Batucada Sound Machine - Rhythm and Rhyme
Batucada Sound Machine's (BSM) first studio album Rhythm and Rhyme is a testament to aural melting pot that can be found in Auckland. As a behemoth 13 piece band they take the rhythmic kit-and-caboodle of Brazil, Cuba and Afro-beat and fuse them with our local sounds of hip-hop, soul, reggae and funk, and they do it with grace and finesse.
If you haven't already had the aural pleasure of BSM, then here's a non-exhaustive list of what you can expect; for the vocal talent you'll get a dose of rhymes and vocals in English and Portuguese (at a guess – please excuse the ignorance) from band members MC Hazadus, Mani Fagundes, Richard Stetford, James Hughes, and a guest appearance from Che-Fu. After writing this bit about vocals I was tempted to list the other instruments and who does what, but on the liner notes the instrument credits take up about 150 words. So in summary you'll hear a wide range of drums from a large handful of accomplished drummers, the odd whistle, tight bass and lead guitars, a stylish horn section, various other exotic sounds and all the electronic wizardry you'd expect on a modern dance album. Most of all you can expect something dynamic that is best played loud.
From the humble beginnings of jamming in a bar to hitting the stage at WOMAD in the UK, these guys have pounded their way to success. It was at WOMAD that BSM met Neil Sparkes who later produced their album. Sparks has a production pedigree that is the envy of many a electro-world-dub-dance fusion band (Transglobal Underground / Temple of Sound) and BSM managed to lure him to our fair shores for production duties. They then took the project to New York where it was mixed and mastered by Lawrence Manchester at Avatar Studios. The result is top shelf album that stands up in about a dozen music categories.
If you haven't already worked it out yet, the whole samba/mambo thing is sexy. It's a form of dance music that lets you get up and close to your partner, and that is hot! So not only will you get a fantastic album if you buy this, there's a good chance that played to the right partner you'll also get…
Jamie Larnach
