Lucas Santtana – Lycra-Limão 
(2nd Single) – out now!

“Tripped-out dub horns soar with Aggrovators-esque intensity and soundsystem weight”

Taken from Santtana’s ‘lost’ 2006 dub samba album, 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, out now

“State-of-the-art Brazilian pop” THE TIMES
“Simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic” NPR

On the 15th anniversary of its original release, Mais Um revisit a lost classic from the catalogue of one of Brazil’s most regarded and influential contemporary songwriters
 
Presented on vinyl and streaming platforms for the first time ever - remastered by German dub shaman, Stefan Betke/Pole - the album features Tom Zé and manguebeat pioneer, Gilmar Bola 8. Lucas Santtana’s 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse fuses psyched-out samba and baile funk with original Black Ark-style studio distortion and spiritual dub dread, laying the foundations for his seminal Sem Nostalgia LP five years later, and in the process, establishing Santtana as an elemental force of Brazil’s current new wave. 
 
“At the beginning of my career, I was experimenting, trying to figure out my sound. On 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, I discovered what I am and what I wanted to do in music. All the pieces connected. Everything just felt like the right place at the right time.”

As King Tubby, Mad Professor and other scientists of sound did before them, Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse presents case for the studio as centrepiece, felt in full effect on 2nd single, Lycra-Limão. A regular feature of his live show to this day, Santtana's psychedelic 2-tone reworking of Lycra - Limão, (originally off Santtana's 2nd album, Parada De Lucas) is given the FX treatment by Recifé’s dubsetter himself, Buguinha Dub whose tripped-out dub horns soar with Aggrovators-esque intensity and soundsystem weight.

“It was an amazing atmosphere from start to finish. Even after 15 years, when I meet Ricardo (bassist), Gil (drummer) or anyone from the album, we always talk about those 3 Sessions. We would work from 10am to 8-9pm, playing all day. Time did not exist. No telephones. Smoking the best weed in Rio, it was like a greenhouse. We had the feeling, we were creating a new sound.”

Within the space of three nights, in a mist-engulfed recording studio 30-minutes north of Rio, Santtana and his Seleçao Natural had recorded, produced and mixed 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse yet the album’s evolution had only just begun. Once putting the album online, Santtana invited listeners to download and remix each track using audio stems from the original recordings and thus, granted permission for his work to be deconstructed and reassembled in whichever way the author saw fit (a concept not unfamiliar to Jamaican reggae/dancehall producers). Exactly fifteen years later and now remastered and presented for the first time outside of Brazil, the evolution of 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse continues.
 
“It was really important to have Stefan (Pole) remaster 3 Sessions. He brought a lot more punch to the original recordings. He also brought a lot of ambience as well. I really see this as a new version of the album. It’s not just a re-release. It’s bringing something new to the sound, the versions, the mix. This is what the album is all about.” 

Album Credits

A Seleção Natural: 
Gil de Oliviera drums; 
David Cole Echo302, Mc202, MPC2000; 
Ricardo Dias Gomes bass, Rhodes; 
Leandro Joaquim flugelhorn, trumpet; 
Bruno Levi guitar; 
Léo Leobons percussion; 
Mauricio Zacharias trombone. 

Produced by Buguinha Dub & Lucas Santtana. 
Recorded by Buguinha Dub & Duda Mello @ AR Studios, Rio. 
Mixed by Buguinha Dub @ Studio Mundo Novo, São Paulo. 
Mastered by Gustavo Lenza. 
Remastered by Stefan Betke @ Scape Mastering. 
Illustrations and design by Tristan Manco. 
Originally released in 2006

www.maisumdiscos.com
www.maisumdiscos.bandcamp.com

Lucas Santtana - Lycra-Limão (Dub Versão) [Taken from 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, out now!]

Curumin 'Vestido de Prata' is a track taken from our latest release, 'Daora: Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil – Hip-hop, Beats, Afro & Dub’ compilation.

Available on CD/LP/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/1bPEdQZ
iTunes: smarturl.it/zz6qx8
Amazon: amzn.to/15VJAcI

“This two CD collection is a tour of the cutting-edge scenes of Sao Paulo, Bahia and Rio, encompassing hip-hop and electronica as well as organic instrumentation and rhythms" The Observer

“Thirty-two songs that gather a range of urban sounds of Brazilian beat music, the collection serves as a reminder of the volume of transcendent music produced in and around Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro” Los Angeles Times

Dao-ra (adj.) Brasilian. Slang.
1. Sao Paulo term for something that’s dope.

DAORA, a 32 track blast through the freshest hip-hop, leftfield beats, afrobeat and dub-influenced sounds from Brasil. The album was compiled by respected Sao Paulo beat-head Rodrigo Brandao – who has collaborated with members of The Roots, Afro-beat master Tony Allen, producer Prince Paul (De La Soul) and artists from the Ninja Tune and Big Dada stables.

Daora features 32 tracks that represent the musicians, MCs and beat-heads making some of the most thrilling urban music in “the alternative lanes of Brasil’s third world megalopoli”. Rodrigo explains: “Blending both the foundations of boom-bap and Brasilian rhythmic and melodic heritage, Daora is an introduction to the most cutting-edge beat culture + percussive oriented music coming out of Brasil today.”

Curumin - Vestido De Prata (From 'Daora': Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil)

Iconili 'Mulato' is a track taken from our latest release, 'Daora: Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil – Hip-hop, Beats, Afro & Dub’ compilation.

Available on CD/LP/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/1bPEdQZ
iTunes: smarturl.it/zz6qx8
Amazon: amzn.to/15VJAcI

“This two CD collection is a tour of the cutting-edge scenes of Sao Paulo, Bahia and Rio, encompassing hip-hop and electronica as well as organic instrumentation and rhythms" The Observer

“Thirty-two songs that gather a range of urban sounds of Brazilian beat music, the collection serves as a reminder of the volume of transcendent music produced in and around Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro” Los Angeles Times

Dao-ra (adj.) Brasilian. Slang.
1. Sao Paulo term for something that’s dope.

DAORA, a 32 track blast through the freshest hip-hop, leftfield beats, afrobeat and dub-influenced sounds from Brasil. The album was compiled by respected Sao Paulo beat-head Rodrigo Brandao – who has collaborated with members of The Roots, Afro-beat master Tony Allen, producer Prince Paul (De La Soul) and artists from the Ninja Tune and Big Dada stables.

Daora features 32 tracks that represent the musicians, MCs and beat-heads making some of the most thrilling urban music in “the alternative lanes of Brasil’s third world megalopoli”. Rodrigo explains: “Blending both the foundations of boom-bap and Brasilian rhythmic and melodic heritage, Daora is an introduction to the most cutting-edge beat culture + percussive oriented music coming out of Brasil today.”


Iconili - Mulato (From 'Daora': Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil)

Afrobombas 'Do Sal & Sol Eu Sou’ is a track taken from our latest release, ‘'Daora': Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil – Hip-hop, Beats, Afro & Dub’ compilation.

