PRICE:
$18.00
LOW STOCK LEVEL
ARTIST
TITLE
Clareia
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
FARO 199LP FARO 199LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
7/28/2017

LP version. 180 gram vinyl. Having made her mark on Brazil's rich musical legacy with three best-selling albums to date, Rio's original nu-bossa queen returns with a tour de force of golden-era Brazilian soul music. From the spiritual swing of the early pioneers of modern samba, to the dizzying hedonism of Brazil's eighties disco/boogie craze, Clareia is a life-affirming journey through the rich and varied sounds of Sabrina Malheiros. For her most up-lifting and danceable album to date, Sabrina has (as always) enlisted her father Alex Malheiros -- bassist of samba jazz-funk legends Azymuth -- and visionary London based producer Daniel Maunick (aka Dokta Venom), son of Incognito's Bluey. With her debut album Equilibria (2005), Sabrina arrived on a wave of instant acclaim. Sabrina's innovative nu-bossa sound would continue on her sophomore album 2008's New Morning (FARO 131CD), declared the "best album of summer 2008" by Evening Standard, before 2011's Dreaming (FARO 161CD/LP). Six years on, Sabrina returns with Clareia. "It means to clear, light, brighten or illuminate, which, after seeing Brazil and the rest of the world go through some very difficult times, is exactly what the writing of this album brought to my life." Packed out with high-octane swinging samba-soul, like the title-track and "Salve O Mar", the album also features some bottom-heavy Brazilian boogie cuts, like rejoicing album opener "Celebrar" which harks back to some of Marcos Valle's cult '80s disco output, and "Sol Ceu E Mar", a Tania Maria-esque future classic of scorching Latin-funk. Mellower moments are found in "Em Paz", on which Sabrina's beguiling harmonies find an anchor in the rhythmic acoustic guitar of Ze Carlos', who Sabrina heralds as being "the best guitarist I have ever worked with". Azymuth's keyboardist Kiko Continentino's deft Rhodes, piano, organ, and synth playing, add ever more textures of distinctly Brazilian brilliance throughout, while tropical brass and flute arrangements on cool bossa-jazz movers "Vai Maria" and "Sandore", come from Brazilian saxophone legend Leo Gandleman, a man who has worked with everyone from Gal Costa to Gilberto Gil. The rhythm section combines Daniel Maunick's seamless drum programming and the organic polyrhythms of Brazilian percussion legend Jakare, all punctuated by Alex Malheiros's inimitable (occasionally slapped) jazz-funk bass, giving the album its irresistibly danceable pulse. Clareia is an inter-generational masterclass of Brazil's soulful spectrum, led by a pioneering voice of today's scene on the very top of her game.