Narradores De Javé Remix

The group of Brazilian producers and electronica artists called Instituto this time paired up with the Pernambucan electronica artist DJ Dolores to record the album Narradores de Javé, which was also the soundtrack to a movie with the same name. As is usual when Instituto are involved, several guest artists drawn from the Brazilian hip-hop and electronica scenes were invited to add their personal touches to the music. The result is a very appealing mixture of mighty hip-hop beats, electronic grooves, and Pernambucan folk music, creating a fresh and exotic (in the positive sense of the word) soundscape. Most of the tracks are purely instrumental and a couple of them deserve extra mention. There is “A História Oficiá,” where rapper BNegão makes a stylish contribution, and the elegant and suggestive “Mulheres de Novo.” Other particularly inspired tracks are “Turco Torto,” with its nervous rabeca violin, the mix of heavy beats and accordion on “Mais Enchente,” the mildly ironic “Liri Sista,” featuring vocals by Lurdez Luz and the goofy yet intense electronics of “O Ralo Matou a Represa” and “Delírio.” As you might expect from some of Brazil’s best producers, the sound is all very slick, crisp, and luxurious. This album is not the masterpiece that was Instituto’s own Colecao Nacional (National Collective) release from a couple of years earlier, but Narradores de Javé could be described as an excellently produced, very interesting and highly enjoyable bagatelle. – Philip Jandovský