Is it Spring yet? As usual, a diverse selection this month but I suppose the one thing they all have in common is their fusion of ideas and cultures, a fluidity of influences that creates something new and fresh. Music from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ESINAM & Sibusile Xaba, Nadeem Din-Gabisi, Céline Dessberg, Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly, João Leão and Joe Armon-Jones. Enjoy!
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Phil Dawson ٤-tet with Dele Sosimi and Biola Dosunmu - Ilé (Iyesa) feat. Rowland Sutherland (Funkiwala) - PREMIERE!
We are delighted to premiere the first single from Phil Dawson ٤-tet’s forthcoming ‘Don’t Waste Your Ancestors’ Time’ album on Funkiwala. ‘Ilé (Iyesa)’ is an absorbing, funky and spiritually charged number that stands up tall next to Airto’s Afro-Brazilian experiments in the 70s and features an outrageous lineup of world class musicians from Nigeria, Brazil and the UK jazz scene. Read / Listen.
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Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly 'MESTIZX' (International Anthem / Nonesuch Records) - a review
The debut album ‘MESTIZX’ by Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and Frank Rosaly for Chicago’s influential International Anthem label and in collaboration with Nonesuch Records is an astonishingly potent record that touches on ancestral histories, post-colonial resistance and rage, ancient spells and so much more. Avant-Jazz, Post-Rock, Afro-Latin rhythms and a myriad of influences and inspirations colour this brilliant record. One of the best releases of the year. Read / Listen.
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Letieres Leite & Orkestra Rumpilezz 'Moacir De Todos Os Santos' (Lusofonia Record Club) - a review
Before his sad death in late 2021, the Bahian born composer, arranger, percussionist, musician, cultural educator and teacher Letieres Leite conceived of and led the 22 piece Orkestra Rumpilezz through this majestic reinterpretation of Moacir Santos’ 1965 classic of big band Brazilian jazz - “Coisas”. Leite never got to witness the release but we can and it is an astonishingly well produced, performed and artistically inspired record. See for yourself here. Read / Listen
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Tagua Tagua 'Tanto' (Wonderwheel Recordings) - a review
Tagua Tagua is São Paulo’s Felipe Puperi and his first LP for Nickodemus’ label Wonderwheel Recordings contains ten love songs of sun-drenched, hook-laden gloriousness. “Imagine Marcos Valle, D’Angelo, John Carroll Kirby, Eddie Chacon and Bobby Caldwell in full lush mode, loved up and subsisting on a diet of Philly Soul and the orchestral ambition of SAULT’s Inflo and you’re nearly there.” Read / Listen…
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Gabriel da Rosa 'É o que a casa Oferece' (Stones Throw Records) - a review
Created in the late 1950s, the bossa nova genre never seems to fade away and here on Peanut Butter Wolf’s Stones Throw Records label, a new and fresh addition to the canon has been unleashed. Featuring Pedro Dom and Azymuth's Ivan Conti Mamão, Gabriel da Rosa has delivered a sparkling, lushly orchestrated tribute to the genre and to his childhood memories. Read / Listen.
