friday FIRE!
Os K-Rrascos & Vanessinha Do Picatchu - Bochecha Ardendo
when I was in grad school, for some reason my social life gravitated towards all things south asian. perhaps the large number of south asian students or the fact that we all hung out in a pub/club that'd been converted from an Indian lunch and dinner joint had something to do with it, but also it had to do with timing - that was right around when Bhangra was hitting the mainstream, and Jay-Z had just discovered Panjabi MC's Mundian To Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys), and released it stateside with his own remix. understandably, it blew up. but that's not the point - I got hooked on club Bhangra, but even as refreshing as it was (not to mention how bonkers people went when you played it out), it didn't stick over here (though Rekha has kept Basement Bhangra going for years, but it ain't stickin' outside of NY or areas with oodles of south asians).
so flash forward to 2004/5. and in case Diplo and M.I.A. didn't tip you off, Brazilian Baile/Carioca/Favela Funk is about halfway through blowing up to be the next big thing from elsewhere, since we've lost our crush on Bhangra and we're all f*@king sick of reggaeton already. it's taken hold in the UK, I heard it a bunch of places in Argentina, and given the super-double-secret-link between Japan and Brazil that no one knows about (largest population of Japanese living outside Japan), I'm sure it's big in Japan as well.
there's tons of this stuff, and without knowing the first thing about Portuguese, a good place to approach it is via compilations. the Turntable Lab is a great place to start for vinyl and CDs, and the CD this track is taken from, Mr. Bongo's Funk Carioca, can be [bought on CD] or [downloaded from iTunes]. the Lab also has 12" singles from an upcoming compilation by robot favorite Señor Coconut (free MP3 on linked page) of more Baile Funk.
hearing this music is like taking all the best dance music and throwing it in a blender, turning on frapee and then tossing in edible body paint, two ounces of sweat, a handle of rum and some sex sauce. you'll hear bits Freestyle, 80's electro (Kraftwerk and subsequently Soul Sonic Force are sampled frequently) and classic hip-hop beats woven together with Brazilian drumming and the signature toasting of the various male & female MC's.
what's more, listen to this and all of a sudden M.I.A.'s Bucky Done Gun sounds like a remix (listen [here and here] (iTunes required). the third half (?) to Diplo's Diplo Rhythm [here] makes more sense (he goes on buying trips down there, and was totally hooked from the first listen). in other words, you already love this stuff. and you need to hear more of it.
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FRIDAY BONUS!
Diplo - Favela On Blast (mixtape)
to illustrate what I've written about above, here's a classic early Diplo mix that's out of print: Favela On Blast! note that it prominently features the track Injecao and today's MP3, both from the same compilation listed above!
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there's already a great blog devoted to following the sound (among other things) around NYC, if you're around here. elsewhere, keep checking the music stores and watching for local DJ nights at bars.