Futura

Nacao Zumbi (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Circular Moves
• ASIN: B000E6EJL6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,637 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Brazil has always embraced music mix-it-up movements. There was samba at the dawn of the 20th century, Tropicalismo in the 1960s, and mangue beat in the 1990s. Each movement owes its predecessors lots, and each reaches aggressively across borders to earn its definition. Take Nacao Zumbi. This Perhambuco sextet throws a mélange of elements into their mix: batucada rhythmic undergirding, laconic Portuguese vocals that cross stylistic continents (hip hop here, rock-meets-samba there), and an instrumental palette mingling electronics, fuzzed guitars, and big-beat drums. When their original leader, Chico Science, died in 1997, the band pressed ahead, finding a sonic identity that deserves massive recognition on a world stage. And now the laid-back, polyglot urban world music rocks and bumps with the best, begging that ultimate venue question: When will the music community be big enough to welcome Nacao Zumbi to the show? --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars their best yet (since 97), April 11, 2006

By 

Paulo Padilha (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Futura (Audio CD)

it's pretty much impossible to think of Nacao Zumbi without thinking of Chico Science's untimely death (almost 10 years ago...), and I've always had the feeling the band feels the same way. Their past 2 albums have had their strong points, but I always felt that they left a little room for improvement - meaning Chico's abscense was an ever-present element of their music.

This album is a different story. The band plays with a confidence not heard since the days of Chico Science, with every track presenting their usual sense of experimentation but without their sound ever losing focus. The lyrics and vocals (mostly by Jorge du Peixe) are strong throughout, Lucio Maia's guitar is as creative and unique as ever, and the production is at the highest it has ever been. Their past albums always had a song or two that didn't quite work, but here they manage to mix all their interests - funk, surf guitar, hip-hop, heavy metal, dub, electronic music, maracatu, and everything else under the sun - yet nothing ever sounds out of place. Drum programming in one track, dubbed out grooves in another, even a baseline that sounds like it came out of a Portishead song, and the characteristic stacatto rap of Jorge du Peixe over some ferocious percussion, all fit perfectly into an esthetic that manages to include everything these guys like without ever sounding like it's a different band. With this album Jorge Du Peixe and co. finally cement their own place in the music world, managing to push Chico Science's project ahead without living under his shadow.