Sounds of the 70s

I am breaking many rules recently, posting not strictly 70s music but also music rooted in the 70s directly or not.

Of all the contemporary brazilian bands Democustico ranks very very high. This band is just stunning, a mix of electro sounds created by Roc Hunt from FarOut Records and one of the deeper voices of the contemporary scene, Gabriela Geluda. The band fuses a huge amount of influences here, from Brasil to India.

Splendid!

"Far Out release the self-titled debut album from Democustico this October the 16th. Fusing Brazilian samba and folk with Indian vibes, London beats and the phattest global breaks and noises ‘Democustico’ is a contemporary world musical odyssey - imagine Milton Nascimento jamming with the Thievery Corporation and you’re on the right track. Whilst individual tracks combine many different styles - the bhangra and bossa of ‘Grito’, folk and trip-hop of ‘Nunca Never’ and 60s sitar-funk & samba of ‘Vaga-Lume’, ‘Democustico’ is much more than the sum of its parts. The different styles combine symbiotically to produce a coherent world musical fusion with Gabriela Geluda’s mellifluous vocals joining the dots from Brazil to London via India. With fans as diverse as world music guru Andy Kershaw (Radio 3), leftfield jazz cat Gilles Peterson and electronic-ambassador Laurent Garnier (Radio Nova) ‘Democustico’ follows on from a series of critically acclaimed single releases: ‘Brazil’, ‘A Sereia’, and ‘Vaga-Lume’ (as featured on Gilles Peterson’s recent ‘Back to Brazil’ Compilation) and will appeal to fans of downbeat/lounge as well as nu-jazz and nu-Brazil. With it’s eclectic sound ‘Democustico’ looks set to follow in the steps of other recent contemporary Far Out crossover CDs such as Sabrina Malheiros’ ‘Equilibria’ and Troubleman’s ‘Time Out Of Mind’. Democustico are Mauro Berman (bassist for famous Brazilian Rap star Marcelo D2) and Gabriela Geluda (Azymuth/ Mamond) as well as Far Out uber-producer Roc Hunter. Mauro and Gabi are a carioca couple who met at college in Rio in 1987. They moved to London in 1996 where Mauro and Gabi met Joe @ Far Out through a mutual friend Marcos Valle. Having heard Gabi sing Joe knew just the person to feature on vocals on some tracks Roc Hunter had been working on. The results were ‘Brazil’ – a hypnotic percussive vocal groove that featured keyboards from Mauro - turning Democustico into a trio. A follow up single ‘A Sereia’ was recorded – keeping the Brazilian vibes strong the track also had a heavy Indian influence coming from the time Gabi had spent meditating in India. In 2001 Gabi and Mauro returned to Brazil and for the next four years a trans-national musical exchange began. Roc Hunter would send beats and loops from London to Mauro and Gabi to work on in Brazil - Mauro working on ‘noises, synths, mpcs, street vibes and bass’ and Gabi working on melodies and harmony both in Rio and India which she visited again in 2002 for more inspiration. The album was finished when Roc Hunter spent three months with Mauro and Gabi in Rio in 2005. Gabi explains what each member of the band brought to the mix: “Mauro brought the wild side through wicked bass lines, keyboard sounds and unconventional arrangements of the songs, I brought the Indian/ Brazilian flavour from my trips to India and love of classic Brazilian singers such as a Tom Jobim and Milton Nascimento whilst Roc Hunter brought an amazing collection of sounds from where we got a lot of inspiration. She adds: “Far Out has a great roster of wonderful Brazilian artists who have made history such as Marcos Valle, Joyce, Azymuth and Os Ipanemas yet we are from a new generation. Those people showed Brazilian music to the world yet we are taking the world to Brazilian music”. “I love the Democustico album so much. Another stunning release on the label” Laurent Garnier “Fantastic idea and perfect music for me. Will be championing this throughout” Pathaan (BBC ASIA)

Democustico - A sereia (2006)