PARTY TIME SAMBA

SAMBA!

IN THE STREET, ON THE BEACH, MUSIC RIPPLES, FLOWS AND ROARS THROUGH RIO DE JANEIRO. NIGHT AND DAY, PEOPLE DANCE TO THE SOUNDS OF BOSSA, FUNK OR CHARME. AN OVERVIEW OF THE CARIOCA CURRENTS.

By Guillaume Jan Illustration Damien Vignaux/Colagene.com

FROM THE OLD TOWN TO THE TOP OF THE FAVELAS TO THE WATER’S EDGE, music is everywhere in Rio. The city spawned many musical genres throughout the 20th century, a legacy of the cultural mix that has shaped Brazil: smooth Amerindian sounds, African rhythms, European instruments, inescapably tinged with the rising influence of American hiphop. This rich and sensual musical palette is an excellent introduction to the very soul of Brazil.

SAMBA: THE CARNIVAL SOUNDTRACK

When people think of Brazil, they think of samba. This irresistible, sunny music arose from the abolition of slavery in 1888 and took over Rio’s historic downtown in the early 20th century. Many former slaves had made the port city their home, working on the docks or in the surrounding streets. Free at last to express themselves, they reinterpreted the dances and sounds of their African ancestors. This festive music was so entrancing that it came to be adopted by all Cariocas. The lyrics, sung by several voices, describe the day-to-day life of the people over vibrant rhythms, inspired by both exaltation and melancholy. Samba became the emblematic genre of the Rio Carnival in 1930 and is celebrated to this day in every corner of the city. THE ULTIMATE ALBUM: “Samba Novo Esquema” from Jorge Ben (1963)

BOSSA NOVA: THE NEW WAVE

Mellower than samba, and more harmonically advanced, bossa nova (literally “new thing”) emerged in the late 1950s when Brazil entered a period of prosperity and cultural modernism. Influenced as much by samba as by cool jazz, “bossa” quickly became popular in Europe and the United States in the 1960s, led by musicians like Antônio Carlos (Tom) Jobim and João Gilberto until all-too-often-mediocre interpretations unfairly garnered bossa a reputation as elevator music. In Brazil, today’s population prefers música popular brasileira (MPB), considered “quality” popular music, which perpetuates the bossa nova style by making it more accessible. THE ULTIMATE ALBUM: “Getz/Gilberto” from Stan Getz and João Gilberto (1964), featuring “The Girl from Ipanema”

CHARME: THE LEGACY OF BLACK AMERICAN SOUL

This music, at once sensual and groovy, was inspired by the rhythm and blues of the Sixties, the soul of the Seventies and the hip-hop of the Eighties. First taking form in the poor quarters of northern Rio, even today, most bailes charme (charme dances) are held far from the city centre. But this music, which manages to build a bridge between the black and white cultures (more compartmentalised in Rio than one might believe), is now broadening its audience. Outdoor festivals are held downtown, uniting an eclectic and enthusiastic following in astonishing choreography for the space of a hip and hot evening of group dancing. THEULTIMATEALBUM:“Racional,Vol.1”fromTimMaia(1975)

CARIOCA FUNK: YOUNG AND PROVOCATIVE

Rio’s funk – fast-paced, taut, scathing – is the genre most representative of the favelas. Created in the wake of hip-hop in the early 1980s, it blends electronic music, house and rock to the feverish tempos of the hip-hop subgenre “Miami bass”. The nefarious ambiance that accompanies this music is tied to the gangs that appropriated it, producing albums with increasingly explicit sexual allusions or even calls to violence. After too many disturbances exploded at funk dances (bailes funk) in the 1990s, the authorities responded by repressing this musical trend more harshly. But this was also the time when carioca funk left the favelas and became popular among the middle classes. Its contagious style means it is now played on dancefloors around the world. THEULTIMATEALBUM:“RioBaileFunk:MoreFavelaBootyBeats”(2006)