Brasil Summerfest announced two more shows scheduled for its week long celebration of contemporary Brazilian Music. Mauricio Pessoa
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New York City’s Brasil Summerfest Adds Two Shows to Lineup
¡Vivan las Antipodas!
¡Vivan las Antipodas! is a documentary based around the existence of antipodes, or places on the Earth’s surface which diametrically oppose each other through the centre. This seems like something of a shaky premise on which to base a documentary until we are told that, because the majority of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, we are left with only a handful of inhabited pairs. These still
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Sarazino – Everyday Salama
There is no one thing, one word, one sound to describe Sarazino’s new album, Everyday Salama. The 15 track project blends dub, reggae, Afro, Latin, hip hop and Arabic music just to name a few. Each track with a different beat, but the album carries a unifying theme throughout and I accredit this feat to the international development of Sarazino’s music.Sarazino is a group led and founded by Lami
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Peru’s Environmental Ambassador Mick Jagger drawn into ‘illegal gas grab’ row in Amazon
Rock legend Mick Jagger has been drawn into a bitter row over an ‘illegal gas grab’ in the Peruvian Amazon. Peru’s government has provoked fury from indigenous groups after it was discovered that it is attempting to explore for gas in an Amazon reserve despite explicitly promising never to do so.The reserve is the territory of several vulnerable uncontacted tribes, and a crucial buffer zone for th
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Casa De Mi Padre Competition
To mark the release of Will Ferrell’s new film Casa De Mi Padre, which is un UK cinemas from June 8th, we’re offering our readers the opportunity to win a Spanish language DVD bundle (featuring Cell 211, Rudo And Cursi, and Amores Perros) as well as a Casa De Mi Padre film poster.Here’s what Casa De Mi Padre is all about:Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his [...]
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Bárbara Eugênia e Tatá Aeroplano “Dos Pés”
Great new video from two of Brazil’s most interesting singers, Tatá Aeroplano, the lead singer for quintessential indie band Cérebro Eletrônico, and Bárbara Eugênia, whose debut album last year explored MPB with the air of a French chanteuse. A duet between the two then seems like a great idea, especially when they’ve got people like Junio Barreto, Iara Abigalil Furuse, Taísa Hirsch and Dudu Tsuda
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A Curva Da Cintura “Cê Não Vai Me Acompanhar”
Here’s the first video from A Curva Da Cintura, the exciting new collaboration from Arnaldo Antunes, Edgard Scandurra and Toumani Diabaté that’s gonna be released here in the UK on Mais Um Discos on June 18th. You can find out more details of the album as well as their London show here. With Arnaldo taking a lot of vocal duties, the album is really about the interplay between Scandurra on [...]
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“The Strains of Heavy Dub Bass Wafted Through The Spaceship” – An Interview with Maga Bo
On Quilombo do Futuro, the latest album from Maga Bo, this US DJ and producer fuses the heavy dancefloor rhythms and beats that you’d find in dancehall, baile funk and tropical bass productions with Afro-Brazilian percussion and singing for an album that bridges the gap between past, present and future. A resident of Rio de Janeiro, Maga Bo talks to us about the inspirations behind the album, why
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New Songs for a Sunny Sunday
Sunshine is great! Finally the sun has reached England and the feel-good is piping through the air. To celebrate this new sunny disposition we thought we’d post a few of our recent favourites from Soundcloud, a selection of tunes with pure tropical bounce, perfect for sitting out in the garden with home-made mojito in hand. Below is a handful of tracks from the likes of Ondatrópica, Maga Bo, Perne
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Sofrito and Strut Team Up for New Compilation of Rare Music From Africa, The Caribbean and South America
Following on from their excellent Tropical Discotheque record in 2011, Sofrito and Strut once again are teaming up to bring us a new compilation of raw dancefloor rhythms from Africa, the Caribbean and South America.International Soundclash will feature both rare and new and exclusive material, with a specially designed cut-out globe on a pull-out poster accompanying the CD and double LP. Artists
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Rare Colombian Music Mixtape by Frente Cumbiero’s Mario Galeano
One of the perks for anyone who contributed to Vincent Moon and Lulazruza‘s Esperando el Tsunami film/album project last year was this mixtape of rare Colombian music from Mario Galeano, which has now been made available for all to listen to.Regular readers to this blog will no doubt be familiar with Galeano for his work with both Frente Cumbiero and Ondatropica, and can be sure this one fine mix
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A Gabriel Garcia Marquez Reader
Known as Gabo throughout Latin America, Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez is among the 20th century’s most significant writers. An award-winning novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, there is no shortage of his works. But for those unfamiliar with García Márquez’s fantastical novels, where to begin?García Márquez was a member of the group known as the “Boom” generation
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What’s In A Name? We Ask Putumayo World Music Founder Dan Storper: “Why Putumayo?”
