Customer Reviews

Brazilectro 5

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first bought this CD I was a little ticked to discover that many of the artists aren't actually Brazilian--some are, but a lot of the songs were recorded in Europe by European artists. Then I looked at the CD cover and saw the subtitle, "Latin flavored club tunes." Hah hah. Latin-flavored as opposed to truly Latin. But once I got past the sense of being sold a facsimile of the real thing, I gave this CD a chance and just listened to it. I realized I liked it. If you like lounge/club music with a Latin beat, as I do, you will enjoy this CD.

Like most lounge compilations, this is a very eclectic mix of music by many different artists. In fact, this CD serves as an excellent sampler of the wide range of musical styles included within the Latin-flavored club genre. Just as not all the music is from Brazil, not all of it can be categorized as electro-beat. Some of the tracks are pop-song-oriented, some are hardcore club beats, and still others are jazz-oriented. What they have in common is Latin rhythm and a hip club mood. It's hard to listen to the upbeat numbers on this CD without wanting to get up and swing your hips at some point. The slower tempo songs set a laid back chillout mood. The end result is that this two-CD set works both as background party music and as serious late-night mood music.

With me being so pleased with the session 4 compilation, expectation for the 5 was reasonably high, and I was not disappointed. The Brazilectro 5 is once again another excellent set from the series. There is no need for me to go in detail and explain the music, but if you enjoy relaxed, hip and some club style music (not techno, house and trance stuff), and top of that, some Euro acid jazz, this is the album for you. I got it playing everyday at work, it's the funky style of Cafe Del Mar.

Brazilectro 5 is by far & away the best in the series -- even manages to outdo Brazilectro 2, which is no small feat...

Of course, as in all the Brazilectro series, it is not without its own "what were they thinking?!" moments (such as the opening track on cd 2), but oh well...

The packaging is beautiful, almost like a book, with some really great pics of Rio inside.

Trippier, Funkier, Jazzier & altogether Juicier. Several tracks heavily influenced by Jobim. Highly recommended. If you are struggling to buy just one CD in the series, I would encourage you to get this one (but I would go ahead & get #2 while you're at it...)

In my opinion this is one of the best brazilian jazz collection. I think that if you are looking for pure brazilian music in any language, this is what you need.
Many of these songs are brazilian but others songs are from different countries like Norway. It's a great collection of songs for listening or going out. In spite of this, I can't give a 5 because there are few songs too slowly for me.

I reviewed this release a few years ago (maybe not a few, but 4!) and I enjoyed the album then and still do now. This particular Brazilectro was a cornerstone in the franchise - not just because it was one of the last of the series that featured a very good track selection and vibe, but because it was the first year that the Brazilectro series split. In 2003, Brazilution was released a few months before Brazilectro, and Brazilution was titled "Edition 5", just like Brazilectro. Brazilution was created by the same individuals behind the Brazilectro concept but the track listing on Brazilution was far more melancholic. So this particular Brazilectro, Brazilectro 5, was noticeably more up-beat than maybe even some of it's predecessors and had a more 'summery' vibe altogether.

This release features a lot of good tracks, some old, some new, but most importantly holds true with the tradition of featuring exclusive cuts on a double disc set. CD one starts out with the original vinyl version of Marcos Valle's On-Line, then features Rosalia De Souza's Maria Moita followed by Eli Goulart's Sunny (maybe my favorite cut on the CD). Paula Lima comes on with a sort of 70's sounding funk track then SunSoul mellows it down enough for a caipirinha. Other artists that add to CD one are Can 7, Banda Favela, Suba, Tricatel and the old school Bossa cut "Copa" featuring Roberto Menescaol & Wanda Sa. Meanwhile CD two starts out great but IMO, it sort of wans. Zimpala starts with a slow romantic track followed by a funk styled beach song "Fotihouse". You can feel the African in that track! Next up is Audiopharm's own Moodorama with a very chimey cut from their new CD which I admittedly didn't like, followed by a hot Rio club cut "No Batida Do Pandeiro" by Andrea Ciminelli. Next is a flute heavy remix of "Mi Amor Es" by Los Ladrones before Marshmellows comes in with "Tijuana Gold". The rest of CD two didn't grab me so much - Grupo Batuque's cut and Nicola Conte's Arabesque remixed weren't new to me, and the cd didn't close as strong as Brazilectro 4 did. That says a lot to me since I enjoy Da Lata's music (Liliana Chachain). Some cuts are cool - they're a little jazzy.

