Check out our selection of future and old classics for this week's Heavy Rotation!
Portuguese multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer Pedro Ricardo releases his debut album, ‘Soprem Bons Ventos’, on Soundway Records. Currently based in Berlin, Pedro Ricardo has been releasing music for the past eight years under dierent aliases via labels such as Extended Records, 1980Lyfers, Wolf Music and his own imprints Hear, Sense and Feel and Pedro’s House. An eclectic DJ and selector, he hosts a radio show on South London's radio Balamii, guested on Mafalda's NTS show and can be found playing in clubs across all Europe. “The album translates to ‘Good Winds Blow’, shares Ricardo. “This idea of good winds blowing is intertwined with the feeling of missing something, and sadness. On a positive note, there is still an overarching sense that happiness also lies ahead. Soprem Bons Ventos represents an ode to the past, to those who came before me, connecting with my present and imagining the future.” Stylistically, Ricardo became entranced with jazz from an early age, while also becoming enamoured with folk music – rooted in his Portugal childhood, now encompassing sounds from Cape Verde, Brazil, and Spain along the way. He intertwines these instrumental in#uences with $eld recordings, and electronics, on ‘Soprem Bons Ventos’. While ‘Soprem Bons Ventos’ sonic beginnings were conjured in his native city of Porto, the album’s creative process spanned four countries and $ve years. Ricardo initially recorded early demos in Portugal, before he criss-crossed through Europe. However, it was a move to Wood Green (London) in 2019 that ignited a creative spark that brought the album together. “This album has been following me around for the past $ve years,” shares Ricardo. “Wherever I went, it came along... but the majority of the recording process came alive in London.” “The city had a particular eect on me. There are so many people doing so many exciting things, you have to ask yourself, ‘what makes the thing you are creating your own?’ This record has a lot of personal sonic moments like that. That is not to say that I found ‘my sound’, but rather that I found something that I think is special, and truly represents me now. “The years when I was making the record also coincide with me moving away from Portugal, away from home – this feeling is very much present during the record. You can hear it.” Whether in his birthplace or newly adopted cities, as its title suggests, Good Winds Blow throughout the album’s 9-tracks. The LP is a journey that encompasses nostalgia, love, longing, and togetherness, tenderly intertwined throughout with vibrant percussion, whispers of vocals, soaring keys, and delicate guitars.
Brazilian singer and songwriter releases a new album of exuberant and vintage tropical pop music. Somewhere, we get back to the carioca João Selva where we left him: sailing on the mythical Black Atlantic to create exhilarating music whose vibrations invite us to Rio, the Brazilian Northeast, the Caribbean, Cape Verde or even Angola. His latest album, “Navegar” (2021), acclaimed by critics, is an invigorating dance and dream machine that updates the tropicalist revolution of the 70s by offering a turbulent mix of samba, soul, jazz and funk. Continuing to spread wings with “Passarinho” (2023), this time it is flying like a bird that the singer from Ipanema takes us into his musical universe, always as sunny as it is abundant. The 10 tracks of this new album span a generous palette of musical influences: from Angolan semba to Cape Verdean funaná, via Caribbean zouk or Congolese rumba – João Selva's music channels the musical pulse of the Black Atlantic. In the most (im)pure Brazilian tradition, he also digests the contribution of North American music and freely incorporates elements from elsewhere into the irresistible rhythms of Brazil. Prolonging a fruitful collaboration with french producer Bruno Patchworks, this new LP is full of sound nuggets and offers a wide range of emotions and sensations. The contagious optimism of "Cantar cantar" backed by a radiant groove worthy of the best productions by Marcos Valle or Joao Donato. Psychedelic folk as Devendra Banhart on "Mar de estrelas" or "Cirandinha" often carried by orchestral arrangements which bring an unexpected freshness to this bewitching album. Of course, we do not give up to party on the irresistible “Seu Carnaval” or “Menina me encanta” and we dance with the rain in “Chuva”. In a more deep mood, the song "Por um amor" evokes the romantic relationship with psychedelia and sensuality. After two years “without Carnival”, the Brazilian songwriter has chosen to celebrate hope and the joy of being alive in these lyrics written largely during successive confinements. In the title song “Passarinho” he wonders: how can a little bird keep singing in a cage? Before answering it on "Cantar cantar" by recalling that "when things are bad, you just have to sing that it already goes a little better". Universal and captivating poetry that drives songs that are both sensual and catchy. Ultimately, an album made to spread wings and fly high, the ideal soundtrack to offset a certain saudade and feel free as a little bird.
Après leur disque "Séquences" le groupe de moderne Jazz parisien Underground Canopy est de retour ! “Uncut Gems" est une exploration brute de ce qui constitue la pierre angulaire de notre monde. Déterrées au cours d'une année de travail et d'expérimentations dans leur studio, ces pièces ont été ramenées à la surface, comme des diamants bruts, par l'énergie directe et spontanée qui nous relie. Ces moments précieux, ces "gemmes", ont été inventés et collectés lors des sessions auxquelles ont participé tous les membres d'Underground Canopy. Ils vous sont maintenant présentés, sous la forme de ce disque authentique, illustré par l'imagerie sincère de la pochette de Davor Gromilovic, qui synthétise parfaitement l'incarnation visuelle du projet.
Following the release of The Motion / Looking For Your Love in the spring of 2022, FOXTROTT presents Take it Back / Go for Joy, the second diptych of her new series. Pushing forward her unique sound, FOXTROTT releases two magnetic, highly textured and percussive tracks. The very bouncy “Take it Back” is a call to reclaim personal power and leave a toxic relationship. It’s the soundtrack to a cool and confident walk towards a better life. Go for Joy is a driving and trippy journey where rattling percussion and wonky synths meet existential questions. Through this new series of diptychs, FOXTROTT throws away the rulebook and wants to take us along on her journey. “I love the short form of the diptych in music, where one piece resonates with the other, in a dialogue. It’s a mini-universe of its own. After a few years navigating the music industry with its ups and downs, I wanted to reconnect with spontaneity, ease and the joy of sharing music. By moving away from more rigid structures, I feel a renewed enthusiasm. Honestly, I feel like I am just getting started.”
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