Available on CD/LP/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/1bPEdQZ
iTunes: smarturl.it/zz6qx8
Amazon: amzn.to/15VJAcI

“This two CD collection is a tour of the cutting-edge scenes of Sao Paulo, Bahia and Rio, encompassing hip-hop and electronica as well as organic instrumentation and rhythms" The Observer

“Thirty-two songs that gather a range of urban sounds of Brazilian beat music, the collection serves as a reminder of the volume of transcendent music produced in and around Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro” Los Angeles Times


Dao-ra (adj.) Brasilian. Slang.
1. Sao Paulo term for something that’s dope.

DAORA, a 32 track blast through the freshest hip-hop, leftfield beats, afrobeat and dub-influenced sounds from Brasil. The album was compiled by respected Sao Paulo beat-head Rodrigo Brandao – who has collaborated with members of The Roots, Afro-beat master Tony Allen, producer Prince Paul (De La Soul) and artists from the Ninja Tune and Big Dada stables.

Daora features 32 tracks that represent the musicians, MCs and beat-heads making some of the most thrilling urban music in “the alternative lanes of Brasil’s third world megalopoli”. Rodrigo explains: “Blending both the foundations of boom-bap and Brasilian rhythmic and melodic heritage, Daora is an introduction to the most cutting-edge beat culture + percussive oriented music coming out of Brasil today."




Afrobombas - Do Sal & Sol Eu Sou (From 'Daora': Underground Sounds   of Urban Brasil)

‘Músico’ is a track taken from Lucas Santtana’s 5th release, ‘O Deus Que Devasta Mas Também Cura’ or ‘The God Who Devastates Also Cures’.

Available on CD/LP/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/17MzNtm
Itunes: smarturl.it/o4m3ia
Amazon: amzn.to/1hwbO2T

"A blast of mournful orchestral soul on the opening title track is followed by jittery Talking Heads funk, faux reggae, a brassy instrumental and a dip into MOR balladry, randomly leavened by dub echoes, falsetto choruses, Bollywood strings and 80’s drum machines" Uncut

"From psychedelic bossa novas to string-swathed ballads, it’s a trip." Independent On Sunday

With his new album, Lucas Santtana follows up last year's highly acclaimed 'Sem Nostalgia', and its recent complimentary remix counterpart (featuring re-interpretations from Deerhoof's John Dieterich, JD Twitch/Optimo and Tosca). In the best traditions of ‘Blood On the Tracks’ or ‘Here My Dear’, Lucas here delivers an artistic triumph based on the highly personal back-story of a relationship's demise. With trademark versatility and skill, he again offers a technicolour masterpiece of international alt-pop, blending afrobeat-tinged electro-rock, soaring symphonic ballads and stuttering Amazonian-reggaeton with head nodding break beats and horn-led ska.




Lucas Santtana - Músico

Eddie 'Bairro Novo/Casa Caiada' is a track taken from our debut release, ‘Oi! A Nova Musica Brasileira!’ compilation.

Available on CD/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/cZtJFb
iTunes: smarturl.it/qtot0n
Amazon: amzn.to/GH2nT5

“Compilation of the year” Gilles Peterson’s (2012)
“Compilation Of The Month: Kaleidoscopic and fascinating two disc set of experimentalism, pop, dance and punk attitude” Rough Trade Store
“Genre-busting 40-track showcase of the sounds of young, wild Brazil” Uncut (4/5)
“A welcome short cut to Brazil's prolific musical scene and its ever-changing hybrids” The Observer

‘Oi! A Nova Música Brasileira!’ is a 40 track double album that acts as a sonic-snapshot of the most exciting new Brazilian music from artists influenced by the likes of Kraftwerk, Massive Attack, Talking Heads, Os Mutantes, Beastie Boys, Sly & Robbie, Sonic Youth, Ween, Robert Wyatt & Stereolab.






Eddie - Bairro Novo/Casa Caiada (From Oi! A Nova Musica Brasileira!)

DJ mix Lucas did for Germany's Funkhaus WDR radio station:

Tracklist: 

1 Lucas Santtana - E muito mais 
2 Nação Zumbi - Blunth of Judah
3 Curumim - Magrela Fever
4 Céu - Contravento 
5 Lucas Santtana - Dia de furar onda no mar 
6 Gilberto Monte - Respostando 
7 Black Alien - Babylon by bus 
8 Du Souto - Iêmanjá 
9 Lucas Santtana - Punky Reggae Party 
10 Céu - Sonâmbulo 
11 Siba - Bloco da bicharada
12 Hurtmold - Chuva Negra 
13 Curumim, Lucas Santtana & BNegão - Caixa Preta 
14 Lucas Santtana - Super Violão mashup
15 Lucas Santtana - Ela é Belém 

Lucas Santtana DJ mix - November 2013

'Orquídea Ruiva' is a track taken from Amabis' debut release 'Memorias Luso/Africanas'

'Memorias Luso/Africanas' will be released 11th Nov on download and is available from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/GFRWPb
Itunes: smarturl.it/l79mzz
Amazon: amzn.to/18SsfSn

“The prolific Gui Amabis has worked to fuse the Brazilian post-bossa-nova songwriting tradition with electronic sampling and atmospherics” New York Times

“Beautiful, dramatic and epic, Gui Amabis first solo album is born as a relic of cinematographic tonality” O Globo, Rio de Janeiro

"Amabis‘ Memórias Luso/Africanas comes across like a Brazilian
Portishead, featuring three of Brazil’s most distinguished vocalists
atop dense instrumental backing" Sounds and Colours

Amabis' debut solo album “Memorias Luso/Africanas” features a stellar cast of Brazilian vocalists such as Lucas Santtana, Criolo, Ceu, Tulipa, and Tigana Santana. The album narrates his ancestor’s history of moving to Brazil and how that suffering affected them: “The songs mirror what I feel genetically and culturally” he says.

A multi-instrumentalist, on “Memorias Luso/Africanas” Amabis plays keys, bass and guitar, programs samples, effects and sings: “I thought about the record as a film" he says, "to be listened and felt”.

Mostly known for his production work - famously on Ceu’s acclaimed second and third albums “Vagarosa” and “Caravana Sereia Bloom”, Amabis has also worked on soundtracks for both Brazilian TV (“City of Men”) and Hollywood (“Lord of War”, “Collateral”) and is an in-demand musician who's featured on records by Rodrigo Campos, Curumin and Lucas Santtana. Alongside Céu, Rica Amabis and Dengue and Pupillo (Nacao Zumbi) he recorded "Sonantes", released by Six Degrees in 2007.

