Afrociberdelia

Afrociberdelia introduced me to a genuinely great band I knew nothing about, and I'm delighted it did.

This is manguebeat, a movement founded by Chico Science and Nação Zumbi in Recife, in Brazil's northeast, fusing traditional Afro-Brazilian and Pernambucan rhythms with rock, funk, and hip hop. It feels steeped in the same era as early Red Hot Chili Peppers, Urban Dance Squad, and Chucklehead, but filtered through a distinctly South American lens that gives it real identity of its own. And it feels political even without understanding the lyrics, which makes sense once you know it's tied to a real cultural movement rooted in one of Brazil's poorer regions rather than just borrowed funk-rock aesthetics.

The guitar work is a highlight throughout, alternating rock riffs with funk phrases, and the bass has real character, occasionally veering into reggae and dub territory.

I'll be putting this on more, and I'm already looking forward to checking out the rest of their catalogue.

EDIT: I originally gave this album a 4, which the below review reflects

Very interesting blend of rock, rap, funk, Brazilian traditional music, downtempo, and even some jazz (of the acid variety). Hearing this you might think that it's a disasterous mess, but it's actually very well blended and flows together smoothly. It's primarily funk rock with traditional Brazilian beats, with the other genres thrown in as seasoning

Chico Science died the year after this album was released, I wonder if he would have been a much bigger deal were he around for longer? He had talent for sure.

Should it be in the album: Yes, very good and unique showing from Brazil.

Top three songs: Maracatu Atômico, Manguetown, Baião Ambiental

It was fine

This is for someone, but that someone is not me.

Alku vahvempi kuin loppu, menee vikoissa biiseissä monotooniseksi.

90s funk as global phenomenon

A perfect blend of Brazilian music, funk, hip hop , rock and electronic music. Pretty catchy.

Favorite songs: Sangue De Bairro, Enquanto O Mundo Explode, O Cidadao Do Mundo, Etnia, Maco, Maracatu Atomico

Least favorite songs: Sobremesa, O Encontro De Isaac Asimov Com Santos Dumont No Ceu

3/5

I suppose it is ok. Honestly the main attraction is that it isn't english and has a great Latin feel...not sure I would even entertain otherwise. 2/5

honestly this feels like Brazilian rap rock and I'm not here for it.

This is one of the only times I think I've ever said "this isn't what I expected" and meant it negatively. The album cover screams 90s, but the genres and general vibes told me this may be something fun to dive in to, despite its length. However, after the first few tracks the rock influences started to wear on me, just being cheesy, and by the end, despite a couple tracks almost grabbing me, I was ready to be done with the singer's frankly annoying voice and the general repetitiveness of the whole project, despite the small variations between tracks. Maybe if it was a shorter album I would be nicer, but I come away from this just feeling like I wasted my time, but maybe I should've expected that would happen the whole time.

This was ok, but didn’t stand out as anything special. Maybe the langue barrier didn’t help.