Da Cruz Inhabit Disco E Progresso

As you or may not know Brazil is pretty much becoming the center of the universe over the next four years. With the World Cup starting this month and the 2016 Olympics in Rio this South American country is taking center stage. It should really be no surprise then that there's an explosion of Brazilian music arriving on our shores and it's a welcome arrival from a country that seemingly alternates between revolution and celebration. Da Cruz, a band rooted firmly in Brazilian tradition and music, but oddly enough living in Switzerland have just released their latest album Disco E Progresso and it's a reflective, expansive sprawling two record set of lightness and darkness or revolutions and parties.

Despite being about five thousand miles away from Brazil, Da Cruz and it's frontwoman Mariana Da Cruz hasn't lost touch with her homeland and it's promise, it's struggles, or it's fun. You realize this about thirty seconds into Disco E Progresso that while they might be in a different hemisphere, musically Da Cruz are in the heart of a Rio de Janiero carnivale. Energetic, funky, and sexy Disco E Progresso is a massive effort that's influenced by disco, funk, dancehall, Kuduro, house, samba and indie rock. Da Cruz is a genre onto itself; be it urban Brazilian disco, tropihouse, or something altogether different it's a modern interpretation of the current state of the Portuguese speaking nation and it's as diverse and cosmopolitan as the country itself. Disco E Progresso is constantly in a state of motion, generating excitement and energy throughout the two records that make it up. Dark side or Light side either record is a blindingly brilliant well-traveled effort that grooves, shakes, rocks, rolls, and then chills out. It's a beautiful effort that cross pollinates genre's like a honey bee on overdrive. I love how they leave no sound or influence unturned and as a result come up with a reflection of not only themselves but of their subject matter and the country in which they live. Disco E Progresso is a gorgeous record with a bit of an edge and a bit of sexiness battling it out over the course of it's two records. Who wins is really up to personal taste but I find myself drawn to the sunnier side.

Endlessly entertaining, incredibly crafted, and intensely diverse Disco E Progresso is indeed a progressive effort. Da Cruz pushes things forward here and be it songs brimming with positivity or concern Disco E Progresso is always in a state of movement. It's an album with a frenetic pace that doesn't want to slow down and I love that about it. This is a record moving at the pace of Brazil's future, rapid and bursting with potential. As the World Cup nears and Brazil prepares to win it's fifth title (I know Spain & Germany might have a say in the matter but how can Brazil not win...) this is the perfect warm up album, come down album and just an amazing thing to listen to period. Highly recommended.

Da Cruz's Sistem Subersiva

Da Cruz isn’t your typical world music group. Sure they sing in a foreign language and sound “worldly,” but these guys take electronic music fuse it with traditional sounds and end up sounding something like a more professional Bonde Do Role. With beats assaulting you from all sides and an eye on the dance floor, their album Sistema Subersiva is anything but a pseudo-intellectual chin stroking record for yuppies to listen to. Recorded in Switzerland but sounding about as Swiss as a margarita, Sistema Subersiva is a ride through the dark clubs and alleys of Rio with a few side trips to a Carnival parade.

With bass rattling, beats clanging and the seductive voice of Mariana Da Cruz Sistema Subersiva is as sexy as one might expect from an artist from Brasil. Fusing jazz, Latin, electro with an endless groove, Da Cruz have created a hot summer night that’s diverse, creative, and superbly entertaining. From the jazzy swing of, “Ethiopia,” to the super cool cover of, “Warm Leatherette,” Da Cruz takes the world music template and throws it out the window. This is a record that has it all and barely lets you catch your breath before wanting to share more of itself with you.

Sistema Subersiva is a fantastic record that challenges the notion of what a genre defining record is. This is an all over the place affair that will keep you guessing and keep you gripped and you can't ask for much more than that in any kind of record; world music or otherwise.