Customer Reviews

São Paulo Confessions

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I hadn't written a review on this one but I felt the need to correct a few misconceptions on the previous review. Suba was a fantastic producer and artist out of Sao Paulo (but I believe from Yugoslavia originally) that focused on the new sounds of Brazilian music and he loved the Brazilian underground sounds. He worked with Joao Parahyba (of Trio Mocoto fame) and many many other talented and respected producers and musicians out of Brazil. In fact, before Suba tragically passed away, he had finished this album and was producing Bebel Gilberto's "Tanto Tempo" (Suba, Bebel Gilberto, Zuco 103, Celso Fonseca, Cibelle are all on the same label at the time - Ziriguiboom). Unfortunately, he passed away in a fire in Sao Paulo. I believe he made it out of the fire, but died when he returned to his apartment to recover his works.

This album is awesome. It's very dark and mysterious - it embodies what he wanted from this album - to show a dark side of Sao Paulo through music. It's consistent through in through with breathtaking beats & samples and sexy vocals. Suba features Taciana, Katia B (her album is okay too), Cibelle (her album is great!) and even Arnaldo Artunes in the cuts. Each artist integrates a certain touch to this cd, and helped to establish the sound and feel of this cd. I literally enjoy every single track... especially Tantos Desejos, Segredo, Pecados da Madrugada and Na Neblina.

I have to recommend this - you haven't really checked out electric Brazil if you haven't heard this cd. So many artists have gone in a direction similar to Suba's. And if you have this, you MUST check out his "Tributo" album where fantastic artists remake his songs + some uncut Suba tracks are there. The song: "Are You Sleeping", featuring Katia B is soooo Suba. Also, again, Bebel Gilberto's cd has his touches on it as he produced it. And the compilation Caipirissima has a cool cut on it + some dark Bossa. Other comps I recommend with Suba: Brasil 2Mil, Rough Guide to Brazilian Electronica, Brazilectro series.

I will personally miss Suba's music - he left too soon! One can only imagine how much more great music there would be if he was with us today.

Looking for a mix of laid-back bossa-nova, acid-jazz, industrial techno & slowed down electro-grunge, with an Irish jig violin and a demented Brazilian chanter thrown in for good measure?... No?... Well shame on you because that's what we have here and it's quite wonderful. Featuring some of the most complex and innovative fusing of styles I've ever heard, this record is unique, challenging, often beautifully atmospheric and totally addictive.

Describing the music is a challenge in itself: imagine Astrud Gilberto's vocals, Café del Mar's ambience, Talking Heads' poly-rhythmical back-beats (often sounding like, and for all I know actually based upon, a group of Brazilian street-kids playing syncopated bin-lids), coupled with odd electronic sounds and insidiously looped samples and you're getting close. How Suba conceived of such a bizarre combination is a marvel in itself; how he forms it into a satisfyingly cohesive whole is stunningly impressive. And, before you know where you are you've been happily drawn further and further into his weird world to emerge wanting... more!

Even if you can't speak Portugese, this music transcends all barriers to enjoyment. First off, it is unmistakably Brazilian in its musical character, taking the best of influences of the Brazilian master musicians of the past and imbuing it with a very modern feel. Nothing is lost of the wonderful sambas and percussive flavor that defines Brazilian music. It's all there and more. The singers are silver throated, the musicians, messengers from the Gods. You will hear many familiar melodies intertwined in the arrangements of these songs as they seamlessly blend in with the modern mixing that the late Suba put together. It really is a loss that this fellow is no longer with us to continue this work, but, I'm sure others will step up. This cd is far above the other release that 6 degrees has put out, Zuco 103. This is a much more modern and masterful offering with great tracks that deepen with each listening. Zuco 103 is much more middle of the road stuff, not bad, but, not far reaching as this music is.

Suba is an amazing artists, but be warned, this album hints more of an acid jazz/trance feel with a Brazilian samba/bossa nova rhythm. Sao Paulo Confessions is a great album. It is dark, mysterious, sensual and a good look into the Brazilian underground sound. The singers have pure voices... it's brilliant. Once again sixdegrees records hasn't disappointed with another outstanding hit. As they say, Voce Gosta! Yes, they do know what we like! Pick it up!

After getting into Bebel Gilberto's brilliant album, Tanto Tempo, it seemed natural to take a look around to see what other innovative music is/was coming out of Brazil. Suba, Tanto Tempo's producer, was (R.I.P.) a rare talent who, in his brief life, left an important mark on his nation's musical tradition, marrying old rhythmical structures with programmed percussion. In short, Sao Paulo Confessions is brilliant. Its rich textures attest to the multi-layered realities of nighttime Sao Paulo as I imagine it from stories told by friends. If you enjoy smart, ethereal, well-crafted songs, buy this album.

Oh tragedy did strike. One of the next grand artists, those who understand the subtleties of sound has passed - caressing, dizzying, beating sounds of wind, drums, piano.

Brazil meets the late night beats of London.

This CD is just gorgeous, original. It sounds like a familiar friend but will always give you something you hadn't heard the last time you put it on. If you love relaxing beats, love Samba and Bossa Nova and want your music to have more than one linear tone then jump on Suba....its Supa'

A CD packed with dense and smooth sounds...a real trip through the streets of Sao Paulo at night, with more than just a hint of a late afternoon walk along the beach in Rio. This is stuff to listen to on repeat-mode for hours. This CD is precious...too bad Suba is not around to make a few more of these.

I'm a jazz, blues, latin music listener. I also like good electronic music, rare as it is. Suba's Sao Paulo Confessions has become one of my absolutely favorite albums. You can enjoy it as background music, or really listen to it. It operates on many levels. It's smooth, complex, and intriguing--listenable and danceable. If you like Brazilian music at all, this album is a must have. If you have been looking for electronic music and are afraid of getting stuck with some vapid elevator music, this album what you've been looking for.

Now, a whole year after his tragic death, the music of this great musician excites me as much as the first time I ever heard one of his works. If you haven't known, Suba's real name is Mitar Subotic, he comes from the city Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, Europe, the city I was born in. I have listened and followed his music through the years and although he was not very famous here, he had many admirers, including myself. He worked with many popular musicians in former Yugoslavia as a producer and his contribution to their songs was always recognizable and specific. His previous CD, called ANGEL'S BREATH was also recorded in Brazil with another charismatic musician from Belgrade, Milan Mladenovic, who also died 6 years ago from cancer. Suba's last work, Sao Paulo Confessions, has proved again his enormous talent and lumps of ideas that were to come from this genius, but unfortunately he did not live to share them with all of us...

This CD is the perfect marriage between ambient dance music and the brazilian rhythms. I listened to this CD 3 times before I realized that it has looped. Its smooth and trancelike sound makes you feel like your floating. It is 1 of the best CDs to come out of brasil in 10yrs. Anybody who is interested in good ambient and or brazilian beats should get this for their collection.