Bebel Gilberto, daughter of the legendary Joao Gilberto (who alongside Vinicius De Moraes and Tom Jobim 'invented' bossa nova) and renowned vocalist Miucha, made a big splash with her debut LP Tanto Tempo last year.
With it's sophisticated updating of bossa styles, subtle use of electronic elements (courtesy of Mario Caldato Jr and Amon Tobin among others) and of course Bebel's bright, soaring vocals, it hit the spot with lovers of downtempo sounds and Brazilian music.
Here Bebel has realised the electronic potential of her music more fully with the help of a group of producers well known for their Brazilophilia. Truby Trio, Chateau Flight, Peter Kruder, Faze Action, 4 Hero, Da Lata, King Britt and Chari Chari all regularly wear their Latin influences on their sleeve and here they deliver pretty much what is expected of them.
There's a few surprises like Rae and Christian who turn in the hip hop charm to create a rawer version of 'Bananeira'. Chateau Flight step with a nicely contrastive soft focus tech-version of 'August Day Song'. Monoaural apply some interesting dubwise electronica techniques to 'Mais Feliz', and Mario Caldato Jr keeps the bossa-style romance and optimism alive in his gently bubbling mix of 'So Nice' (a track he originally produced on the album).
But most people here turn in the kind of mix you'd expect and the strength of the original songs and the leftward perspective and talent of the artists involved has ensured that this is a complimentary upbeat companion LP to the original.
