OttoSem GravidadeReview

The city of Recife in the North East of Brazil has long been an epicentre for new musical innovation, and in recent years has become especially hip. The vibrant scene there is currently propelled by the likes of DJ Dolores, Nação Zumbi and Mundo Livre S/A.

Singer, songwriter and percussionist Otto is a veteran of the last two bands, and so has a strong grounding in the local 'mangue beat' movement which combines rock with local folklore rhythms like the pounding maracatú carnival style.

Sem Gravidade (literally, 'without gravity') is his third solo album but the first to get a UK release. And judging by the high quality vibes on offer, it shouldn't be the last.

To say the album's appeal isn't immediately obvious would be an understatement. I've had a copy for 6 months since catching his wonderful band live at WOMEX 2003 where they were the best thing I saw and it's still growing on me. Otto mumbles as much as he sings, struggles with the high notes and almost seems to have only a passing acquaintance with his own wonderful melodies. Yet there's something - maybe his giddying zest for invention or a dreamily playful approach to sonic textures - which is endlessly engaging.

Funk, reggae, hip hop, electro, acoustic drum 'n' bass and the rhythms of música nordestina are all subsumed into an unclassifiable but very soulful whole. There's something of the mid-late 60s tropicalismo movement in Otto's grab-bag approach to mixing Brazilian roots and foreign influences, his fondness for retro keyboards, the vocal treatments and the frequent hints of psychedelia. And the appearance of former Os Mutante's singer Rita Lee on Tento Entender only underlines this.Co-producer Apollo 9 plays a nifty electric guitar and an eclectic array of vintage synths and organs, while the rhythm section of Pupilo (Nação Zumbi) and Dadi spar with electronically generated beats and DJ Primo's discreet scratching.

Highlights include "Pra Ser Só Minha Mulher", with its aching melody and hummed backing vocals, "Amargosa" for its ringing 12-string guitar licks by Dadi, and the title track, which features a suspenseful, seething coda of electronica. At 67 minutes,It may seem a little long, but there's such a surfeit of grooviness you can forgive the odd indulgence. Cutting-edge 21st century Braziliana.