Various Artists

What's Happening in Pernambuco:

New Sounds of the Brazilian Northeast

(Luaka Bop)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

The story behind What’s Happening in Pernambuco is so interesting that it’s tempting to cede the critical floor to the exploration/explanation of context and backstory.  Desperate for cultural life in a city drowning in poverty (Recife, in northeastern Brazil—credited with having the 4th worst set of living conditions in the world by a Washington institute), journalist/musician Fred Zero-Four wrote up a “Mangue Manifesto,” imploring his fellow citizens to “inject some energy in the mud and stimulate what’s left of fertility in the veins of Recife.”

Paulo Andre heard the rallying cry and set forth to curate a remarkable collection for David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label.  What’s Happening presents an intoxicating collision of styles and cultures—the sort of album that seems perfectly at home both in its native mean streets and in the sort of upscale clothing store in L.A. where they crank ‘hipster lounge’ so loudly that you can’t hear your friend tell you that those jeans actually don’t look that good.

So, yes, the story is good, but the music is the real selling point here.  Otto’s “Bob” is an blend of cosmopolitan electro-swank and a quick vocal flow closer to hip-hop.  Other tracks, like Tiné’s “Cobrinha” (which immediately follows “Bob”) are more overt in their attention to traditional Brazilian genres.  The Pernambuco artists aren’t aspiring to be the next Sergio Mendes or Joao Gilberto, but they also aren’t operating under any pretenses of building anything from scratch—the mangue philosophy relies heavily on already-established genres and samples.

Siba’s “Vale Do Juca” is a more traditionally-minded standout that is both unusually phrased and undeniably seductive.  Hopefully curious newcomers will be inspired to check out more of their favorite artists from the mix; in Siba’s case, this would lead to mangue ambassadors Mestre Ambrosio.  But whichever door listeners choose with Pernambuco, they can expect a reward.