Amabis feat. Criolo - Orquídea Ruiva (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Bixiga 70 ‘Ocupai’ CD/LP/DL – to be released May 2014
Bixiga 70 ‘Ocupai / Kalimba' 7” – to be released March 2014

Bandcamp: http://maisumdiscos.bandcamp.com/album/ocupai
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/5yd1pf
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ocupai-Bixiga-70/dp/B00J92CVCK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1399394810&sr=8-2&keywords=bixiga+70

“We always looked at Afrobeat through Brazilian eyes. We can't do it like them, we have our own African references that are all around, but it just don't sound the same – it always comes out sounding like Brazilian music for us.” 
Mauricio Fleury, Bixiga 70

Bring together ten professional musicians eyes deep in the diaspora of influences of the Bixiga neighbourhood in São Paulo. Give them a creative itch to scratch and plenty of rehearsal time and this is the result: a heart stopping carnival of Afrobeat and Brazilian funk where Ethio-jazz, brass bands, polyrhythmic paeans, Bootsy Collins jams and Saharan grooves combine to produce a riotous joy of stomping rhythms and horns. Welcome to BIXIGA 70.

Coming from a Brazilian culture steeped in the Yoruba rhythms of candomblé, the group felt a natural affinity for the Afrobeat sound. Yet whilst their Afrobeat influence means they enjoy comparisons with groups such as Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and Jungle by Night, their dedication to musicianship and rhythm means they can also be grouped with bands like the El Michels Affair, as well as Will Quantic’s Combo Barbaro and Soul Orchestra projects. But there’s definitely more to it than that. Bixiga 70’s wide palette of influences from across West Africa and both South and North America marks them out from any other ‘funky orchestra’. Mauricio explains: “Bixiga 70 is all about freedom and collectiveness. We use heavy rhythms and improvisation, to explore boundaries and blur the lines between genres”.

They combine the obvious touch points of Fela Kuti (the band's name tips a hat to the most famous incarnation of his band) and Tony Allen (with whom Mauricio Fleury from the band studied with) and bounce through boundaries to harvest textures of mandingo from Guinea and Mali, soukous from the Congo and ethio-jazz – all the while pulling in threads from the pioneers who first caught their ear; Pedro Sorongo, Os Tincoãs, Gilberto Gil, João Donato, Baden Powell, Deodato, Orchestre Poly Rythmo, Miles Davis and Lee Perry. “We all love Afrobeat” explains Mauricio.” but it was never the only thing we thought of or the only thing we listened to, we always talk about rap, reggae, dub, jazz, Brazilian folk music or Hermeto Pascoal. But whether it’s Afrobeat or Malinké, it’s the African influence that draws us to it. From samba we come to Semba, from Angola. When we decided to cover  ‘Tincoãs’ half of the band said it is ‘Cangira’, a genre of Candomblé. I mean, we actively try to discover other musical styles, but eventually, when you find them, you realize that they were part of your life already.”

This discovery of commonality brings us a result that’s something more than a Brazilian twist on an existing genre. Using Afrobeat as a process, the band push, and squeeze it through their array of influences to deliver a unique São Paulo sound with the loose, funky feel of a 70’s Lagos foot stomper. Mauricio from the band says himself, “that's why we call ourselves Bixiga 70, because that's our address, even though it is a funny joke with Afrika 70 we could never pretend we are not here in central São Paulo creating our music now”.

Their self-titled debut album topped many Brazilian tastemakers best of lists for 2011 and since they burst onto the scene then they’ve shared the same stage as their heroes Antibalas, Ebo Taylor, Tony Allen, Gilberto Gil and Q-tip as well as collaborating with Souljazz Orchestra, Criolo, Emicida and Banda Black Rio. Then in 2013 they set sail across the Atlantic for some rave-review festival appearances at Denmark’s Roskilde, Sweden’s Sommarscen Malmö, Amsterdam’s Paradiso and France’s Aux Heures d’Été. They’re now back with their sophomore album ‘Ocupai’ and ready to deliver another slab of soulful African rhythms shot through with Brazilian funk and folklore.

BACKGROUND: The story begins with a group of musician friends working out of the Traquitana studio in the bohemian São Paulo bairro (neighbourhood) of Bixiga – a place where artists, musicians and performers from São Paulo’s biggest samba school rub shoulders with the workers of the city to a bustling music soundtrack that blasts from the cars, bars and restaurants that line the streets.  

In a hiaitus from recording for Pipo Pegoraro, Décio 7 (a percussionist and drummer steeped in traditional African and Brazilian rhythms), Cris Scabelo (a guitarist with a style that swings from psychadelic dub to carimbó to funk) and Marcelo Dworecki (bassist, producer and rock and roll injection) joined forces with Mauricio Fleury – a guitarist and keyboardist who’d also studied under Tony Allen. Experimenting for an afro-tinged rhythm track for Ben Lamar, the groove clicked and the Bixiga 70 journey began. Mauricio remembers the moment it came together, “Décio said, ‘that's it. That's what we are gonna do. We're gonna put together a big band to play that kind of joint.” 

Decio 7 handpicked more joiners from the great and the good of Traquitana studio stalwarts – guys who’d cut their teeth playing on records for local, national and international artists: Romulus Nardes, percussionist and true encyclopedia of Afro-Brazilian and West African rhythms, history and traditions; Gustavo Cék, virtuoso percussionist, performer, dancer and hype man; Cuca Ferreira, baritone sax and expert flautist; Daniel Nogueira, elegant tenor saxophonist and big band leader; Douglas Antunes, insanely talented trombonist and Bixiga 70 ‘secret weapon’ and Daniel Gralha, a hip hop aficionado and soulful soloist.

With the line-up set, they started to have a little fun. Breaking out of the confines of a pop music format, Bixiga 70 gave them the feeling of playing live they all craved, as well as providing them with an outlet to explore the myriad of influences that were smashed together with the group's formation.

Decio 7 explains: “As a band, we’re following parallel paths but exchanging information all the time – which actually makes the record a more rounded piece. We had the common ground of Afrobeat and Brazilian music, obviously. Starting the record with Os Tincoãs (“Deixa a gira gira”) was a nod to that. But then we started to explore this universe of African music derivatives, because Africa is the birthplace of the world. All these songs we love originate from Africa.”

With weekly rehearsals designed to crystallize the sound and trajectory of Bixiga 70, they exploded onto the scene with a killer debut album and electrifying live shows. Meeting critical acclaim as well as party-going popularity the band wanted to take it to the next level, holing up to tighten up the sound and hone the collaborative writing process. Mauricio defines their ambition, “We’re not trying to copy Fela Kuti. We don’t want to pretend we are in Nigeria in the 70s. It’s more that we want to follow the journey of the sounds that have influenced us. It could be Fela’s sound, Gilberto Gil or Nacao Zumbi.”

Recording against the backdrop of the recent civil disturbances in Brazil and the local neighbourhood, the record became imbued with the raw energy of protest and rebellion – clearly stated in the single ‘Ocupai’. Cuca explains. “We were actually mixing one day and stopped everything to join the demonstration that was passing behind the studio. As a band, we could feel the vibe of occupation and it was this massive coincidence that it was happening at the same time.”

In these parameters, the story of Brazil pulsates with every beat. Traditional orixas are effortlessly re-imagined; enveloped in horns, driving bass and rhythm. Through purely instrumental tracks, vignettes of Brazil and the life of its people are conjured as if sound-tracking a film not yet made; and if that doesn't have you testifying to the joy of their vibe, the unbridled energy that bursts from every bar of sweat-dripping soul will. Is it Afrobeat? Afro-Brazilian beat? Frankly, when it's this good, who cares what you call it? 