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Alabê KetuJazz 'Kan' (Poeira Music / Memória Discos) - a review
The inspirational São Paulo-based DJ, producer and compiler, Tahira, has set up a new label and the inaugural album release by the labels is ‘Kan’ by the Brazilian/French duo Alabê KetuJazz. The record is an exceptional blend of Pharaoh Sanders-esque lyrical saxophone and the intricate ritualistic rhythms of the Candomblé religion. Both are practitioners of the Brazilian faith and their sensitive and deeply felt beliefs make this a truly ‘spiritual jazz’ record. They are spinning the tales of the Orixás into new shapes and it is seriously good. Read / Listen here
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Guinu 'Palagô' (Razor-N-Tape) - a review
Known mainly for their underground housey/disco dancefloor projects, this could be a surprising album release from New York’s Razor-N-Tape label. Though maybe it’s not. Brazilian musician, songwriter and producer Pedro Guinu has delivered his own respectful exploration of Rio de Janeiro’s musical heritage with great original songwriting that takes inspiration from 50 years of Rio’s musical treasures. Touching on MPB, AOR, Brazilian Boogie, Samba, Bossa and more contemporary genres, it’s complimented with a rock solid dancefloor-ready bottom end that makes this much more than a tribute. Read /Listen / Buy
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“Pierre Barouh and the Saravah Sound” (WEWANTSOUNDS) - a review
Saravah was one of the most influential French labels of the 60s and 70s, and Pierre Barouh, singer, composer and producer extraordinaire, was a master at harnessing disparate talents, creating one of the best musical catalogues anywhere. Out there jazz and French underground pop collide with Brazilian and African flavours that sound as exciting now as when they were created. In partnership with Barouh’s son, Benjamin, WEWANTSOUNDS have given us the first ever retrospective of the revolutionary Saravah sound on vinyl and it is immaculate. Read / Listen
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Hidden Waters: Strange & Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro (Sounds and Colours) - an interview
Our good friend and editor of the ace Latin culture magazine Sounds and Colours, Russ Slater, has teamed up with Joe Osborne to bring us Brazilian music nerds a comprehensive look at the wonkier end of the contemporary music scene in Rio de Janeiro and it is a sprawling feast of sounds that only Brazil can offer. We asked co-curator Joe Osborne for some of his thoughts on the curatorial process and here they are! Read / Listen
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Nilza Costa - an interview
Nilza Costa is a singer/songwriter from Salvador de Bahia living in Italy and her new album ‘Le notti di San Patrizio’ is an uncommon combination of traditional Brazilian rhythms and melodies and European jazz forms. It’s a beautiful thing so I pinged her a few questions.. Listen / Read here
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Photo by Rafael Passos
Berra Boi (live) in João Pessoa (Paraíba) for Zona Mundi Festival - video and review
Berra Boi are an experimental instrumental trio led by our friend Chico Correa, a producer, musician and DJ from Brazil who has proven time and again his willingness to dive deep into intriguing musical spaces without prejudice. For this psychedelic live performance for the recent online Zona Mundi Festival, the trio explore electronics alongside the indigenous rhythms of Northeastern Brazil creating an audio-visual freak-zone of their own….Watch / read here!
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'Africa is Everywhere' - our programme for Houghton Festival 2018
Following on from last year’s programme of explosive and heavy international rhythms centred on the Tropics, Truth and Lies Music are back to host another all day event of films, music and partying. Africa Is Everywhere explores the global influence of African music captured by a series of curated short films and rare footage, and DJ sets that take you on a journey of the continent’s extraordinary musical legacy. The enduring quality of Ethiopian Jazz, the fierce and funky activism of Afrobeat, the enormous reciprocal relationship with the Americas, and the transcendental voices and electronic music of South Africa are threaded together to tell one of the biggest stories in dance music. With DJ sets from South African DJ SNO (Dimensions Directory/Banana Hill), Dr Horn, Truth & Lies Music and Afrodisiac.
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'Levanta Poeira' Afro-Brazilian music & rhythms from 1976 – 2016 (compiled by Tahira) - Jazz & Milk
Check our review of the superb new compilation 'Levanta Poeira' Afro-Brazilian music & rhythms from 1976 – 2016 (compiled by Tahira)
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Revolution & Change 'Venezuela & the Tropics' at Houghton Festival 2017
For the inaugural Houghton Festival, Truth & Lies are going to explore ‘Revolution & Change in Venezuela and the Tropics’ through films, talks, design and crates of the funkiest music in the World! (read more to find out what we will be up to...)
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John Armstrong presents Afrobeat Brasil (BBE) - a review
On this brilliant new compilation for BBE, ace compiler John Armstrong has dug deep into the Afrobeat influenced bands coming out of Brazil and it’s as fresh as a ripe mango, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen’s rhythms as a starting point not as a mirror. Influences from everywhere mesh and entwine with the classic Afrobeat horn and percussion template giving us a collection unlike any other.
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DJ Tahira - an interview
DJ Tahira is a superbly eclectic DJ and Producer from São Paulo in Brazil who is becoming famous for his deep explorations into traditional Brazilian rhythms pairing them alongside all kinds of beats and pieces from House to Hip Hop and much more...Ex-Friendly caught up with the much in demand man for a quick interview about his inspirations and plans for the future...
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'REVOLUTION & CHANGE' SÃO PAULO, 1969
'REVOLUTION & CHANGE' SÃO PAULO, 1969 - Friday 27, Rough Trade, Nottingham
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Interview with Chico Medori from Grupo Medusa
Legendary Brazilian percussionist and composer Chico Medori is the man behind 80’s smooth jazz ensemble Grupo Medusa.
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