Ever since its 1960s golden age, Brazilian music has been remarkably adept at melding native forms like samba with overseas influences like rock and jazz. Led by vocalist Uli Costa, São Paulo-based Sandália de Prata extend the tradition by making music that draws heavily on American soul, hip hop and more – and yet is unmistakably Brazilian.
‘Amanheceu’ opens the album with a slinky funk-pop tune dripping in luxuriant horn charts and a 70s soul-style string section, and peppered by the traditional rasp of a cuica and vinyl scratching. In fact, Sandália de Prata seem intent on smashing together retro ingredients from across musical history to create a timeless eternal present. ‘Nesse Lugar’ is an impossibly sunshiney pop-samba groove with Costa’s honeyed voice lingering on a monotone refrain, echoing Antônio Carlos Jobim’s ‘One Note Samba’. Meanwhile special guest DJ Nato PK scratches up a storm, repeatedly chucking in the famous – and, to be frank, kind of cheesy – ‘aw yeah’ vocal sample originally snipped from Run DMC’s ‘Here We Go’, ubiquitous in hip hop and pop from the late 80s.
