Couple of Brazilian recommendations

Already mentioned it in the Reviews and Recommendations thread but here it is again:



Tribalistas
A trio comprising Marisa Monte, Arnaldo Antunes and Carlinhos Brown with a bunch of just really great songs. Different to any Brazilian music you've heard before (ie, it's not Bossa or Samba ). Very chilled.

I didn't know anything about the 3 artists above (and still know very little) but then I was browsing a local shop and saw this:



Carlinhos Brown é Carlito Marrón
I've been listening to it almost non-stop for the last few days, it's a great record. Kind of Brazilian meets Cuban (Carlito Marróon is Carlinhos Brown in Spanish). If you like any Latin American music you'll love this.

I also know know where Joel got one of his early avatars..."conga es cuba libre"

Michael.

 

Ahh, Brazilian music! Whoop!

I have a Marisa Monte (solo) CD that's excellent. It's got a rather long name, "Verde Anil Amarelo Cor de Rosa e Carvao". Really good, lively stuff. She has a lovely voice and knows how to make music.

One of my absolute favourite Brazilian groups is called Skank. They're a rock/ska/reggae/whatever band who make some of the most infections, get-up-and-boogie music I know. Everything they do is class. AFAIK (haven't lived in Brazil for a while so I'm a little out of touch) they have five albums out: Skank, Calango, O Samba Poconé, Siderado, and Máquinarama, as well as a live album. I don't have much experience of Máquinarama or the live album, but I own the previous four and love them. My favourites are the middle two, Calango and Samba Poconé - both absolutely brilliant. They also happen to be very well produced and the sound quality is excellent.

Another favourite is Legiao Urbana ("Urban Legion"), though I suspect as this is largely lyric-based it wouldn't be quite so good if you don't understand Portuguese. But you could give it a go. A great introduction is their MTV Unplugged ("MTV Acústico") album, which has a lot of ther best songs in excellent acoustic versions, with stunning sound quality.

Another band I like a lot, though my familiarity is limited to the one CD I own, is Paralamas do Sucesso ("Mudguards of Success", seriously). The CD I own is 'Arquivo II', which is a compilation of their biggest releases from the 90s, and has some great catchy pop songs. If nothing else, download 'Uma Brasileira', it's just a fantastic, lively song.

And of course, if you're up for a little more laid-back, old school MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira, pretty self-explanatory ), there's always Caetano Veloso. That said, being Brazilian, Caetano's music is only laid-back for so long before it gets up on its feet and boogies with the best of them. He has an amazing voice, and his songs are always gorgeous (often spine-tinglingly so). I have a couple CDs of his, all great, including Livros, Caetano Canta (in which he sings various songs written by other popular Brazilian maestros), and my favourite, Prenda Minha, which is a live album that is seriously, seriously stunning. Complete with full-on Brazilian drums, a brilliant brass section, and all sorts of wonderful music - and it's beautifully recorded to boot. Real hairs-standing-on-end stuff.

I only got into Brazilian music in the last couple years I was living there, so my knowledge is sadly limited. Anyone else care to share...?

Dunc

 

I have a few, but first

Do you have this or something very, very similar? if not, get it NOW! You will not regret it.
But, but... don't hit that "buy now" button just yet