Lua Cheia

Recorded in São Paulo, the first crowd-funded album by the London-based group Let Drum Beat mixes maracatu, forró de rabeca, Bumba Meu Boi and more with the aim of ‘honouring roots, as well as creating new sounds’ and the album does exactly that. ‘Leão’ features drum breaks and horn section solos, giving it a joyful carnival feel, and it is followed by the downtempo ‘Miawezon’ with its Rhodes piano and spotlight on the vocals. ‘Guarará’ is delicate with interlocking kalimba (thumb piano) motifs that morph into a compound-time sway at the coda, and ‘Lua Cheia’ is entirely vocals and body percussion – and this is what this album is about, great rhythms, beautiful voices, and interesting arrangements full of instrumental colours.

The use of the Brazilian rabeca (fiddle) is a standout sonority in the second half of the album in ‘Boi da Ladeira’ and ‘Ebé Ubú’, and the use of the Tupi-Guarani language blends well alongside Portuguese. Overall, percussion-based ensembles can easily become introspective and assume we all share an interest in specific paradiddles to the detriment of variety – not here though. Let Drum Beat have crafted varied, lively and interesting arrangements that can be danced to as much as analysed.