Tags: Samba

Review: Five years on from their debut collaborative EP 'Frisina Meets Toco', modern Brasilian dance artists Gerardo Frisina and Toco return for a second faceoff, this time with liaising artist Luzia Dvorek serving as ringmaster. Centring on samba-infused jazz and deep house with mystical and folk influences, "deixa passar" translates from Portuguese to "let it pass", though the mood is certainly not outright passive. This delectably quartered slice of carnivalesque dance music is rather rich in sonic papaya juice, charting sustained vocal contrasts between Toco and Luzia against smoky and furnaced beats. Aperient track 'Deixa Passar' leans heaviest on languid piano, whilst dozier mists emerge on the B-side in the form of 'Ile' and its rework by Gerardo Frisina, bringing pan flutes, strings, breathy vocal counterpoints, cabasa shaker, and subtle bass undercurrents.

Review: Belpaese Edits hits a 12th release with more mash-up and reworked takes on classics from across the disco, funk and Italo spectrum. 'Ancora Noi' is first here and is a lively jam with raw drums and expressive Italian vocals over tight, funky guitar riffs. 'Profumo Di Mar' keeps up the energy levels with some big horns rising high out of a tight and funky disco groove. These are timeless and charming sounds designed to blow up mature dancefloors.