DJ Neville C does many great things for the music in DC but my hands down favorite is his (somehow always) epic Brazilian Night at St. Ex which takes place every third Thursday (which is tonight!) and inevitably ends up being the most glorious, sloppy, hug-everyone-around-you-since-you’re-so-happy school night of the month.
So, to celebrate and because you DO need more Brazil in your life Neal is bringing you his “10 Ritmos for the spring” (most of which are sadly unavailable in MP3 format as Neal does his thing in vinyl, which should really be extra motivation to come out tonight)
Is noon to early to get started on those caipirinhas?
1) Sivuca - “Ain’t No Sunshine” - Swinging cover of the Bill Withers’ classic. This one was made for Springtime.
2) Aricia Mess - “Super Legal” - Legal means “cool” in Brazilian slang and this track from 1997 lives up to it’s name. Rio downtempodub with sexy female vocals.
3) Marisa Monte - “Balanca Pema” Brazilians love cover songs and here’s another great one written by Jorge Ben.
4) Jorge Ben - “Paz e Arroz” - I always have to include one Jorge Ben song (sung by him this time). Peace and Rice never sounded so funky.
5) Quarteto em Cy - “Salve o Verde” - A much comped track with deep deep bass and gorgeous female vocals. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday except it’s from 1978. Every single time I’ve played this someone has asked me about it within seconds.
6) Rita Lee - “Agora e Moda” Another track from 1978 that sounds like it was recorded last week. Former Os Mutantes singer channels Deborah Harry and Grace Jones in a Sao Paulo discoteca.
7) Dj Dolores e Orchestra Santa Massa - “A Danca da Moda” - Recife’s best modern DJ with a cut from the excellent “Favela Chic” series from France. Global grooves.
8) Thaide - “Fumaca” - One of Brazil’s hip-hop pioneers cranks out the sound of modern Sao Paulo, the real dirty south.
9) Baianinho - “Batuquegue Pra Rosalina” - Super fast straight up samba from 1971. Dancefloor killer.
10) Transamba - “Uma Rosa Com Amor” - Another samba from the early 70’s. This one starts slow and then kicks into overdrive. Will blow speakers apart from 100 meters.
