RADIO S.AMB.A

Within the struggle to keep things going after the premature death of their leader and mentor Chico Science, the band Nação Zumbi have met the audience’s expectations with their new release. Free from the pressures of major labels (which launched their two albums with Chico plus CSZN, their first post-Chico release), the band from Recife decided to invest in experimentalism and self-production. As for the way Radio S.AMB.A sounds, it's worked. Masters of the rhythmic fusion, Nação have brought forward Chico’s legacy and avoided straying from their previous trails. The band added drums (very well recorded, by the way), berimbau, guitars, fiddle, turn-tables, samples and electronic instruments to cook a big meal of maracatu, rap, coco, funk, Latin rhythms and reggae. The album boasts a certain jam session feeling in songs like Low Fi Dream ("It’s a mad, mad maracatu"), performed along with American band Tortoise members. The tracks Carimbó, featuring surf guitars, Pela Orla, Arrancando as Tripas and the melancholic instrumental Na Baladado Rio Salgado all display psychedelic trends applied to maracatu. Other cuts such as Quando a Maré Encher, Jornal da Morte and Brasília are on the heavy-hardcore side. The rap Zumbi a Zulu features Afrika Bambaataa as a guest. The core of the album is the joy of playing music. The lyrics are far from being outstanding and Jorge Du Peixe very much lacks a stronger personality, but it doesn’t matter: with Radio S.AMB.A, Nação Zumbi have passed the artistic survival test - with honors.(Silvio Essinger)