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LP
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TARTALB 023LP
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In a flurry of madcap sampling pitched towards the heat of the night, Pedro Zopelar builds on the premise of his 2022 electrofunk love letter Charme (TARTALB 018LP), shifting his approach towards a particular '90s flair and a method with a specific end result. Ritmo Freak took root in studio experiments for a momentous -- and rare -- live set at São Paulo festival Não Existe in 2023, where Zopelar was caught up in one of those right-place, right-time moments. As he explains himself: "This album is dedicated to freaky club culture. While I was playing at the festival there was a crazy tropical storm outside and the room was packed with the freakiest crowd. I've tried hard to immortalize that feeling on this record." With the intended energy in mind, Zopelar focused on a particular mode of production centered around 12-bit sampling from his ample record collection. Considering his background as a trained pianist, here his musical instincts are forced to work within the limitations of short, snappy cuts from dusty 12"s. The lo-fi sound sources and the resourceful ways Zopelar works them gives the record an unmistakable old-skool flavor which he applies to forthright house, techno and electro funk rhythms, always taking care to draw out the soul of the music. The stylistic touchstones flow past thick and fast on Ritmo Freak. From the amped up fierceness of the title track with its gaudy, cut-and- paste, vintage techno flavor to the effervescent electro funk of "Gabriellinha's Boogie" on to the surreal Balearic inversion of "Distraction," this is a high-velocity, endlessly charming record bursting with the musicality Zopelar has made his name on. As the driving force behind many warehouse parties in São Paulo, Zopelar has been immersed in club culture for a long time, and his distinctive catalogue of jazz, funk, acid and techno has graced highly respected labels like Apron, Selva Discos and Mother Tongue. Throughout, he's displayed an affinity for the tangled roots of the groove with an open-eared, big-hearted sound. That's what comes through on Ritmo Freak -- a record as infectious as it is well-informed. Also featuring Gabto and Manuel Darquart.
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LP
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TARTALB 018LP
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Zopelar arrives on Tartelet with Charme -- an album of effervescent machine funk harking back to a golden era of Brazilian party music. The era of interest for Sao Paulo's Pedro Zopelar begins in the 1980s in Rio de Janeiro, when a particular phenomenon caught on at suburban parties which became known as "Charme". "Charme was like a mix of slow boogie, RnB and new jack swing," explains Zopelar. "DJ Corello started calling 'charme' the moment of the party when he played slow grooves and felt that the people started dancing differently, with sexier synchronized moves. Some years later, charme evolved from an awaited moment of a night to a whole movement of parties just playing that kind of music. On this record I tried to make something that brings this emotional feeling to my music in a modern way." Much like the original genre-not-genre he drew inspiration from, Zopelar's approach across his latest LP spans different moods and tempos. There's blissful, sultry mystery lingering around "Clara" and "Do You Feel?" while Osagie lends some chops to the exquisite, Rompler-powered synth funk of "Chain Net". The lead singles "Shibuya", "Charme", and "Passado" all tap into varying shades of deep house, from slinky city pop-tinted loungers to peak-time dance pop and Larry Heard-influenced flavors, with the constant being Zopelar's immaculate production and the unbridled warmth of his compositions. Continuing the Latin-rooted theme of the album, the artwork conception of Charme was realized by multidisciplinary artist and curator Ode, showcasing a popular style of street paintings made by anonymous artists throughout Latin America. It's not about graffiti-culture but a popular solution utilized by small restaurants, bars and other establishments to use their own walls for commercial purposes, hiring artists to paint food and drink menus or other information about their products. With an emotional sincerity stemming from his move to reconnect with the Brazilian dimension of his creative background, Charme arrives as Zopelar's heartfelt celebration of life and music, of sentimental moments shared and good times enjoyed. Zopelar has previous releases on Apron, Connaisseur, and D-Edge. For fans of: Space Ghost, Dam Funk, Larry Heard, Soichi Terada, DJ Python.
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LP
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SLVDSCS 009LP
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Selva Discos keeps broadening horizons. Its next release celebrates the start of a new series called Novaterra, this time focused on showcasing the music of contemporary Brazilian artists. First up is Zopelar, known not only for his work with the anarchic-techno-punk act Teto Preto but also for the project My Girlfriend and his solo LP, both on Apron Records. Novaterra Vol. 1 by Zopelar is a mini-LP featuring six tracks that range from the introversion to the extraversion. In one hand you have an A-side banger like "Be Together", with its addictive looped-sample, and in the other, you get the laidback interlude of "Modo Avião", which sounds like one of those MF Doom's instrumentals -- and between both, you will find a whole spectrum of music where you can experience the duel between super crispy beats (a signature in Zopelar's work) and the richness of melodies and harmonies that he's able to knit stitch close to perfection. The opener "Livre" has a great deep house vibe that makes you think of Prescription Records and Jazzanova, featuring a catchy bossa ad-lib. "NOX" is a Hammond-led tune with a groove bassline and lead that gets you going in no time as if Cesar Camargo Mariano and Larry Young toured together in the late '70s, like, a big, fat jazz-funk tune. "Dias Tensos" is a nervous drum workout led by an automat Tony Williams as if jamming in a 16-bit version of The Tony Williams Lifetime. And to wrap things up, "Boogie da Paz" is one of those perfect comedown tunes -- a true tearjerker that works its melody line like a good pill works your serotonin, making it one of those tracks that you keep under your sleeve for those special 6 AM moments on a dancefloor. The artwork is courtesy of Colletivo Design Studio in Sao Paulo.
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12"
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DEDGE 003EP
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Zopelar presents a crucial moment in his classical training on this 12" release, one marked by the inflection of his approach. "Falling In Love" features the gentleness of delicate chords and the energy of relentless progression, culminating in a passionate epic. Diversely, Kolombo's interpretation synthesizes the feelings that burst on the original's groove and encapsulates it into a powerful journey of an irresistible corporeal pull. "Poiesis," Zopelar's collaboration with Felipe Sá, gifts us with a fierce rhythmic voyage.
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