Music Blogs

Just as Brazilians are smarter than we Americans in terms of gasoline consumption--this massive South American nation uses ethanol almost exclusively instead of the ugly, stinky red stuff we use to power our automobiles--their native folk music continues to evolve in quite incredible ways. (Pete Seeger's dead, right?)

Think Brazil and most bedheads will yack about Bebel Gilberto, maybe her stepmom, or if they are really hip, they'll mumble on about Edu Lobo, Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil, Edison Machado, DJ Dolores, or Joao Gilberto. But just as the tiny Six Degrees label continues to mine some of the best new sounds from Brazil, they now expose the world to Sao Paolo collective Sonantes.

Meeting at the juncture of past and present, political and apolitical, Sonantes is equally comprised of twenty-something hipsters and old school Brazilian rockers. Sonantes joins superb vocalist CeU with members of Brazilian groups Nacao Zumbi and Instituto. This is the equivalent of a U.S. label bringing Feist together with Wilco and Sonic Youth. Sonantes' self-titled album is far reaching and forward thinking. The music simmers in soft electronica waves, old school instrumentation (Hammond B3 organs, jazz flutes, ricochet drum beats), and a general air of mysterious possibility.

Guitars shimmy against Ennio Morricone styled soundscapes in "Brava"; electro beats and ‘40s styled brass punctuations dance a luxurious two-step in the ultra cosmopolitan "Frevo De Saudade"; doped terrain that recalls Tortoise flows through outer space dub in "Carimbo." Sonantes is hot and feverish, the sound of discoloration, a journey through outer space with the sexy, multi-versed CeU as your host.

Bebel Gilberto gets the lion's share of press for her namesake alone, but CeU is by far a more interesting vocalist. CeU sings as a patriot of Sao Paolo, as a native with heart and soul firmly planted in Brazilian soul. Childlike and playful, ethereal and alluring, CeU changes guises and moods at will, leading us across sunny beaches and through dangerous favela alleyways.

Young Brazilians have only recently re-embraced their native folk music, realizing that the true source of their musical power lies in the countries' incredibly rich, fertile and seemingly endless meshing of cultures and styles. Sonantes sounds ancient and contemporary--curious melodies, inventive production and some unknown ingredient positing their sensuous soul music.

Sonantes : "Quilombo Te Espera"  (MP3, 3:36)

Planeta Imaginario's Biomasa: Drummer/composer Bill Bruford once called prog rock "The most unloved but most popular music known to mankind." Critics love to bash Rush, Yes, King Crimson and remaining prog rock canon, as if the ability to actually play your instrument with some degree of proficiency while also singing in tune puts you in league with Charles Manson. Heck, most American critics prefer Charles Manson's music to typical prog rock--is it any wonder they also trumpet style-heavy, untalented hacks like the Faint, Devendra Banhart, Ben Harper or Jack Johnson? But I digress in my usual griping.

Prog rock is spat upon in the US, but in Europe the music is still held aloft as something to be studied, examined and revered. When PFM plays Rome, a national Italian holiday is declared. King Crimson fills stadiums in London, Jane sells out small clubs in Berlin, the French still love the gobbleygook sounds of Magma.

Spanish prog rock conquistadors Planeta Imaginario tread lightly upon prog rock waters, touching down in fields of acoustic jazz improvisation as easily as drilling raucous 32nd notes into your skull. Biomasa is the second release from the eight piece collective, and it's time-travel inducing, recalling the big brass belches of Chicago II, the saucy Rhodes piano work of Chick Corea, and the playfulness of Frank Zappa's Hot Rats.

Planeta Imaginario : "El Francotirador de Washington [Washington Sniper];  (MP3, 5:23)