INFO: http://www.maisumdiscos.com/

Bixiga 70 - Kalimba

Taken from Amabis' 'Trabalahos Carnivoros'
CD/DL: http://bit.ly/138NhAs

Amabis - Um Bom Filme

Bandcamp: maisumdiscos.bandcamp.com/album/role
iTunes: smarturl.it/role

**6 track sampler featuring tracks from Mais Um Discos's new compilation of contemporary Brazilian music 'Rolê'**

Having established itself as the go-to label for discovering the real sounds of contemporary Brazil, Mais Um Discos returns with a new compilation of the freshest tunes from the Brazilian underground.

Here's a taster of the compilation with six key tracks

1. Lucas Santtana - Amor meu grande amor
Brazil-wave dub-tronics from Brazil’s answer to Thom Yorke

2. Dead Lover's Twisted Heart - Apocalipse do amor
Vampire Weekend style party-tune from these country-funkers

3. Lurdez da Luz - Ping pong
Heavyweight samba-crunk from the original rude gal of Brazil’s hip-hop underground

4. Ruspo - Brasília é Luísa
Aquatic beat-down vibes from Brazilian folk-tronic artist

5. Castello Branco - Tem mais que eu
Folk-funk harmonics from hyped artist

6. Trupe Chá de Boldo - Na garrafa
New wave-punk-funk from São Paulo sextet

All the artists on Rolê are mixing Brazilian and 'international' styles to create progressive new Brazilian music that shatters stereotypes and shows that the Brazilian music scene is as diverse and exciting as that of the UK or US and that there's a whole lot more to contemporary Brazilian music than Sergio Mendes featuring the Black Eyed Peas!

‘Rolê’ translates as ‘let’s roll’ in Brazilian Portuguese and Mais Um Discos’ label head Lewis Robinson rolled around ten Brazilian states including Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Amazonas, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Brasília, Pernambuco, Pará and Santa Catarina to pull together 43 tracks.

Trupe Chá de Boldo - Na Garrafa

Lucas Santtana - Amor Meu Grande Amor

Lurdez da Luz - Ping Pong

Made a DJ mix - first one in a decade, maybe longer 🫠 Did it on my little Pioneer DDJ 200 (shout out to Argos). Slowly working my way through the functions on it, quite keen on echo ATM 🤪. Maybe it has too many styles on it, but honestly, I'm so bored of predictable DJ sets. 7 bangers from my label on it too 😊. DM me if you want me to come and clear your dancefloor: INSTA @maisumdiscos

OKI - Tukinahan Kamuy (Live at Cafe Oto) MAIS UM
SIBA - 12 Linhas (self released)
CAN - Oh Yeah (Spoon)
LEKHFA - Mazzikaw Khof (Mostakell)
SANAM - Bell (MAIS UM)
DOMENICO + 2 - Alegria, vai Lá (Luaka Bop)
LINDA AYUPUKA - Mandaana (remix) (MAIS UM)
MERYL - Coucou (Fiyah)
OUMOU SANGARE, TONY ALLEN - Yere faga (No Format)
LITTLE SIMZ - Point and Kill (Age 101)
BURNA BOY - Last Last (Atlantic)
ROSALIA  - Di Mi Nombre (Columbia)
GIL SCOTT-HERON - New York is Killing Me (XL)
EL WAILI - El 3bd W El Waili (self released)
MAURICE LOUCA - Maksim (Maxim) (Nawa)
NÍDIA - Tarraxo Do Guetto
ElZA SOARES - Firmeza (Marginal Men + Badsista remix) (MAIS UM)
ROCÍO MÁRQUEZ, BRONQUIO - De Mí - Rumba (Universal)
LUCAS SANTTANA - Perla Orla dos Velhos Tempos  (MAIS UM)
VHOOR - Vem Pro Baile (self released)
SHABJDEED, AL NATHER - Sindibad el Ward (BLTNM)
SOM PEBA - ArrozX (MAIS UM)
EQUIKNOXX - Jump! (self released)	
JUP DO BAIRRO - All You Need Is Love (self released)	
HOWIE LEE - Mantra of Vajra Armour (MAIS UM)	
LITTLE SIMZ - might bang, might not (AGE 101)
KOUTEI CAMERA GIRL DREI - It's No Go (self released)

LEWIS MAIS UM - MIX (JUNE 2024)

'Cira Regina e Nana’ is a track taken from Lucas Santtana’s 4th release album 'Sem Nostalgia’.

Available on CD/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/GCummS
Itunes: smarturl.it/qsaqda
Amazon: amzn.to/19mX47s

"Sambas laced with samples, a reggae-tinged instrumental, droll songs in English, dub trickery.... Santtana's innovative approach makes for a refreshing excursion" The Observer

“Santtana erases the line between acoustic and electronic music” Rolling Stone (USA)

"Super violao is 'rare, original, brilliant" Drowned in Sound

Equal parts Tom Zé and Thom Yorke, Brazil’s Lucas Santtana is one of the most interesting, dynamic and experimental singer-songwriter-producers from the ‘new generation’ of South American electro-acoustic musicians. Using only guitars, voices and ambient sound processed via samplers, pedals, filters and non-conventional recording techniques, on ‘Sem Nostalgia’ Santtana has re-imagined the sonic possibilities of these instruments to create a haunting, disorientating and forward thinking modern electro-acoustic masterpiece that introduces a brave new talent.







Lucas Santtana - Cira Regina e Nana

'Super Violão Mashup’ is a track taken from Lucas Santtana’s 4th release album 'Sem Nostalgia’.

Available on CD/download from:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/GCummS
Itunes: smarturl.it/qsaqda
Amazon: amzn.to/19mX47s

"Sambas laced with samples, a reggae-tinged instrumental, droll songs in English, dub trickery.... Santtana's innovative approach makes for a refreshing excursion" The Observer

“Santtana erases the line between acoustic and electronic music” Rolling Stone (USA)

"Super violao is 'rare, original, brilliant" Drowned in Sound

Equal parts Tom Zé and Thom Yorke, Brazil’s Lucas Santtana is one of the most interesting, dynamic and experimental singer-songwriter-producers from the ‘new generation’ of South American electro-acoustic musicians. Using only guitars, voices and ambient sound processed via samplers, pedals, filters and non-conventional recording techniques, on ‘Sem Nostalgia’ Santtana has re-imagined the sonic possibilities of these instruments to create a haunting, disorientating and forward thinking modern electro-acoustic masterpiece that introduces a brave new talent.

Lucas Santtana - Super Violão Mashup

DOWNLOAD NOW FROM: Bandcamp: http://bit.ly/1UV4vc8 // iTunes: http://apple.co/1UyIL5F 

ELZA SOARES is A mulher do fim do mundo - The woman at the end of the world.

The title track from her forthcoming album is a sweeping, psychedelic-samba that pictures Elza as the lone woman at the apocalypse, singing as the world ends around her.

