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2014 release. In keeping with the very ethos of Far Out Recordings, The Friends From Rio project cements the bonds originally welded by a young Joe Davis, when he set off to Rio, in search of the mysterious sounds of Brazil. Coming from the heart and soul of Rio de Janeiro, Project 2014 features some of the most accomplished legends of Rio's musical underground, including Alex Malheiros, Hyldon, Aleh Ferreira, Robertinho Silva, Sabrina Malheiros and a host of other Far Out Recordings favorites. Consisting of all original material (with the exception of a blistering version of Jorge Ben's timeless "Mas Que Nada"), this is a reunion of old friends and that's exactly how it sounds. Every track is in some way reminiscent of the kind of music Joe Davis and friends were playing on the underground club scene in London, back at the time of the first Rio project. While principally a Brazilian record, lofty disco synths and funk basslines take tracks "So Resta A Porta","Veneno" and "Fogo No Chao" beneath the lights of a spinning mirror ball, while samba batucadas and fiery brass sections keep "Casino Bangu" and Hyldon and Alex Malheiros's fantastically funky "Leite De Pedra", decidedly under the Rio sun. The album also explores deeper territory with "Batucada Bidu" providing an instrumental stint of intense, driven samba percussion, while Robertinho Silva's solo on "Japa" is deep and intriguing Brazilian jazz music at its finest. Nostalgia balanced with vitality is inherent throughout, punctuated by the artwork, which is based on the bottle cap of the '60s/'70s Brahma Guarana. Yet while the album is something of a reunion, finally managing to work with renowned Brazilian artists Hyldon, Aleh Ferreira and others, it was an opportunity Far Out Recordings could not pass up on. It's a collaborations with legends like these, with the flare of Azymuth's Alex Malheiros, the direction of label boss Joe Davis and the production of Daniel Maunick that make the Friends From Rio project, the truly special record it is, just like the two Rio projects before it. Also features: Carlos Dafé, Suonho, Denise Pinaud, Ivan Matheus, Banda Utopia, Agnaldo Kantor, Joao Coutinho.
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