8 Tracks: Of A Brazilian Avalanche Of Bands With Marcelo Monteiro

Spiritual jazz groove also from São Paulo. Nômade Orquestra released their first album in 2015 betting in an instrumental afrosound alongside Brazilian traditional grooves soon compared to their countrymen Bixiga 70. The album has a beautiful English version in vinyl released by Far Out Recordings. An afrojazz bigband taking higher flights. In October they will tour Europe with gig already confirmed in Paris Duc des Lombards.

Brazilian bass culture mixture with the traditional guitar from Salvador carnival. Baiana System second album ‘Duas Cidades’ is considered one of the best releases from 2016 produced by Daniel Ganjaman, the man behind hyped albums from Criolo, Sabotage and Instituto (all from SP). Powerful gigs during the release tour and carnival catapulted Baiana System for the place of the new band to pay attention in Brazil. The video shows Baiana live performance in a small stage in Rio alongside with rapper Bnegão (ex-Planet Hemp).

Bigger and most success revelation of Natal new rock scene (capital of Rio Grande do Norte, in Northeast Brazil), Far From Alaska is now based in SP and starting to spread their potent rock to new audiences including more and more fans around Brazil and also abroad. In 2016 they performance a powerful historical gig in SXSW (their first in US) and were chosen the best band in Midem France. All very talented musicians. Special attention in singer Emily Barreto praised by Garbage Shirley Manson: ‘This girls has the guts and I love her’.

Boogarins from the rock city of Goiânia make his path first internationally after signs with Other Music Recording and Fat Possum Records of giants like Black Keys, Band of Horses and Iggy Pop & The Stooges. Formed in 2013, they toured with his debut album ‘As Plantas que Curam’ with dozens of dates in US and Europe showing their new psych in SXSW, Primavera Sound and classic stages like Glasslands Galery, NY, Shacklewell Arms, London, and Paradiso in Amsterdam. Their second album ‘Manual’ was first and exclusively released in NYT where they were compared with Jefferson Airplane and psych bands like the hyped Tame Impala and Temples.

Hermetic, magnetic, dense, psychedelic. Daughter of the great film director Glauber Rocha, Ava Rocha first showed their talent producing videos but was in music where she appeared as one the best new revelations of Brazilian modern underground scene. Her second album ‘Ava Patrya Yndia Yracema’ led her to the award of Revelation in Brazil Music Award opening the bridge for more concerts across Brazil and abroad like NY and Berlin. In the band some of the most talented experimental musicians from Rio like Thomas Harres, Marcos Campello, Eduardo Manso e Felipe Zenícola.

Power afro jazz punk from São Paulo new scene. Formed in 2011, Metá Metá is launching their third full album and touring increasingly more and more in US and Europe. The trio with powerful singer Juçara Marçal, guitarist Kiko Dinucci and sax Thiago França, all very talented and in their best form usually play live together with other musicians from SP involved in awesome projects like Passo Torto and Clube da Encruza.

Another powerful rock band from Northeast Brazil, Baggios are on road since beginning of 10s but only in the last 3 years they become known for rock fans all over Brazil after great gigs in festivals and the excellent album ‘Sina’. One of the new Brazilian bands chosen to play in Lollapalooza SP 2016, Baggios is the opening band of Sony new digital label Novíssima Música Brasileira.

After three excellent praised albums and responsible for leading the new instrumental scene in Brazil, Bixiga 70 are making their international path with more and more gigs in Europe. Incandescent and intense afrogroove that make the crowd jump like there is no day after. They were massive at Fusion Festival this summer in Germany.