Romulo Froes wrote the track for Elza “so it could translate her strength and indestructibility. It is Elza who will continue to sing until the end of time - as if the last sound heard on earth were her voice."

As a black, working-class, single mother who overcame poverty, racism, sexism and countless personal tragedies to become one of Brazil's greatest samba singers Elza is an icon in Brazil, especially for the country's repressed black, female, gay and working class populations.

She is the singer who cries out against racial, gender and sexual discrimination and with THE WOMAN AT THE END OF THE WORLD she has delivered her most potent, call-to-arms yet. “Music is protest", says Elza. "While there are still black people taking a beating we will have music to make”.

THE WOMAN AT THE END OF THE WORLD is released on LP/ CD/ DL/ STREAM JUNE 10 2016


Buy Album

ELZA SOARES - Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo

Taken from BANZEIRO available on LP /CD /DL via: https://donaonete.bandcamp.com/album/banzeiro & STREAMING

‘Remarkable… an engagingly commanding and feisty singer’ The Guardian

Dona Onete - ‘the grande dame of Amazonian song’ - returns with further tales from the river Amazon on her sophomore album Banzeiro.

Whether she’s championing gay rights, singing about the delights of indecent proposals or praising a former lover for his ‘crazy ways of making love’, Banzeiro is defined by Onete’s honest reflections on life, love, sex as well as her delight in the everyday pleasures of life in the Amazon, whether that’s spicy seasoning, salty kisses or fishy-smelling water.

Formerly a history teacher, folklore researcher, union representative, culture secretary and children’s author - “I never thought I would be a singer” she claims - Onete recorded her debut album Feitiço Caboclo at 73. A cult figure in Brazil and an ambassador for Amazonian culture, the music she sings is a unique mix of rhythms from native Brazilians, African slaves and the Caribbean - epitomised in the joyous carimbós that are her trademark.

Born in the Amazonian region of Pará in 1938, Onete is a mix of native Indian from her mother’s side and African from her father. She first started to sing after a chance riverside encounter: “I was washing clothes by the river and one day I saw a dolphin and sung for him. The next day I sang again, and two dolphins came, then a whole family!”.

A self-proclaimed “teenage-dreamer” who embraced music “because everything was forbidden by my parents”, by the age of 15 Onete was singing in bars, yet her musical ambitions were soon crushed: “I was married at 22 and when I tried to sing at home my husband didn’t like it so I had to stop”.

She became an ardent researcher of the rhythms, dances and traditions of the Amazon’s indigenous and black people, which inspired her to begin composing songs herself. Unable to sing at home, she began to incorporate her compositions in her work as a history teacher.

In the early eighties Onete quit teaching to campaign for workers’ rights and following retirement in 1990 she became a local Municipal Secretary of Culture. In the early 2000s Onete’s second husband encouraged her musical side and it was whilst singing at a friend’s party in 2006 that she was overheard by a local band. She joined them and soon became a local celebrity known for her risque lyrics. A debut album, Feitiço Caboclo, soon followed and her contemporary take on the music of Para was a critical success with Onete touring Brazil playing to crowds of thousands: “Traditional carimbo songs are about nature and tradition - I modernised it by singing about love and sex and taking influence from samba and pagode”.

International critics were next to fall for this sassy, saucy and sexy septuagenarian with Les Inrocks making the album one of their top 5 ‘world’ releases that year. European festival performances followed in 2015 - including a main stage spot at Womad UK - with a US tour taking in Chicago, Cleveland, and New York in September 2016. “Sometimes, when you think you’ve given all you’ve got, you realise that, in fact, you have a lot more ahead of you”, she opines.

Banzeiro is the wave that’s created as boats pass through the water and with it’s pulsating saxophone riff, insistent guitar line, thundering percussion and Onete’s charged lyrics the album title track, a banguê – raucous high-octane ‘Amazonian ska’ – is a musical tsunami. Onete is at her most potent on Na Linha do Arco Iris (The Line of the Rainbow), a rallying cry of support for her LGBT fans: “come out of the wardrobe, cross the line of the rainbow and be who you want to be”. Faceira and No Meio do Pitiú are joyous carimbós with the latter surely the only song to recount the charms of Pitiú - the fishy-smelling water that floods Belém’s legendary fish-market Ver-o-Peso as the ice defrosts.

DONA ONETE No Meio Do Pitiú

'Bathroom Sex' is a gnarly baile-house banger EXCLUSIVE to the limited edition REAL RIO 2CD compilation charting Rio de Janeiro's contemporary alternative & electronic music scene.

BUY/STREAM/DL all 30 tracks here: mais-um-discos.lnk.to/RealRio

MORE INFO ON REAL RIO:
‘Highlights just how unusual modern contemporary Brazilian music can be’ 4/5 ★★★★ THE TIMES
"A really great compilation . . . loads of really weird, offbeat stuff" GILLES PETERSON

Real Rio was compiled by Chico Dub, the curator of Rio de Janeiro’s acclaimed experimental music festival Novas Frequências: “The aim is to showcase the best of the independent music scene from Rio: rock, noise, house, drone, new styles of baile funk, afrobeat, pop. We want to dispel the myth of a city dominated by easy listening bossa nova and show just how broad Rio's sound palette is”.

Disc one introduces artists such as Ava Rocha, Ricardo Dias Gomes, Negro Leo and Meia Banda who are creating national awareness of Rio’s lo-fi alternative scene, whilst B Negão, Abayomy Afrobeat Orchestra and André Sampaio are at the forefront of a local Afro-influenced movement whilst veteran artists Elza Soares and Arto Lindsay bringing elements of these scenes into the Brazilian music mainstream.

On disc two Ceticências, Superficie and Erica Alves represent Rio’s evolving downbeat electronic scene whilst Leo Justi, Marginal Men and Woo create twisted new club sounds influenced by baile funk and Cadu Tenorio, Bemonio and Chelpa Ferro push local experimental music into unexpected directions limits.

Real Rio (rock, pop, noise and electronic music from Rio de Janeiro, compiled by Chico Dub)

Leo Justi - Bathroom Sex

ELZA SOARES 'Pra Fuder' (Gilles Peterson & Simbad remix)

FULL ALBUM FEATURES REMIXES FROM LARAAJI, IZEM, DJ MARFOX, NIDIA MINAJ, OMULU, MARGINAL MEN & MORE. BUY: goo.gl/M7ejUU

Taken from ELZA SOARES' forthcoming 'END OF THE WOLD REMIXES' album, DJ, broadcaster, label owner & ELZA’s biggest fan Gilles Peterson teams up with Simbad to turn Pra Fuder into an Afrobeat-tinged percussive monster. 

Said Gilles: “I played the album cut all 2016 and so needed a new version for this summer! An honour to work once again with my queen of grimy samba”. 

Mixing rock ‘n’ roll, free-jazz, noise and electronics ELZA's 'The woman at the end of the world' was ripe for remixing so MAIS UM DISCOS reached out to Principe Discos’ DJ Marfox & Nidia Minaj, Soundway Records’ iZem, NY ambient guru Laraaji & others to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers - and 2 legends from NY and LDN – take ELZA’s music into new dimensions.

