Céu - Vagarosa 2009

Céu's second album, arriving four years after her debut, finds her sticking to the style that brought her to the attention of the world music and hipster-lounge communities. She's still mixing the relaxed grooves of her native Brazil with those of downtempo/trip-hop acts like Thievery Corporation; still throwing in surprisingly capable reggae grooves "("Cangote," the first full song on this CD, boasts a deep dub bassline and some extremely haunting organ); and still multi-tracking her vocals into a conversation. It's a lilting yet heady blend that she pulls off with an utter confidence that's fascinating in such a young artist. Brazilian music has an innate lightness that Céu engages with on basically a molecular level. Her songs flirt with a Tom Waits-like clatter sometimes, but always resolve themselves into drifting bliss. Her psychedelic take on Jorge Ben's "Rosa Menina Rosa," the only song on Vagarosa she didn't write, works itself into a whirling storm of reverb and phasing effects, yet never loses its essential breeziness even as the throbbing bassline heads nearly into "Journey to the Center of the Mind" territory. Computer-generated vinyl crackle turns up on the album intro, as well as "Somnambulão" ("Sleepwalking"), the most ordinary song on the album and one which almost lives up to its title, though some dubwise melodica livens things up. The last track, "Espaçonave," throws in field recordings of rain forest creatures and multi-tracked vocals alongside fuzzed-out guitar, creating a feel reminiscent of the work of similarly brilliant Mexican art-pop princess Natalia Lafourcade. This is an extremely impressive, assured album well worth a listener's time, whether one speaks Portuguese or not. AMG.

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CéU - CéU 2005

CéU's debut album -- originally released by Urban Jungle Records in Brazil in 2005 and reissued two years later in the U.S. by Six Degrees in conjunction with Starbucks -- is a lush blend of African-rooted North and South American music styles (MPB, samba, soul, jazz, Afrobeat, reggae) with cutting-edge contemporary production techniques. The radiant São Paulo vocalist is no doubt the star of this show, as she writes her own songs as well as sings them. The formative span of time she spent in New York City, where she found a rich array of influences, from classic jazz (Billie Holiday) and contemporary soul (Lauryn Hill) to hip-hop and electronica, greatly inform her music here. From song to song, CéU sings in a number of respective fashions, often channeling her influences. Her reverent cover of "Concrete Jungle" is the most overt instance of this, as she channels the spirit of Bob Marley for three-and-a-half minutes and does so quite convincingly. So while CéU may be the star of the show here, with her clear talent and varied wardrobe of influences, producer Beto Villares is the X-factor. He produces all but one of the 15 songs ("Ave Cruz" is the fine work of Antoñio Pinto), and he brings the songs to life in such a way that their blend of traditional music styles is melded tastefully, if not downright perfectly, with present-day advances in technology. He ensures that every song here has a prominent rhythm, even if it's a gentle soul groove or a jazzy lilt, even if that means he has to play the bassline himself (and in some cases he does, according to the revealing track-by-track credits). Practically every song features real percussion and bass playing (i.e., no programming, except on "Roda" and "Ave Cruz" -- each outstanding), as well as frequent acoustic guitar, all of which gives the album an organic earthiness that most so-called worldbeat albums lack, not to mention the productions of globally appropriating downtempo electronica acts like Thievery Corporation. Yet at the same time, Villares makes frequent use of studio effects, multi-tracking especially, and moves the percussion and bass to the forefront of the mix, and he also incorporates the turntablism of DJ Marco on most tracks. So even if the music of CéU is earthy and, for the most part, actually hand-played rather than programmed, it's just as contemporary in technique and style as that of Thievery Corporation, to again reference one of the most impressive concurrent downtempo electronica acts. CéU consequently fits in well with fellow cutting-edge female Brazilian artists such as Cibelle, Bebel Gilberto, and Marisa Monte who straddle classic as well as contemporary styles of music, and while each of these women is thankfully unique in her own wonderful way, they as a group represent what seems to be a growing, forward-looking Brazilian music movement whose appeal is increasingly global in its reach. This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Contemporary World Music Album. AMG.

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Céu - Caravana Sereia Bloom 2012

Caravana Sereia Bloom, the third album in seven years from Brazilian singer and songwriter Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças (aka Céu), sounds dramatically different than the breezy, electronically washed 21st century bossa and samba of her previous offerings. Both earlier efforts were influenced by the electronic music of Thievery Corporation, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and even Röyksopp, as well as the classic era of jazzy bossa and samba. Working with producer Gui Amabis, Caravana Sereia Bloom is a much more expansive and ambitious recording. Born from ideas incurred during an extended road trip through her native country, from São Paulo to the nation's northeastern region, and the inspiration of the road movie Bye Bye Brazil, it reflects -- musically -- much of what she heard in her travels, and has more in common with the ambitious, experimental spirit of the tropicalia era without being self-conscious. While Caravana Sereia Bloom is easily the most stripped-down record she's cut, it is also her most contemporary. Céu and Amabis employ programming and electronic sounds throughout; the emphasis here is on guitars, basses, drums, keyboards from synths to Wurlitzer, reeds, winds, and brass. No two tracks seem to come from the same root universe, but all reflect the fleeting sensations of life on the road. The funky carnivalesque jazz samba in opener "Falta de Ar" contrasts mightily with the neo-psychedelic surf guitar chicha of "Amor de Antigos." The ska-inflected cumbia of "Asfalto e Sal," with its bass drums, flutes, and hypnotic bassline, is an album highlight. "Contravento" is a rhythm collision of samba, lambada, and cumbia. It's among the most driving tracks here and colored beautifully by a multi-tracked tenor sax, B-3, percussion loops, drums, a taut bassline, and pulsing guitars. "You Won't Regret It," one of three English-language tracks here, is a cover of a vintage rocksteady tune featuring gorgeously layered vocals, trumpet, flügelhorn, sampled tuba, and grand rhythmic interplay. "Baile de Ilusão" melds 21st century brega and cumbia in a heady, sensual mix with a lovely melodic frame. "Fffree" is an abstract, completely solo tune, on which Céu plays organ, guitar, and bass and sings a brief, airy poem about the liberating quality of rootlessness. The 13 tracks on Caravana Sereia Bloom reveal an artist who is pushing the envelope of MPB, and is taking no prisoners in the process. AMG.
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