Customer Reviews

Songs From the Tin

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Not being able to speak Portuguese is no barrier to enjoying this CD. The underlying samba precussion and evocative vocals need no translation.

I got turned onto this CD as Pra Manha (track 5) has previously been released on a compilation (Glucklich III). This is some of the best that MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) has to offer. On the strength of this, I ordered the CD and am not at all unhappy with the other tracks.

The first cut, Binti, sounds almost Middle Eastern in origin but as soon as the Samba drums kick the "Brazilliance" comes through. Some tracks (Rain Song/Borbaleta) have wonderful acoustic guitar woven through and Rio Vida is built around on some creative "African influenced" harmonies.

In recent Brazilian culture Da Lata (of the tin) has been added to the popular vernacular to mean very good. Apparently a ship had several thousands of tins of baby milk on board which contained the extract of a certain plant in addition to the formula. When the customs authorities tried to board the crew dumped all the cans into the water. The cans later floated into Rio's harbor and I'm told some pretty incredible parties resulted. This ranks as one of the top ten of the 70 or so Brazlian CDs I have. Well worth buying

Liliana Chachian is the voice in most of the songs on this CD, while Christian Franck of Smoke City is the guitarist and renown DJ Patrick Forge mixes. What you have is a very interesting sounding cd that captures different musical styles but with a twist. What really makes this CD work to me is that Liliana Chachian's voice is so powerful and traditional - you see Brazil when she sings. The downside to the CD - sometimes the "Brazil" is forced by the musicians. (see Binti + Rain Song).

Having said that, the CD starts out great with Binti and glides through in a sort of traditional feel through the first five cuts. Then you get more into the percussion and samba of Brazil before having a light song in the end "Rio Vida" followed by the acoustic "The Tin Within".

Disclaimers: There is a famous underground Brazilian singer named Fernanda Abreu who's album Da Lata is often confused with this. They are not the same - by ANY means! However you can hear one of her songs AND Smoke City's on the Brasil 2Mil compilation. I like her singing and her "Raio X" cd is pretty good.

Finally, I think what's most interesting is the musical connections of this group. Smoke City's Nina Miranda features in Rain Song. Marc Brown of Smoke City has another group, KV:5, who has a cut featured on Da Lata's remix album! Patrick Forge works closely with both groups and has a few good "Trust the DJ" releases. And finally Christian Franck has been featured on so many albums over time (take Batu for example) that I lost count. And of course there's much more. Bottom line, if you like Smoke City, you should pick this up. WHile I liked Smoke City's "Flying Away" better than this (more original), you can't help but be curious about the crossover.

This is something worth getting your ears into. It is an absolutely amazing album and like Mr. Hermano's Free as the Morning Sun which was released this year this is another British band giving us Brazillian flavours with a contemporary feel. Patrick Forge, the DJ and contemporary of Gilles Peterson lends his hand to this production as well as a song writing credit on Inae.

I have had this sitting in my desk at work for a little while now and finally got around to playing it throughout and this will be in my Cd player for some time. My favourite track is Indo but there is an excellent selection here, the likes of Pra Manha having already appeared on compilation albums and Rio Vida.

This is music to chill to, to dance to, to sing along to (so long as you can pick up the Portugese) and just generally enjoy. Now when is the next album out?

"Songs from the Tin" is an explosion of colors, sexy voices, melodic rhythms and eclecticism. Nowadays, it seems difficult to find and album that could both inspire your soul and wake your feet up. Nonetheless, with their very first album, Da lata could not only reinvent Brazilian traditional styles, but also create a breathtaking and sensual collage with no intention but to seduce the listener. An assault on the senses.

A mesmerizing and captivating atmosphere opens the album: whispering, drums, moans; thirty seconds, and you are already intrigued. And suddenly, like a brilliant aurora, the magnificent voice of Dierdre transports you to another world of fantasy and delight. That is "Binti". "Cores" establishes the drums' reign; it is a song to dance while the sun sets. There is a warm delicacy about a song like "The Rain Song", a deep melancholy, a true feeling. Maybe it is Lilliana Chachian's husky voice, maybe it is the sultry guitar. You cannot help but adore it.

