França from São Paulo plays saxophone with Metá Metá among many other projects. On his last album “Coisas Invisíveis” (Invisible Things) with his solo project “Sambanzo” he created a great minimal but rhythm fueled mix of just Afro-Brazilian percussion and saxophone. The record aims to capture energy, invisible, but concrete from a nearby and distant Africa, present and past. The intention, according to França, is to evoke the myth of a pre-diasporic African unity, in which several societies have developed by taking a horizon with habits and relatively common beliefs.
The second album of the Abayomy Afrobeat Orchestra is less Afrobeat than its predecessor exploring new sound elements and speakingof ancestry with delicacy of whoperceives the worldofpossibilitiesand combinations. There is greater diversity of influences that guarantee a new freshness and strength of sound. Produced by Pupillo (drummer of Nação Zumbi) the album features Brazilian musicians such as Céu, Otto and Jorge do Peixe and as well as Tony Allen.
From the press release on their website:
“Alabê presents the traditional percussion of the Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomblé in a jazz context. The compositions are dialogues between the percussion of the Ketu nation and the saxophone, like the Rum (the drum that leads the ceremony) converses with the Orisha (a spirit embodied by a person in trance).
Brazilian music has its roots in the African rhythms which were played in places of worship of the Candomblé. Around the world, African musical heritage has spread giving birth to Blues, Jazz, Rumba, Salsa and Samba.
The riches of African percussion are immense. This knowledge is transmitted from master to apprentice in ritual spaces and ceremonies. Each sacred drummer, called an Ogan, possesses a piece of that knowledge. In this oral tradition, where there is no formal study, it is rare for outsiders to encounter archives of these musical treasures. Many famous Brazilian percussionists are inspired by this tradition, but it is very rare to encounter it in its original form outside of the Candomblé.
Bringing this traditional knowledge in a contemporary setting and making it accessible to a larger public is a way to contribute to the preservation and the valorisation of this intangible culture.
The group was founded by Antoine Olivier, a French percussionist living in Rio de Janeiro who performs as an Ogan in the Candomblé, and Brazilian saxophonist Glaucus Linx (Isaac Hayes, Salif Keita, Elza Soares, Carlinhos Brown…). The band also features the Grand Master of the Candomblé drums : Dofono de Omolu and percussionists Tiago Magalhães e Gabriel Guenther.
The sacred rhythms of the Candomblé offer their power and complexity in a modern context: this is Alabê Ketujazz. Four percussionists and a saxophonist explore new musical landscapes with original compositions and classics by the likes of Baden Powell.”
DJ Dolores, Maestro Spok and Yuri Queiroga deliver a pioneering experience with this album which succeeds in the difficult mission to innovate Pernambucos uptempo carnival style called Frevo.
Initially planned as a instrumental project they came up with inviting Otto, Jorge Du Peixe, Lira, MC Sombra and Marion Lemonnier for vocals.
The band Abeokuta from Recife (capital of Pernambuco state in Brazils Northeast) shows in their explosive fusion how well Afrobeat fits to Brazilian rhuthyms, from Maracatu to Afoxé.
A mixtape celebrating the release of KafundóVol. 3 which navigates through a cocktail of various musical flavors between electronic and roots sounds from the North and Northeast of Brazil.
Tracklist:
01. DJ ChicoCorrea – Manganga
02. Radiola Serra Alta – Coco de Nosso Senhor
03. Opanijé – Vamuinvadi (part. Loquaz)
04. FurmigaDub – Ciranda Bacana
05. Bemba Trio – Melô do Vatapá (Lucio K Remix)
06. Nirso – Tranca Rua
07. DJ MAM – Coco de Itaparica (DJ Incidental Remix)
08. Lord Breu – Dendê
09. naurÊa – Xangô na Dansanteria
10. Mestre Cupijó – Tahira Remix
11. Caapora – Baião de Veraneio
12. Silvério Pessoa – Mix Raça
13. Mohandas – Saudades do Pará
14. Coletivo di Tambor – Todo Mundo Samba
15. Rimas.INC. – 8tavão (Clécio Rimas Ft. Thiago Martins)
16. B.Réu – Maracatu Dirty
17. Nego Edmundo & Monstruoso Sistema de Som – Ciranda (Vocal Mix)
18. BaianaSystem – SYSTEMA FOBICA (ubaranamaralina)
One of the most prestigious trumpet player from Pernambuco State of Brazil debuts his solo career with an album full of Jazz, Funk, Soul, Embolada and other regional and afro rhythms.
BNegão & Seletores de Frequência show in their third album their newest multifaceted sound experiments. Mixing Dub, Suingue/MPB, Afro percussion, Surf Rock, Funk and many other styles this record contains an infinity of sounds and references in one project.
The band I.F.Á. Afrobeat from Salvador/Bahia State just released his first EP featuring Nigerian singer Okwei V. Odili. Apart of Afrobeat, Ijexá and Funk they insert elements of Dub and Reggae confirming the importance of the historic link between black cultures of the diaspora.
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