All in all, a very good Brazilectro. Brazilectro is one of the top four or five comp series to me along with Break & Bossa (Schema), Glucklich (Compost) and Brazilian Love Affair. Good artists, good tunes. The exclusive cuts are key - and most cuts, although not "exclusve", are extremely hard to find. But the downside - No Janice Andrade, no Justin, and there are Rosalia De Souza cuts that would have fit in better - and some cuts were filler. But the value and diversity of the compilation is what really separates Brazilectro from the Rio Lounge's, Nova Latina's, Nu Brazil's, etc. Enjoy!

Oh... and you would have to be OUT OF YOUR MIND to pay anything more than $20 for this. There's a Brazilectro box set which has the first six editions TOTAL for about $80 bucks, and even that was mistakenly on the cheap a year or two ago. And there's a regular listing for this at about 17 bucks and doing the math, at $90 for the box set maybe, it comes to $15 for this release. Paying anything more than that without it being the box set is absolute lunacy even though the box isn't "perfect" (see my review on it for details).

Audiopharm does it again with the yearly upbeat, summer sun Brazilectro double disk compilation. And now it's been released in the United States only a few months after being released in Germany!

Unlike Brazilution, which is the more melancholic side of the franchise, Brazilectro remains with Audiopharm. This release features a lot of good tracks, some old, some new, but most importantly holds true with the tradition of featuring exclusive cuts. CD one starts out with the original vinyl version of Marcos Valle's On-Line, then features Rosalia De Souza's Maria Moita followed by Eli Goulart's Sunny (maybe my favorite cut on the CD). Paula Lima comes on with a sort of 70's sounding funk track then SunSoul mellows it down enough for a caipirinha. Other artists that add to CD one are Can 7, Banda Favela, Suba, Tricatel and the old school Bossa cut "Copa" featuring Roberto Menescaol & Wanda Sa.

CD two starts out great but IMO, it sort of wans. Zimpala starts with a slow romantic track followed by a funk styled beach song "Fotihouse". You can feel the African in that track! Next up is Audiopharm's own Moodorama with a very chimey cut from their new CD, followed by hot Rio club cut "No Batida Do Pandeiro" by Andrea Ciminelli. Following up is a flute heavy remix of "Mi Amor Es" by Los Ladrones before Marshmellows comes in with "Tijuana Gold". The rest of CD two didn't grab me so much - Grupo Batuque's cut and Nicola Conte's Arabesque remixed weren't new to me, and the cd didn't close as strong as Brazilectro 4 did. That says a lot to me since I enjoy Da Lata's music (Liliana Chachain). Some cuts are cool - they're a little jazzy.

All in all, this is definitely worth the purchase. Brazilectro is one of the top three comp series to me along with Break & Bossa (Schema) and Glucklich (Compost). Good artists, good tunes. The exclusive cuts are key - and most cuts, although not "exclusve", are extremely hard to find. But the downside - No Janice Andrade, no Justin, and there are Rosalia De Souza cuts that would have fit in better - and some cuts were filler. But the value and diversity of the compilation is what really separates Brazilectro from the Rio Lounge's, Nova Latina's, Nu Brazil's, etc. But of the exclusive tracks, there is no Janice Andrade, and no Justin. Enjoy!

They were a Christmas gift for my husband and he loves them! They were wrapped perfectly so there was no damage done while in route.

This is the finest selection of latin flavoured club and lounge tunes i have ever heard. If somebody wants to listen to every coulour of modern latin sound this CD is a must have!