"Borboleta" always draws a smile on my face. It starts as a terribly simple composition, stripped down, almost acoustic. Then the violin crying, then the delicate drums, then the guitars murmuring. Seductive. "Pra manha" is a samba I cannot resist. It tempts you, it lures you. You either dance or dance. "Tregua" is exactly that: a moment of rest and relax.

Nevertheless, soon you are impelled to dance again, although this time to a darker, more serious song. It is "Inae". "Indo" is a charming bossa nova, with its exquisite rhythm and its seductive trumpet. Pure bliss. "Rio Vida" is a sun-drenched walk around Brazilian beaches, an impetus, a self-content laughter.

The album closes with a rather haunting, elegant instrumental composition. There is a certain sadness about it, like the lonely coldness of a night that is about to end. It is simply moving.

"Songs from the Tin" is definitely one of my favourite albums: a mixture of passion, sensuality and rhythm. It is a celebration of music, a moment of warmth, a catharsis. It is the album that you will love.

This is not strictly a "Brazilian" CD in that it wasn't made in Brazil. But it may as well have been. "Songs from the Tin" is an instant classic. It has a trance-like, beautiful sound to it...almost Suba-like but more upbeat than "Sao Paulo Confessions". There is almost nothing like "Songs from the Tin" in the entire panorama of "Brazilian" music - "Songs from the Tin" breaks new ground. Indeed, Da Lata have yet to repeat these heights (or indeed have anyone else) - a delight from start to finish.

As a Brazilian, used to MPB ("Musica Popular Brasileira") and Bossa Nova, I was very surprised by this CD. It represents the continuous evolution and experimentation that defines modern Brazilian music. Like the Brazilian culture, its music is always evolving, providing new interpretations of our memories and opening our eyes to a world of creativity. Some folks might complain about a track or two, but innovation has its risks. This is Brazil.

Da Lata have made a fine, fine album - sensual, rhythmic musical. It's not bossa nova, but it is *influenced* by it. Using modern sounds and textures, they've created a wonderful soundscape that can also make you move. I would advise ignoring the dissenting review - it seems as if the gentleman is expecting the girl from Ipanema to walk thorugh his door any minute now...

Brazilian music is an ocean of rich, varied, and beautiful forms. Lately, many young Brazilian bands and musicians have been incorporating outside influences into their music in a variety of creative and experimental ways, coming up with fresh and innovative CDs in the process (Sylvia Torres, Carlinhos Brown, Monica Salmaso, Suba, Karnak, to name just a few, all very different from one another). I'm not sure who Da Lata is, though I am pretty sure they are not from Brazil. Nonetheless, this is an excellent album, indicative of what might be called the "new wave" of Brazilian music. The CD mixes a whole lot of different styles and approaches, and twists around some of the traditional rhythms and harmonies in ways that are startlingly fresh and alluring. Check out the creative use of percussion and the rhythmic results that sort of sound like something you have heard before, but not quite. This is a CD that will reward the listener even after of dozens of hearings. It will also probably whet the interest of many listeners to explore other forms of Brazilian music.

I don't know much about this group, but this is a great album! Brazilian trance-pop with lots of native instruments, including guitars and deep bass drums. Recording is very clean.

Highly recommended.

turn off your radio that plays all that preprogrammed garbage and listen to this. Da Lata I came across doing the dirty deed of downloading, but now own both their albums...I am not crazy about Serious, as it lacks the easy sensuality of this album. Songs from the Tin explores samba and bossa nova beats where Serious explores more pop and r and b. songs of the tin is a music that puts you in a place and time that you want to be, usually near the ocean in warm weather and in the southern hemisphere. The vocals are smooth and inviting, the rhythms ones you cant forget and altogether the sound is exotic and pleasurable.