May 21, 1998
Brazil, in case you haven't noticed, is about as large as the United States, with comparable resources and a music scene as big as ours. Entering that scene is like a sheltered immigrant setting down in the US having never heard of rock and roll. It's daunting to have all this uncharted musical territory before you, but exciting, too.
One way to jump in is to go to the source and grab anything by Caetano Veloso, sort of the Brazilian equivalent to Bob Dylan in terms of stature and political philosophy - the other is to ease yourself into the slick tropical rhythms by listening to artists who incorporate that breezy pop into their own sound. But be careful - so-called "world" music is generally watered down, Americanized versions of the real thing, stripped of its soul and used as a gimmick to give an ethnic feel to talentless hacks who think that pressing the "bossanova" button on their Casio synthesizer makes them Gilberto Gil.
Arto Lindsay does it right. American-born but raised in Brazil, he spent the 70's playing atonal noise with his band DNA in the no-wave scene in New York. He began tempering this sonic attack by exploring his Brazilian roots with the Ambitious Lovers - his most recent solo efforts complete the cycle. Noon Chill is an outstanding document, as Lindsay has created a band of incredible rhythmic prowess that highlights his moody, balmy melodies with sweaty equatorial funk. This is the sexiest album I've heard this year.
For the last week I've been driving everyone around me nuts - I can't stop playing "Simply Are" over and over; its complex acoustic funk and moog accents get inside your booty and stay there. Lindsay's voice and lyrics recall David Byrne in their oddly intellectual and plaintive tone, adding a nicely cool sheen to the humid mix. Even his occasional forays into Portuguese sound smooth and inviting
Renowned jazz percussionist Nana Vasconcelos adds yet another throbbing rhythm layer to the tower of jarring sounds and warm compositions. It takes a few listens to catch the endless stratum of sounds that inform the album - under the dangerous drums of the claustrophobic title track pulse dub squeals, and the relaxed hip-hop beat of "Blue Eye Shadow" masks the skewed sounds of a prepared piano - Noon Chill slings some seriously sultry rhythms and exotic tones. Samplers, acoustic guitars, drum and bass innovations, plus a slew of acoustic instruments I can't even pronounce all gel into a polyrhythmic whole. This is amazing work - a remarkably original, satisfyingly complex album that'll be showing up on my "best of 1998" list, for sure.
- Jared O'Connor
Experimental
Brazilian rhythmfest