In a world of supposed crossover Brazilian projects that have mostly lost their roots, the music of Bebel Gilberto is surprisingly refreshing! This daughter of Joao Gilberto (not Astrud) sings in a manner that's in keeping with the classic bossa divas of years past – but she works here in adventurous collaborations with the likes of Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, Suba, and Smoke City, which makes for a mixture of styles that freshens up the bossa considerably. Titles include a remake of "So Nice (Summer Samba)", plus "Samba Da Bencao", "Lonely", "Tanto Tempo", "Bananeira", and "Sem Contencao". CD

A wonderful tribute to Suba – the underground electronician who's had such a strong effect on the sound of Brazilian grooves over the past decade or so. Suba's lifetime journey – from Yugoslavia, to Paris, to Brazil – left him with a wealth of cultural influences, and at the time of his early death in 1999, he was just beginning to realize his full potential. You'll get a good idea of how much he had to offer on this album – which brings together the 2 surviving tracks from his last album with a host of other collaborations, and "tribute" tracks recorded for him by other artists. The groove is light and breezy – better than most other recent projects of this nature – and titles include "Voce Gosta mix" by Phil Asher, "Nightly Sins" by Joao Parahyba, "Tantos Desejos mix" by Modern Quartet & Cibelle, "Segredo Remake" by Boyz From Brazil, "Felicidade Mix" by Buscemi, "Sereia, Amor D'Agua' by Cibelle, "Future Primitivo 1, 2, & 3" by Suba & Joao Parahyba, "Lagoa Pinheiros" by Suba & Marina Lima, and "Samba Do Gringo Paulista" by Bigga Bush. CD

Remixes by DJ Spinna, Nuspirit Helsinki, Spiritual South, Tom Middleton, Thievery Corporation, Grant Nelson, Telfon Tel Aviv, and more. CD

The brilliant follow up to the first Congotronics album – and a set that goes even deeper than the initial groundbreaking work by Konono! This album follows in a very similar spirit to Konono's Congotronics set – and like that one, focuses on musicians with a unique electro/acoustic approach to African rhythms! Groups on the set all hail from the Kinshasa scene, like Konono, they retro-fit older styles with homemade amplification – in a way that electrifies the grooves, but often with a sound that's highly distorted – creating great fuzzy tones and noises alongside the rhythms! Konono appear on one track in the set, but the real strength comes from these other groups working in a similar mode – as they bring new instruments, sounds, and modes of expression to the format – showing that the style is not just a happy accident, but a powerful new wave of music from the urban African scene! Titles include "Mulume" by Basokin, "Bosamba Ndeke" by Bolia We Ndenge, "Kiwembo" by Sobanza Mimanisa, "Wa Muluendu" by Masanka Sakayia & Kasai Allstars, "Soif Conjugale" by Kisanzi Congo, "La Laboureur" by Masanka Sakai, "Koyile/Nyeka Nyeka" by Kasai Allstars, and "TP Coleur Cafe" by Konono No 1. CD

Bebel's second album for Six Degrees – and quite possibly an even better album than the first! Not one to rest on the laurels of her success of recent years, Bebel seems to diverge a bit from the sound of her initial hit – going for a deeper approach to songwriting, and a musical style that shows she's got a lot more to offer than just bossa remix-styled vocals! The album kicks off with a wonderful take on Os Mutantes' English reading of the Tropicalia classic "Baby" – then rolls into a sweetly laidback set of tracks that borrow a lot from the bossa, but which also have some extremely personal songwriting touches. Overall, there's less beats and more natural instrumentation than before – and the album feautres guest work by Joao Donato and Carlinhos Brown, as well as some great use of strings! Titles include "Winter", "O Caminho", "Ceu Distante", "Next To You", "All Around", "River Song", "Every Day You've Been Away", and "Simplesmente". CD

Bebel Gilberto's certainly one to keep her public waiting in the space between each new record – but she always makes the wait worthwhile by coming up with something new! The sound here is again something different than her previous two albums – somewhat electric, but also fairly acoustic as well – even more mature than before, and not as easily given to simple tricks or flourishes – which is a very good thing in our book! One track was done in collaboration with Kassin, with backings by Orquestra Imperial – and other titles feature contributions from Sabina Sciubba, Didi Gutman, Masa Shimizu, and Guy Sigsworth. Titles include "Tranquilo", "Night & Day", "Um Segundo", "Cade Voce", "Words", "Azul", and "Os Novos Yorkinos". CD