ELZA SOARES returns in 2017 with a summer tour that includes appearances at Primavera Barcelona & Porto and Roskilde plus 2 New York shows (Red Bull Festival & Central Park SummerStage). FULL TOUR DETAILS: www.songkick.com/artists/561659-elza-soares

ELZA SOARES Pra Fuder (Gilles Peterson & Simbad remix)

ELZA SOARES 'Mulher do fim do mundo' (OMULU remix)

FULL ALBUM FEATURES REMIXES FROM GILLES PETERSON & SIMBAD, LARAAJI, IZEM, DJ MARFOX, NIDIA MINAJ, OMULU, MARGINAL MEN & MORE - RELEASED 30 JUNE 2017 - INFO: https://goo.gl/M7ejUU

Taken from ELZA SOARES' forthcoming 'END OF THE WOLD REMIXES' album, Rio de Janeiro bass-head OMULU adds shards of funk-carioca to 'Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo', the anthemic title track from ELZA SOARES acclaimed recent album.

OMULU's remix is a respectful update that according to him: "preserves the original mood of the song, mixing it with funk beats from São Paulo - jongo and pagoda - and heavy basses from the 808”.

Mixing rock ‘n’ roll, free-jazz, noise and electronics ELZA's 'The woman at the end of the world' was ripe for remixing so MAIS UM DISCOS reached out to Gilles Peterson & Simbad, Principe Discos’ DJ Marfox & Nidia Minaj, Soundway Records’ iZem, NY ambient guru Laraaji & others to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers - and 2 legends from NY and LDN – take ELZA’s music into new dimensions.

ELZA SOARES returns in 2017 with a summer tour that includes appearances at Primavera Barcelona & Porto and Roskilde plus 2 New York shows (Red Bull Festival & Central Park SummerStage). FULL TOUR DETAILS: http://www.songkick.com/artists/561659-elza-soares

ELZA SOARES Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo (Omulu remix)

FULL ALBUM FEATURES REMIXES FROM GILLES PETERSON & SIMBAD, LARAAJI, IZEM, DJ MARFOX, NIDIA MINAJ, OMULU, MARGINAL MEN & MORE - RELEASED 30 JUNE 2017 - PRE-ORDER: goo.gl/M7ejUU

Taken from ELZA SOARES' forthcoming 'END OF THE WOLD REMIXES' album, Psilosamples joins forces with Érica Alves to turn Luz Vermelha into a grinding-house monster.

Mixing rock ‘n’ roll, free-jazz, noise and electronics ELZA's 'The woman at the end of the world' was ripe for remixing so MAIS UM DISCOS reached out to Principe Discos’ DJ Marfox & Nidia Minaj, Soundway Records’ iZem, NY ambient guru Laraaji & others to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers - and 2 legends from NY and LDN – take ELZA’s music into new dimensions.

ELZA SOARES returns in 2017 with a summer tour that includes appearances at Primavera Barcelona & Porto and Roskilde plus 2 New York shows (Red Bull Festival & Central Park SummerStage). FULL TOUR DETAILS: www.songkick.com/artists/561659-elza-soares

ELZA SOARES Luz Vermelha (Psilosamples ft Érica Alves remix)

ELZA SOARES - Firmeza (Badsista & Marginal Men Remix)

FULL ALBUM FEATURES REMIXES FROM LARAAJI, GILLES PETERSON, SIMBAD, IZEM, DJ MARFOX, NIDIA MINAJ, OMULU, MARGINAL MEN & MORE. 
BUY: goo.gl/M7ejUU

Mixing rock ‘n’ roll, free-jazz, noise and electronics ELZA's 'The woman at the end of the world' was ripe for remixing so MAIS UM DISCOS reached out to Principe Discos’ DJ Marfox & Nidia Minaj, Soundway Records’ iZem, NY ambient guru Laraaji & others to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers - and 2 legends from NY and LDN – take ELZA’s music into new dimensions.

ELZA SOARES - Firmeza (Badsista & Marginal Men Remix) [CLIP]

ELZA SOARES - Maria Da Vila Matilde (DJ Marfox Remix)

FULL ALBUM FEATURES REMIXES FROM LARAAJI, GILLES PETERSON, SIMBAD, IZEM, DJ MARFOX, NIDIA MINAJ, OMULU, MARGINAL MEN & MORE. 
BUY: goo.gl/M7ejUU

Mixing rock ‘n’ roll, free-jazz, noise and electronics ELZA's 'The woman at the end of the world' was ripe for remixing so MAIS UM DISCOS reached out to Principe Discos’ DJ Marfox & Nidia Minaj, Soundway Records’ iZem, NY ambient guru Laraaji & others to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers - and 2 legends from NY and LDN – take ELZA’s music into new dimensions.

ELZA SOARES - Maria Da Vila Matilde (DJ Marfox Remix) [CLIP]

Lucas Santtana follows his highly acclaimed album ‘Sem Nostalgia’ with a remix album featuring interpretations from Optimo’s JD Twitch, Deerhoof’s John Dieterich, Burnt Friedman, Joao Brasil, M. Takara 3 and more. 

FREE download available from Bandcamp: http://bit.ly/15Vf5Jf

"State of the art Brazilian pop, delivered with winningly understated charm." Sunday Times
"Beck meets Tom Ze in Brazilian's brilliant first." Uncut
"Rare, original, brilliant." Drowned In Sound

Lucas Santtana exploded onto the international scene with 2011’s critically acclaimed ‘Sem Nostalgia’, an album of textured electro-acoustica crafted from voices, guitars and ambient sound. Whilst Lucas expanded the sonic possibilities of the simple ingredients featured on ‘Sem Nostalgia’, so ‘Remix Nostalgia’ sees these songs forced further into eclectic new territories – glitch, hip-hop, ambient and deep house. 

Highlights include Sao Paulo’s M. Takara 3, Berlin’s Burnt Friedman and San Fran’s Deerhoof splintering the originals into glitchy, pulsating bass heavy monsters. Joao Brasil turns Lucas’s rousing ‘Who can say which way’ into an old school funk-carioca banger whilst Optimo’s JD Twitch morphs ‘Cira Regina E Nana’ into an epic organ-heavy ambient groove. Tosca adds the same vocals to a completely new production of deep swooshing house. 

‘Remix Nostalgia’ precedes Lucas’s fifth album “The God who devastates also cures”, a technicolour masterpiece of international alt-pop featuring bubbling electro-rock, soaring symphonic ballads, stuttering Amazonian-reggaeton and horn-led ska which is due for release autumn 2012. 

Lucas Santtana - Night Time In The Backyard (Deerhoof's John Dieterich Remix) - FREE DOWNLOAD

Minyo Crusaders rework historic Japanese folk songs (min'yō) with Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian rhythms and Kushimoto Bushi is a cumbia with a difference and the first single from their debut album “Echoes of Japan”, released 26 April on Mais Um.

