The Brazilian Funk Experience

The Brazilian Funk Experience is an album packed like sardines with 20 vivacious and eclectically arranged rarities from Brazil between 1968 and 1980.  These songs, claims the pioneer of the EMI-Odeon Vaults, Patrick Forge, are considered to be among the many branches of MPB (musica popular brasilia) that developed in the 60s. While Brazil was experiencing one of its most tumultuous and restrictive government regimes, musicians developed a creative scene countering the censorship, which just suffices to say that the more you tell someone not to do something, the more they are compelled to do it. The Brazilian funk experience illuminates multiple genre influences within Brazil and from without.  The samba rhythm pervades just about every facet of this album, while, of course, African American inspired funk reigns as the predominant theme of every song.  This ingenious fusion is apparent from the very beginning as the instrumental piece by Meirelles serves to open the flood gates with its guitar, trombone, synth and organ arrangement.  Although I cannot interpret the lyrics because I do not understand Portuguese, I can determine that there is an equal representation of both men and women, at least in the music, MBP is inextricably linked to the politics of zealous leaders, and there are multiple musical marriages and experiments taking place on this compilation.  The Brazilian Funk Experience is a unifying experience that is certainly worth the search and the time to listen.

            My particular favorites on this compilation express an excitement and beauty that comes only from mixing multiple sounds together to create an innovative piece of music.  “Garra”, by Marcos Valle, for instance sighs to convey percussive sounds, and the back up singers evoke a euphoric coolness to create a smooth piece unhindered by trouble or sorrows.  Claudia’s canary-like voice in Baoba is the perfect contrast to the low instruments that play in sync, allowing the piece as a whole a richness that sends shivers up my spine. Another song that might give a similar effect is “Sai Dessa” by Elis Regina; pay attention to the electric guitar and vocals.  “Cala Boca Menino”, by Joao Donato is a very strange coupling of an twangy distorted instrument and a nasally voice accompanied by a chorus of trumpets and a classic samba rhythm.  This music is uplifting and bright.  “Bola De Meia, Bola De Gude” by 14 Bis will certainly bring the shining sun with the featured whistler and the overarching ascending melody.  “Aquele Um” is notable also for its laser keyboard solos juxtaposed with the more traditional samba.  I believe the goal in playing this kind of music was to enjoy life and to honor beauty, whether it be in nature or in humanity.  In any event there is something special in every nook and cranny of this compilation, and every round reveals yet another dimension of the Brazilian Funk Experience.

Raï: the best of the original North African Grooves

Raï: Original North African Grooves is a compilation that claims to contain all of the best original Raï songs of the 80’s and 90’s.  Raï, translated as opinion, is a genre of music that developed around the 30’s in Algeria by the Bedouin tribes and is often compared with early Rock and Roll because of its socially subversive lyrics that often deliberately defy the strict sexual repression imposed by Islamic fundamentalist belief.  Indeed, it has been a vocal chord of the Algerian and North African poor and youth, lauding life, resisting oppression, and evoking the urge to dance even though such movements are an egregious offence to traditional Muslim beliefs. Raï reached its zenith in popularity during the 80’s and 90’s, and artists, including the ones presented on this compilation, began to modernize the music with all kinds of electrical instruments.  Raï: Original North African Grooves certainly exhibits Raï’s modernization and its funky beats cure the sedentary and communicate unhindered freedom and celebratory sentiments even in the wake of a more compromising life situation.

            Even when listening to the Raï compilation, unable to understand Arabic or French, it is clear that there is an unbridled energy that is in constant motion; the frenzy is contagious and music is absolutely unstoppable.  From the very beginning, Cheb Khaled’s urgent exhalations against a hyperactive drum and synthesizer duet command the ears to listen. the body to move, and the spirit to liven instantly. From that moment the intensity seldom slows for a break. There seems to be a particularly distinct North African sound that is especially apparent in the percussion and in the manner that each artists sings, but other styles not indigenous are fused into the Raï music.  For instance, Rasto’s Le Couchemard, is sung in the former colonizer’s tongue and combines reggae and hip hop, and Chaba Fadela’s duet with Cheb Sahroui uses funk inspired guitar riffs and quirky synthetic sounds to accompany what sounds like a possibly liberated romantic discourse.  Malik’s Lila is most daring for its electric guitar power chords, vibrant male-female exchange, and outlandish drum patterns.  In addition to these songs rich in diverse influences and instruments are also a few more traditionally minded songs that use percussion, drums, and one other wind instrument, like Cheikha Rimitti’s Chab Rassi and Cheikh Djelloul Remch’s Harfek, to name a few.  These pieces, though unadorned with all the technology of synthesizers and electric instruments, exhibit a similar intensity and extroverted attitude that the more modern songs express.  Although I am new to the Raï scene, I am almost certain that this album has provided a comprehensive introduction with many opportunities to explore into multiple further directions involving this movement.  My only complaint is that I would have liked to hear more female artists on this album, as I assume their contributions to the life span of Raï are invaluable and thus due more exposure. 

