Customer Reviews

Vagarosa (Dig)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Vagarosa" far surpasses her self-titled first release, "CéU," which was a truly excellent CD itself. The arrangements on "Vagarosa" go well beyond what one generally associates with "Brazilian" music, giving the whole affair a fresh and universal flavor. Many of the rhythms seem more tango-influenced than samba-like, which also makes this album a bit multiculti and difficult to pigeon-hole. Moreover, it is unusual to hear so much organ playing in any Latin music, which gradually eliminated any expectation I had when I first put this CD into my player. The closest comparison I can come up with is the music of Julieta Venegas, especially her "MTV Unplugged" and one of my all-time favorite CDs, "Limon y Sal."

CéU is no dilettante or overnight wonder. Born Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças, her father is a composer and musicologist, and she studied the classic and popular music of Brazil and music theory before embarking on her own career as a musician. Her serious study of music shows in the complexity of the compositions, arrangement, and choices of instrumentation on "Vagarosa." While some would classify the music of CéU as "pop," it really deserves a bit more attention to the details than that. In fact, "Vagarosa" ranges from rock and jazz to Latin to a bit of experimentation and, in the end, offers an exciting musical journey. I generally don't go for hyperbole, but in my opinion this CD deserves more than the five stars allowed here.

CeU's "Vagarosa" is an electrifying follow-up to her self-titled debut two years ago. She has honed her craft considerably, experimenting with a variety of sounds. Her debut was perfect coffee shop music--this one is more dreamlike, with the Moog and the Hammond organ. Imagine Bat for Lashes' "Two Suns" if it had a samba/reggae beat. "Vagarosa" is perfect for lounging and dreaming. Enjoy it with a cup of capirinha or Brazilian coffee.

"Vagarosa" opens with the simple "Sobre O Amor E Seu Trabalho Silencioso"--it's basically a duet between CeU and her guitarist. "Cangote" has a rippling reggae beat. The mellotron is featured in "Comadi." "Nascente" has a strong horn section,with a retro sound to it. CeU has rightly been equated with Gal Costa,the diva of Brazil's psychedelic Tropicalista movement. "Grains de Beaute" has a simple,acoustic beauty. "Ponteiro" evokes carnival music. "Rosa Menina Rosa" is lilting and dreamlike. The closing, "Espaconave" samples Amazon rainforest sounds. The riffs are reminiscent of Santana's jam sessions.

"Vagarosa" is hardly a sophomore slump. It's psychedelic samba! Venture into this colorful rainforest of music.

CeU
"Vagarosa"
(Six Degrees, 2009)
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Wow. This record floored me, starting with the second track, "Cangote", a heavy, spooky dub reggae tune, mixed with Brazilian harmonics and some tweaky outside elements, including an Arabic-flavored lead organ and mellotron riffs that bring to mind the Ethiopian groove of Mahmoud Ahmed. It's so totally cool. The track that follows, "Comadi," also shows a strong familiarity with the best classic Jamaican dub, although this time with a ska-like uptempo vibe. Maybe Sly & Robbie never got to cut a session with Gal Costa back in the day, but if they had, it might have been this good. The tracks that followed were equally rich and rewarding, blending samba, jazz, bossa nova, indie rock and more dub in an entirely satisfying, confident mix. Along for the ride are Sao Paulo scenesters such as Gui Amabis, Curumin and Beto Villares, as well as a number of guest performers, including old-time soul star Luiz Melodia, who is surprisingly good in his duet cameo. Although there's still some of the sexy, mellow electronica cool of Ceu's labelmate Bebel Gilberto in the mix, these guys have gone way past the chill-room club mix mentality, and they're making some of the most adventurous yet sensuous music modern music coming out of Brazil today. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Brazilian Music)

I live in Rio de Janeiro and I went to see Ceu with my girlfriend. I didn't know anything about her, but I'm always up for listening to and seeing new music. The show was AMAZING. She has a wonderful, powerful stage presence, and I ended up listening to her album after the show. The album is very tight and versatile, and I was very impressed. My musical taste is wide-ranging, from the Beatles to hip-hop to alternative country to ...well, you get the idea. I think Ceu's sound is actually very accessible and should appeal to a large audience. I'd love to see her music spread into the U.S.!

CeU's eponymous debut album broke all the sonic boundaries in terms of experimental samba, reggae, and marchinhas. It was beautiful and so incredibly unique that it took me many repeat listenings to really wrap my head around all of it. And, despite this, it was not so wildly experimental that it could not be played in a room full of drunks, executives, and stodgy family members.

Vagarosa continues this experimental yet easy-to-swallow tradition. But wait... am I not forgetting something? The sounds of CeU's 2008 side project, Sonantes, are also highly prevalent. Vagarosa is as much a product of that as it is of CeU's previous "solo" album, which was in itself a heavily collaborative effort.

in a nutshell, CeU is a ridiculously innovative artist who believes in giving credit to every percussionist, string intrumentalist, and backup vocalist that she works with. So while this is, on the surface, another CeU album, it is really an evolution of many different styles, applying hairpin curves to traditional Latin music using an eclectic range of musicians.

Try getting a female pop singer to think this expansively about music. It's just not going to happen. Which is why the world needs CeU.

Ceu made a hit in her debut album (with a push from Starbucks) a couple of years ago, and is back with another offering; again, she has done herself proud. This is Latin Jazz, beautifully (and sexily) sung. She has a young, strong, voice that is quite fetching. The production, and back-up are all that we could ask...

No point in bothering with specific tracks; this is all new material, in a language I can't understand, anyway. One cut with English lyrics shows her command of our tongue to be pretty good. All-in-all, a fine effort, that will well reward your purchase. Ceu is still a young girl, still a work in progress, who should only get better with time. For now, enjoy...

Ceu is one of the new wave of Brasilian female vocal talents and two years after her 2007 debut comes another collection of well-crafted, lazy, occasionally edgy, soulful grooves. The album title actually translates as `slow, easygoing and leisurely' so you get the idea, it's more sofa than party time.

The album kicks off in mellow acoustic style with Ceu extolling the joy of the invisible chemistry of love accompanied only by the distinctive Brasilian sound of the cavaquinho before the mood darkens slightly with `Cangote', her sweet vocals sitting on a jazzy dub reggae rhythm as turntable scratches, melodica and organ snippets swirl around the song's extremities to great effect giving us our first hint of Ceu's adventurous musicality.

Ceu isn't just another love obsessed singer songwriter though. The swinging reggae lilt of `Comadi' is a perfect frame as Ceu laments how much women have to struggle for their position in life, unfortunately still an everyday battle in Brasil's largely machismo society.

`Nascente' is another great example of acoustic instruments and electronic witchcraft combining in perfect harmony as Ceu decides to get all sultry and mysterious whilst some great jazz trumpet stabs away in the background.

Some of the albums most pleasing moments come though when the plug is pulled and Ceu's soulful voice sits on top of some plain old simple instruments as with `Grains de Beaute' and `Vira Lata', both tracks concerning affairs of the heart.

If fact the album is a great blend of the classic sweet Brasilian vocals and traditional instruments we know and love coupled with some pleasing fusions and experimental touches that give the album extra depth and interest.

From start to finish the album sucks you in and takes you through the musical world and many influences of an artist currently on top of her game backed by a wonderful cast of top Brasilian musicians and producers including Curumin, Pupillo and Dengue.

Global SoulJah
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