With fans as diverse as Ry Cooder, Frente Cumbiero and Clap! Clap!, “Echoes of Japan” marks the arrival of a powerhouse ten-piece to rival any funk big band where the distinctive min'yō vocalisation of singer Freddie Tsukamoto glide over grooves that join the dots between cumbia, Ethiopian jazz, Thai pop, Afro funk and reggae.

“For Japanese people, min'yō is both the closest, and most distant, folk music” explains band-leader Katsumi Tanaka: “We may not feel it in our daily, urban lives, yet the melodies, the style of singing and the rhythm of the taiko drums are engrained in our DNA”.

Initially indifferent to min'yō, a tragic event in recent Japanese history set Tanaka on his current path: “Following the Tohoku earthquake of 2011, like many Japanese, I reflected on my life, work and identity. A fan of world music, I began searching for Japanese roots music I could identify with. Discovering mid-late 20th century acts Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and the Tokyo Cuban Boys, I was captivated by their eccentric arrangements and how they mixed min'yō with Latin and jazz.” Freddie fell for min'yō after hearing a song from his hometown on a TV competition whilst in a restaurant. It was a revelation - up till then he had been an aspiring jazz singer yet was uncomfortable singing in a foreign language. The restaurateur told him a min'yō teacher was his neighbour, and the rest is history.

2LP / CD: https://maisumdiscos.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-of-japan

Minyo Crusaders - Kushimoto Bushi

Dona Onete returns with new single Festa do Tubarão - Shark Party - as a digital single and extended six-minute video that takes the viewer on a wild ride through her hometown of Belem (WATCH IT HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmNffJJS2Y)

Off her lastest album Rebujo, Festa do Tubarão tells the story of a shark who swims into Belem’s Guajará Bay to party, unfazed by the legend of the “Boiúna” - the giant snake who lives in the river, or the local piranha and traira fish.

Dona Onete - Festa Do Tubarão

ORDER 12" HERE: minyocrusaders.bandcamp.com/album/minyo…yo-cumbiero

*** One million streams for the video for first single Cumbia Del Monte Fuji: bit.ly/3fn0X12 ***

Support also from BBC 6music, Radio 3, FIP, RFI, WNYC New Sounds, WFMU, KEXP, KCRW

Tokyo-based ten-piece and wild Japanese folk-song fusionists, Minyo Crusaders join forces with Colombian cumbia radicals Frente Cumbiero on Minyo Cumbiero, a collaborative release that fuses ancient Japanese folk songs with heavyweight Colombian styles.

Second single Tora Joe (Tiger Woman) is an ancient Japanese festival song given a Shangaan-electro style beat to become a 158bpm canival raver. Faster, harder and more aggressive than the debut single from the project - a reworking of the cumbia classic Cumbia Del Monte with Japanese vocals which has now been streamed over a million times – the differing styles of the two lead tracks shows the diversity of this EP. Other tracks are Mambonegro Daisakusen a chicha and salsa-styled boogaloo and Opekepe, the oldest traditional Japanese rap song here given a bubbling dancehall-reggaeton beat, rumbling dub FX and beguiling flute hook.

Recorded across two days in Bogota in August 2019 Minyo Cumbiero captures a thrilling exchange between two radical and triumphant groups. Japan and Colombia may be cultural opposites on different sides of the world, yet the countries are bursting at the seams musically and on this EP both groups stridently drive their respective music cultures and histories in exciting new directions with powerhouse horn sections, rippling dub basslines and rampant Afro-Latin polyrhythms creating carnival grooves, released here via London-based label, Mais Um.

For an uncompromisingly contemporary and inventive take on traditional Colombian cumbia, look no further than Frente Cumbiero. Headed by Colombian songwriter and producer Mario Galeano Toro (also a founding member of Ondatrópica and Los Pirañas), the Bogota-based crew have spearheaded Colombia’s thriving new-look cumbia movement for well over a decade, fusing cumbia rhythms and bass weight electronics with releases featuring collaborations with the legendary London-based dub producer, Mad Professor and US-based Kronos Quartet.

Following the release of their acclaimed debut album, Echoes of Japan in 2019, Minyo Crusaders - or MinCru as their Japanese fans know them as – have won-over a global audience with their unique take on Japanese folk music. A debut debut European tour in 2019 saw main-stage performances at Le Guess Who and Transmusicales and was soon followed by shows at WOMADelaide and WOMAD New Zealand in early 2020 that saw audiences intoxicated by their mix of traditional Japanese folk songs (min’yō) and Afro-funk, Thai pop, Ethio-jazz and reggae. Fronted by singers “Freddy” Tsukamoto (his nickname comes from his hero, Freddie Mercury) and Megu, with guitarist and bandleader Katsumi Tanaka, the members of the ten-piece are drawn from Tokyo’s vibrant and diverse jazz and Afro-Latin scenes.

Minyo Crusaders + Frente Cumbiero - Tora Joe

ORDER 12" HERE: minyocrusaders.bandcamp.com/album/minyo…yo-cumbiero

Tokyo-based ten-piece and wild Japanese folk-song fusionists, Minyo Crusaders join forces with Colombian cumbia radicals Frente Cumbiero on a collaborative EP that fuses ancient Japanese folk songs with heavyweight Colombian styles.

First single Cumbia Del Monte Fuji is a reworking of Pedro Laza’s classic version of Pascual Rovira’s Cumbia Del Monte, where triumphant horns ride over a cumbia rhythm that shoots skywards when Megu’s vocals drop. The full EP contains 4 tracks and will be released 31st July 2020.

Recorded across two days in Bogota in August 2019 Minyo Cumbiero captures a thrilling exchange between two radical and triumphant groups. Japan and Colombia may be cultural opposites on different sides of the world, yet the countries are bursting at the seams musically and on this EP both groups stridently drive their respective music cultures and histories in exciting new directions with powerhouse horn sections, rippling dub basslines and rampant Afro-Latin polyrhythms creating carnival grooves, released here via London-based label, Mais Um.

For an uncompromisingly contemporary and inventive take on traditional Colombian cumbia, look no further than Frente Cumbiero. Headed by Colombian songwriter and producer Mario Galeano Toro (also a founding member of Ondatrópica and Los Pirañas), the Bogota-based crew have spearheaded Colombia’s thriving new-look cumbia movement for well over a decade, fusing cumbia rhythms and bass weight electronics with releases featuring collaborations with the legendary London-based dub producer, Mad Professor and US-based Kronos Quartet.

Following the release of their acclaimed debut album, Echoes of Japan in 2019, Minyo Crusaders - or MinCru as their Japanese fans know them as – have won-over a global audience with their unique take on Japanese folk music. A debut debut European tour in 2019 saw main-stage performances at Le Guess Who and Transmusicales and was soon followed by shows at WOMADelaide and WOMAD New Zealand in early 2020 that saw audiences intoxicated by their mix of traditional Japanese folk songs (min’yō) and Afro-funk, Thai pop, Ethio-jazz and reggae. Fronted by singers “Freddy” Tsukamoto (his nickname comes from his hero, Freddie Mercury) and Megu, with guitarist and bandleader Katsumi Tanaka, the members of the ten-piece are drawn from Tokyo’s vibrant and diverse jazz and Afro-Latin scenes.