Vashti Bunyan's "Some things just stick in your mind"

Vashti Bunyan is a musician, and like Gary Wilson, she drifted into anonymity after an unsuccessful venture to establish her music in the folk and pop world. The content of her story is a bit different, however, and it takes place about 10 years earlier.  Vashti had been going to art school but soon was either kicked out or left on her own accord-whatever the case- because she wanted to focus on writing songs and performing them.  The Rolling Stone’s manager Andrew Loog Oldham discovered her playing at a pub one night and promised he would make her dreams of being recognized as an influential musician come true.  She recorded a few singles between 1964 and 1967 and finally released a full length, just another diamond day, in 1970, which did not get much attention and was quickly dropped.  No one was yet ready for Vashti’s music, it seemed, and Vashti, disenchanted with her surroundings, embarked on a traditional caravan with her partner to live in a commune with Donovan, of all people.  Though he had already left when they arrived two years after the genesis of their bon voyage, Vashti lived in what she calls “no-where” for over twenty years, not really aware of the slowly burgeoning popularity of her LP throughout certain threads of the underground.  As was the case with Gary’s rediscovery, Vashti Bunyan’s own musical unearthing can be ascribed to ravenous record collectors and musicians who search for aberrant sources to ignite inspiration.  With interest from musicians like Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Animal Collective, Vashti Bunyan resurrected her career in the early 2000s (like Gary, might I add), engaged in multiple collaborations and musical partnerships, began releasing music again, and currently tours all over the world.  Her collection of singles and demos, Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind, spans the period between 1964 to 1967, before her first LP.  This album is absolutely enchanting, as I hear the 18 year old girl singing songs of love and female independence against a strange wintry backdrop that seems to symbolize idleness and the compulsion to reflect a broken heart without choice.  However blue and grey we may imagine this music to express, it emanates an uncanny warmth that resonates with the woman in me.

            In all of her lyrics, an eloquent maturity is evident while at the same time her youth and naivety are also perceptible only because every woman has probably felt her encapsulated feelings at least once in their lives. Of all the preoccupations that Vashti presents in this collection of songs from her early days, issues of independence, mobility, idleness, and the right to knowledge in the context of womanhood as defined by her stipulations in matters of love and loss appear to be the ascendant themes in her music. Vashti does not want to be dictated by the whims of others; she wants to travel emotionally and geographically on her own schedule. In the raga inspired “I want to be alone”, for instance, demonstrates her restlessness and tendency to feel confined in relationships, as she explains that sometimes she just wants to be alone. She sings, “don’t make me stay and walk aimlessly hand in hand. Just today set me free, let me be alone”, likening herself to a caged animal. In “I’d like to walk around in your mind”, she associates the desire for mobility with the ability to destroy the lover that destroyed a part of her. Although her lyrics are somewhat playful, her ultimate goal is to walk around in the person’s most private cerebral areas and destroy any self assurance that person harbors so closely to make himself superior to her. The ability to traverse this man’s mind and unveil his secrets would empower her subject him to the vulnerability that she has felt because of him.  She cannot take already established norms for granted, and asks “how do I know” in multiple ways to illustrate that her place as a woman is not resolved in her mind, and that she will not sit passively and accept the ideas being given to her by others. She asks, “why should you say I can’t love any man, have his children and still be free?”, alluding to the multiple protests surrounding the time period and insisting that she should be able to live life the way she wants- quite revolutionary for her time, and likewise not quite accepted by the mainstream because it was just a little too early, although I don’t know why any woman wouldn’t have championed these songs, but then again, I didn’t live in these times, and perhaps Vashti could have been misunderstood.

            As much as Vashti praises mobility, she also dreads the idleness of mourning the loss of a lover. “Winter is Blue” exemplifies being unable to move forward because of constantly remembering yesterday’s love in the wake of today’s loneliness. “Girl’s song in Winter” likewise exclaims, “I was in love when I was young and I have not been free” because of the baby that her lover left her, along with the burden of remembering. “17 pink sugar elephants” may be a metaphor of idleness, for the elephants are only consumables for little children to have during tea breaks and they “have two eyes but…couldn’t see me there” and “had four legs but couldn’t go anywhere”.  Perhaps these pink sugar elephants are women.  In her eyes women are strong as elephants, but they are fragile and sweet because they are made out of sugar, and their color, pink, presents a stigma to the rest of the world, rendering them almost inanimate. Their abilities are very limited, as their purpose is for children to enjoy.  The tone of this song is extraordinarily sad and beautiful, and it quite possibly presents a coded series of conditions that address her own fears and circumstances.

            This collection of songs and demos was written by Vashti Bunyan (with the exception of the Rolling Stones cover) mostly when she was 18 years old.  I wish I would have discovered this album when I was younger, because I am certain I would have realized so many emotions with her as she expressed her spectrum of ideals and wishes.  While she wants to be independent and casual with her relationships, she still desires one person to love and respect her. As she praises productivity and the ability to move without being attached, her anxiety is obvious in songs about stillness and retrospection. What resonates most with me, however, is the overwhelming skepticism in her love songs, and her reluctance to give herself fully because of a colossal pain which occurred early in her flowering years. All she wants is to be free of having to rely on others for happiness. Her music is sensitive and the images of winter convey a seriousness and a demand for esteem in opposition to summer time flings and love’s fleeting warmth.