Brazil, the land of endless carnivals and wobbly, semia naked ladies, has a deeper musical side to it. American soul and funk made a big impact from the 60s onward – as exemplified by Strut’s highly recommended 2002 compilation Black Rio. With this second volume, the label delves a little deeper into the funky side of things.
The range of music is quite astounding, with almost straight samba tracks such as Zeca Do Trombone & Roberta Sax’s Coluna Domeio, through a Brazilian take on 60s soul with the lovely Renata Lu and Faz Tanto Tempo. There’s frantic, wah-wah-fuelled funk with E O Grupo’s Our Sound, a slinky funk take on Gilberto Gil’s immortal Bananeira by Emilio Santiago and even a breakneck cover of The Isleys’ It’s My Thing, as rendered by The Cry Babies. Edson Frederico’s Bobeira proves to be the stand-out cut, with its sharp brass lines and breathless female backing smoothly riding the parallel course of funk and samba.
American influences are unmistakeable, with each artist incorporating Brazil’s native sound with other funky elements, giving their own interpretation to the work. Whether listening or dancing to this, there’s so much variety that there’s never a dull moment.