Having met in 2018 at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival Mario invited Minyo Crusaders to Bogota in 2019 to perform at a local festival and record this EP. “I was really amazed how well they put together these ancient songs from Japan with Caribbean rhythms” says Mario. “You can really tell the high sensibility they have for being able to hear what are the meeting points between different vocal traditions, African, Latin American styles: they were fearless in trying to take this forward. It was also great to find tropical souls in Japan and see how much we have in common musically”. Katsumi from Minyo Crusaders adds: “Putting this record together with Frente Cumbiero was very exciting. We recorded over 2 days. The 1st day we ate. The 2nd day we recorded. It was a really nice atmosphere - a true cultural fusion. Now we are family”.

“This was one of the best recording sessions we have had. Everyone was so happy and uplifted. The microphones captured not just the sound, but the vibes of the people and the energy. This is why when you listen to these tracks, you feel that positivity and power”, adds Mario.

BUY FROM BANDCAMP

Minyo Crusaders + Frente Cumbiero - Cumbia del Monte Fuji

Howie Lee - Island Birdy
Taken from the album Birdy Island, out now
LP/CD/Digital - Mais Um (MAIS042)

"At once fine-grained and expansive, Lee’s work combines traditional Chinese music and historical references with wild electronic experimentation" 
7.6 in PITCHFORK 
"Birdy Island is Lee's most organic work" RESIDENT ADVISOR
Swirling layers of OST-style sound design, dreamy choir vocals and traditional Chinese folk combine across eight dynamic and transportive tracks on Birdy Island, the latest album by Beijing-based producer/artist, Howie Lee, due out in April 2021 on Mais Um. 

Howie’s latest offering is as enchanting as it is boundlessly imaginative. “I’ve always had this concept in my mind about making an album based around an island”. Loosely based around Lee’s own long-formed concept of a floating Sicilian theme park, co-inhabited by both birds and ancestral spirits, Howie remarks: "Birdy Island to me is a palace in the clouds and the birds are worshipped like Gods. Not like a western God though.” Reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s Laputa (in the 1986 film Castle In The Sky), Lee’s Birdy Island has been built by a Chinese investment company seeking to re-sync our relationship with the spiritual and natural world after years of economic collapse and degradation, and who invite Howie to compose the park’s soundtrack. 

On the album’s 2nd single Island Birdy, Lee’s intricate brand of traditional pan-asian exploration meet experimental bass weight sound resurfaces with stripped-back UK Grime sonics and ceremonial taoist music at it’s centrepiece, fusing to create a sound world like no other. Reminiscent of movie or video game soundtracks of decades previous, Island Birdy feels intimate, yet refreshingly unfamiliar. 

From Daoist scripture to 1970s martial arts-themed wuxia novels, Howie’s myriad strands of musical and visual output have often enveloped themes circling modern and ancient Chinese history. Lee’s Socialism Core Value EP series and the dystopian-horror 3D animation for 2017 single Bankers (created and directed by Howie himself), as well as his work with visual artist and video game designer, Teom Chen (the pair have gone on to tour their collaborations across China as part of Lee’s live show), offer a glimpse into the broad social and cultural questions intrinsically entwined throughout his discography.  

Arranged and mixed by Howie Lee
All instruments by Howie Lee (keyboard & prepared piano, yang qin, guitar, bass, drums. percussion, accordion, flute, guan zi + digital instruments)
Choir vocals by Howie Lee, Yehaiyahan, Fishdoll and West by West
Artwork by Coldass @coldass.zhou

www.maisumdiscos.com
www.maisumdiscos.bandcamp.com

Howie Lee - 岛鸟（Island Birdy) [2nd Single - Taken from the album 'Birdy Island', out now]

Howie Lee - Birdy Island
Taken from the album Birdy Island, out now
LP/CD/Digital - Mais Um (MAIS042)

"At once fine-grained and expansive, Lee’s work combines traditional Chinese music and historical references with wild electronic experimentation" 
7.6 in PITCHFORK 
"Birdy Island is Lee's most organic work" RESIDENT ADVISOR

Swirling layers of OST-style sound design, dreamy choir vocals and traditional Chinese folk combine across eight dynamic and transportive tracks on Birdy Island, the latest album by Beijing-based producer/artist, Howie Lee, due out in April 2021 on Mais Um.

Fresh off the back of several high impact, club-centring album releases on Maloca, SVBKVLT and his influential, Do Hits label, on top of remixes for artists including Lawfawndah, Charlie XCX & Sophie, Lee presents his most organic and expansive project to date.

Written, produced and recorded entirely by Lee at the back end of 2018 (with the exception of the album’s resident four-piece choir made up of rising Beijing artist, Fishdoll, Shanghai singer/producer, Yehaiyahan and West by West, with Lee himself also included), Birdy Island’s almost exclusively acoustic yet broad sound palette threads continuities between ceremonial Taoist music, early Buchla synth experiments, and FWD>> nights at London’s Plastic People.

“This album just came very natural. It was all recorded little by little. Layer upon layer. The approach was to just record. I had all these instruments around me and I just thought, i’m gonna play and keep playing”.

Howie’s latest offering is as enchanting as it is boundlessly imaginative. “I’ve always had this concept in my mind about making an album based around an island”. Loosely based around Lee’s own long-formed concept of a floating Sicilian theme park, co-inhabited by both birds and ancestral spirits, Howie remarks: "Birdy Island to me is a palace in the clouds and the birds are worshipped like Gods. Not like a western God though.” Reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s Laputa (in the 1986 film Castle In The Sky), Lee’s Birdy Island has been built by a Chinese investment company seeking to re-sync our relationship with the spiritual and natural world after years of economic collapse and degradation, and who invite Howie to compose the park’s soundtrack. Inside Birdy Island’s 30-minute gallery of collaged sound, Lee draws on a wide history of traditional pan-Asian music, filtered through his unique lens of contemporary electronic production.

From playful percussion to child-like wonderment, the album title track and first single off Birdy Island combines Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith-esque synths with rattling bells and AI-manipulated birdsong to saintly effect, with Lee’s four-piece choir invoking an almost devotional chant, accompanying Lee's ethereal and bright production.

Arranged and mixed by Howie Lee
All instruments by Howie Lee (keyboard & prepared piano, yang qin, guitar, bass, drums. percussion, accordion, flute, guan zi + digital instruments)
Choir vocals by Howie Lee, Yehaiyahan, Fishdoll and West by West
Artwork by Coldass 
Design by Tristan Manco 

www.maisumdiscos.com
www.maisumdiscos.bandcamp.com

Howie Lee - 鸟岛(Birdy Island) [Taken from the album 'Birdy Island', out now]

Label a&r by Lewis Robinson (INSTA @lewisrobinsonMU)

Mais Um

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