Words by Justin Turford
Rio de Janeiro based musician, songwriter and producer Pedro Guinu has delivered a history lesson in some of the funkiest sounds that have emanated from Brazil over the last five decades while adding his own heavyweight dancefloor pressure (hence why they this album has been released on NYC underground heroes Razor-N-Tape and not on a more ‘global music’ type label). 'Palagô' somehow crisscrosses late 70s style samba, mid 80s AOR, Deodato-esque jazz-funk, fusion, MPB and tough contemporary grooves with ease. Its brimful of melodies, big choruses, that all-important Brazilian sensualidade and it’s allied it with an analogue studio recorded bottom end that will slay any modern sound system.
Through our friend (and Executive Producer of this album) Tee Cardaci, I asked Guinu if he had set any boundaries when making the record as it is so broad in its scope…
“I grew up listening to Brazilian music from the 70s and 80s. I think when I moved to Rio, I felt closer to these artists and what they experienced and loved about the City and Brazil. So, when I began recording Palagô, I just opened my heart and let the music flow”
Recorded live in the studio to capture that 70s era of analogue sonic warmth, the album has paradoxically, the cohesion that comes from a single artist’s vision but it is also constantly surprising as Guinu flips from genre to genre, sometimes within the same song. But then, a love letter to the musical heritage of Rio has much to draw from.
‘Haja Fé’ takes its inspiration from Cravo & Canela’s ‘Amor Em Jacumã’ from 1977, with that most well known of Brazilian exports, the easy listening samba/bossa groove. Instantly catchy with a great male lead and female backing vocals, this could be a hit at any time in the last 50 years. Swerving dramatically, we have the second single from the album - ‘Eletromandinga’ - a hyperspeed fusion track that harnesses the spirit of Airto’s Return To Forever and the environmental warnings of the Yoruban Orixás (spirit guardians), creating something that sounds like something LA’s wunderkid Louis Cole (Knower) could make if he had a rawer aesthetic. This is a highwire act of syncopated jazz-funk and it rocks.
“The Cyberpunk novels I used to read always featured a tech-filled, dystopian future set amidst a destroyed planet. I believe that we are getting closer and closer to this reality. In the song, the Orixás present themselves within this context as a siren sounding a warning; a wake-up call alerting us to the impending collapse of our natural environment” - Guinu
A particular favourite is ‘Céu de Sangue’ which sounds like Marcos Valle jamming with Tony Allen and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The ‘oriental’ sounding marimbas and Afrobeat shuffle fit beautifully with that gentle beach heat that Valle is the undisputed maestro of. There’s a touch of Compass Point Studios about ‘Céu de Sangue’ and that is a BIG compliment!
As mentioned before, there is a deadly pressure to the bass end of all the recordings so we have these beautiful melodies encased within classic song structures but with a powerful edge that transcends the language. Tracks like the MPB-esque ‘Portäo de Ferro’ roll hard with its monster funk bass line and even the tender sway of the anthemic ‘Raridade’ exerts that oomph that will make the dancefloor “levantar poeira” (kick up the dust in English).
There’s more. The flute and filthy synth bass led ‘Joana Joá’ is an unusual mixture of low-slung hip hop and traditional rhythms, and ‘Amanhã’ covers Brazilian boogie, MPB and jazzy samba but sounds as contemporary as anything out there.
More than a tribute to Rio from someone who isn’t a born carioca, the man originally from the eastern Brazilian region of Minas Gerais has served up a gift to Cidade Maravilhosa - a lifelong student’s contribution to the enormous musical wealth of one the World’s most musical of cities. 9/10
RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 9TH 2022
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