Putumayo is a region in the South-West of Colombia. It’s also the name of a worldwide record label. For some reasons I had never personally tied these two bits of information together, until a friend (thanks here goes to Laura Querubin) told me that the company was in fact named after the region. Instantly I got in touch with Putumayo and asked to speak to the man responsible, I was [...]
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New Album of Downtempo Electronica from Venezuela’s Dolli
We are big fans of Venezuelan Erly J. Ruiz and his Dolli project. Last year’s Viaje EP was an absolute gem that ended up as one of our favourites of the year. He’s now followed this up with Un Amigo De Un Amigo Que No Soy Yo, a full-length album made up of original compositions, reworkings of other people’s songs and remixes of Dolli tracks. We will be reviewing the [...]
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Ritmo Machine “La Calle” feat. Sick Jacken and Ana Tijoux
Here’s the latest video from Ritmo Machine, the Latin hip-hop team up between Eric Bobo (son of Willie Bobo) and Latin Bitman. On “La Calle” they are joined by Sick Jacken and Ana Tijoux for a video set in Los Angeles, and featuring many landmarks from that area, such as the Pico-Union and the bodegas of Boyle Heights. In July Ritmo Machine, along with Calle 13 and Ana Tijoux will [...]
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Sounds and Colours In Print? Help Make It Happen!
This summer Sounds and Colours is launching it’s first ever print edition, focusing on the music and culture of Colombia. Keen to banish stereotypes, this collectable book and accompanying CD takes a fresh look at the country’s music and culture, with articles on established genres like cumbia and vallenato, as well as lesser-known folk rhythms and traditions. It also delves into the current music
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Pato Fu’s Fernanda Takai Chooses 10 of the Best Songs from Minas Gerais
Belo Horizonte is the third largest city in Brazil (after the giants that are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). It’s the capital of Minas Gerais, a state whose names gives some clue as to where the area found it’s wealth. Being such a populous area, we have often wondered why we don’t hear about more music coming from Minas Gerais. In order to fill in some of the gaps [...]
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Maga Bo – Quilombo do Futuro
Maga Bo has truly earned the title of “global producer”. Though born in the US, he has performed, recorded and travelled in over 40 countries and held artistic residences in Morocco, India, Ethiopia and Senegal to name a few. However, since 1999 he has lived in Rio de Janeiro and his latest album, the fruit of three years work, is a global homage to the music of his adopted homeland.Quilombo [...]
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Afro-Colombian Special: Celebrating el Día Nacional de la Afrocolombianidad
Today is El Día Nacional de la Afrocolombianidad in Colombia, which essentially means National Afro-Colombian Day (May 21st was chosen as it’s also the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development). To celebrate Afro-Colombian culture we’ve put together a special Spotify playlist of Afro-Colombian music as well as collected together some of the great articles, reviews and mixtapes
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WIN Maga Bo’s New ‘Quilombo Do Futuro’ Album
Maga Bo‘s new album Quilombo Do Futuro will be released tomorrow and we have five digital copies of the release to give away. The album, which fuses raw Afro-Brazilian rhythms with tropical bass and a variety of singers and MCs, is undoubtedly one of the releases of the year, making us pretty stoked to be able to give away a few copies.The album features appearances by Rosângela Macedo, Marcelo Yu
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