Detroit rapper Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition – his 2016 opus on exorcising inner demons via self-destructive excess – might not seem the most obvious starting point for revered Brazilian singer Juçara Marçal’s latest solo album. But Marçal collaborated with guitarist Kiko Dinucci, also of her São Paulo experimental group Metá Metá, and both musicians were intrigued by Brown’s process of writing his lyrics to ready-made, unpredictable beats, and decided to do the same on Delta Estácio Blues. Starting by building a rhythmic and sparsely melodic foundation, Dinucci and Marçal then began a back-and-forth with songwriting collaborators to produce fleshed-out arrangements, to which they finally added Marçal’s vocals. The finished compositions balance intricate arrangements with an improvisatory feel.
Just as Brown’s work veers from bombastic horns to choral chants and R&B balladry, so these 11 tracks are as erratic as they are engaging. Opener Vi de Relance A Coroa uses harsh, kick-thumping sound design from experimental producer Cadu Tenório to frame Marçal’s crystalline voice and Dinucci’s plucked melody, while Corpus Christi pairs Marçal with a bossa nova shuffle. Sem Cais and Crash reference Brown producer Paul White’s open-eared aptitude for chaos with their clattering mix of industrial drum programming and rolling 808 bass lines.
Marçal’s voice is just as playful and experimental as the production, veering from the melodic softness of Ladra, in which it counters the heavily distorted instrumentation, to the impassioned spoken word of Crash, and her warped lower register of Oi, Cat. It’s her mutable voice that gives this wildly varied album its sense of coherence – as well as its message. In her lyrics, Marçal consistently rails against Jair Bolsonaro’s dysfunctional, populist government, turning Brown’s introspection outwards to focus on a worthy target. But in approaching such a serious topic with a sense of radically open creativity, Marçal and Dinucci stress the role that remaining open-minded can play as a bulwark against repressive regimes.
Also out this month
Venezuelan folk singer Isaac Sasson combines his silken voice with the traditional stringed instruments of the bandola llanera and charango on Canciones de Isaac (Olindo Records), creating a soothing collection in tribute to the music of his home country. Accordion player Mario Batkovic explores the symphonic qualities of his instrument on Introspectio (Invada Records), moving between choral ambience, neoclassical grandeur and quiet folk melody. Algerian singer-songwriter Majid Soula releases an out-of-print selection of his infectious synth-funk Berber music from the 1980s on Chant Amazigh (Habibi Funk).
