Something about their name--Kassin + 2--sounds like another boring Fabric dance comp, or some offshoot of tunnel vision DJs like Paul Van Dyk or Paul Oakenfold--skull thumping operators producing monochromatic sounds for 24 hour party people. But the glistening music of Rio's Kassin + 2 is anything but monotonous.

Futurismo is the sound of contemporary Rio de Janeiro filtered through the magnificence of that city's glorious musical past: '60s MPB classics by Elis Regina and Jorge Ben, the psychedelic sounds of Os Mutantes and Tom Zé, the simmering beachfront bossa nova of Tom Jobim and Joao Gilberto, even the stranger, exotic terrains inhabited by Airto Moreira and Hermeto Pascoal, plus the bump and grind of favela funk. Elegance and organic flow, subtle bossa nova (the city's lifeblood) and raging sambas--Kassin + 2 express it all like old souls navigating a personal musical and spiritual awakening.

"Futurismo by Kassin + 2 is the new portrait of Rio's rich musical, cultural and ethnic diversity. The final part in the + 2 trilogy--fellow band members Moreno Veloso and Domenico Lancellotti were the featured names for the first two releases--Futurismo is as Carioca as Havianas, Caiprinhas and the ability to spend all day on the beach without getting any sand on your sarong. ‘When I make an album, I want it to be able to sit happily inside my record collection, says Kassin, a Rio native who has been digging for vinyl gold all of his life. Futurismo is like a collection inside a collection. It represents my tastes and my world.'"

"O Seu Lugar": gorgeous, world weary bossa nova replete with charming alien sound effects, street banter, the slo-mo summer sounds of far away backyard city barbeques, drug deals, lost phone conversations, dogs sleeping, people barking...

"Tranquilo (Super Stereo Sound System)": a sleepy ode to lost time, lost keys, rolling rhythms, Ry Cooder's tragic-comedy guitar, the surface of the waves....golden and glaring....heat...bikini action ...

"Ya Ya Ya": Jorge Ben re-imagined as friendly street serenader, the song's familiar melody and wordless chorus of "ya ya ya" adorned with Arp synthesizer gurgles and clattering bell rhythms....and a cheesy keyboard adding an unidentifiable ‘60s era nostalgic element. Then the samba rhythms and psychedelic guitars erupt, signaling that all bets are off.

 

Kassin+2
"Tranquilo (Super Stereo Sound System)" (mp3)
from "Futurismo"
(Luaka Bop)

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Kassin+2
"Ya Ya Ya" (mp3)
from "Futurismo"
(Luaka Bop)

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Kassin+2
"O Seu Lugar" (mp3)
from "Futurismo"
(Luaka Bop)

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Dosh's Wolves and Wishes: Like some hopped up elementary school orchestra bashing their music stands in unison, Dosh sounds frenetic, hurried, bothered, dramatic, and seriously in need of a wee. Acid guitars, thumping drums, glockenspiel, and sound effects all battle for a place at the dinner table on the following tracks taken from various Dosh recordings.

Dosh
"If You Want To, You Have To" (mp3)
from "Wolves and Wishes"
(anticon)

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Dosh
"Um, Circles and Squares" (mp3)
from "The Lost Take"
(anticon)

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Dosh
"Naoise" (mp3)
from "Pure Trash"
(anticon)

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