Odisseia Tropical

Maybe the nights are drawing in, but this album will bring the sun back and put a spring in your step. The two-brother production team started out in the original Brazilian drum’n’bass scene in the late 90s, from which came DJ Marky. Their enthusiasm is infectious with each track referencing a particular period of Brazilian dance music. ‘Groove Solto’ is Tim Maia’s Racional phase, his most sought after by crate-diggers. Wilson Simoninha sings ‘Vamos Dançar’ in what is clearly a homage to his father Wilson Simonal’s ‘Não Vem Que Não Tem’, a baile classic that remains popular today. The swinging samba of Jorge Ben is tackled in ‘Africa Brasil’, with added highlife guitars, just in case we didn’t get the connection. ‘Liberdade’ is 80s disco boogie and ‘Sorte’ is a fuzzed-out piece of psychedelic samba rock. There are no startlingly original ideas on display, it’s Brazilian music para inglês ver [for the English to see], but it’s brimming with such vim and pop energy that it’s irresistible.