Neil Spencer 

Ocupai review – a giddily diverse set from Brazil’s Bixiga 70

The energy and intelligence of Bixiga 70's instrumentals are irresistible, writes Neil Spencer
  
  


The soundtrack to World Cup summer will be a parade of joyous sambas and thundering drums (and Fifa-sponsored North American R&B), but Brazil's music is giddily diverse. This big band from São Paulo have their roots in Nigerian Afrobeat, with its relentless grooves and giant brass blasts, but on this second album the 10-piece weave in other strands. Isa borrows its sinuous melody from Ethio-jazz, Cinco Equinas has a James Brown beat and Kalimba lifts off into Congolese soukous. Elsewhere, swirls of psych-organ vie with dub and home-grown candomblé. It's all instrumental but the energy and intelligence of the playing are irresistible.

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*