Late Nite Lounge Vol. 38 - Natalia Clavier

Late Nite Lounge series, it's been awhile.

A couple of weeks ago I went to see Thievery Corporation live at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. It was a smashing concert...I never tire of seeing them perform. And as is the case with all Thievery concerts I've seen to date, they brought along the lovely Natalia Clavier, the Argentine songstress so prominently featured in Federico Aubele's debut album (they're married) and the first female singer signed to Thievery's label. I spoke about her briefly on this space around the time I went to live in Buenos Aires for two months; she returns today to bring back the almost forgotten Late Nite Lounge series with two chilled, downtempo electronica tracks from her debut album, Nectar. Ay de Mi and La Mitad are what happens when Thievery's production meets Argentinian musicality.

Ay de Mi
La Mitad

Tive saudades tuas, Late Nite Lounge.

Umas semanas atrás tive a oportunidade de ver os Thievery Corporation ao vivo no Williamsburg Waterfront em Brooklyn. Foi um excelente concerto, como tem nos habituado os Thievery...nunca me canso de os ver ao vivo. Como tem sido o caso com todos os concertos dos Thievery que tenho visto, trouxeram com eles a argentiniana Natalia Clavier, cuja voz se faz sentir em todo álbum do Federico Aubele (são casados), e que tem a distinção de ser a primeira mulher que eles contrataram para o seu label. Falei sobre ela brevemente na altura que mudei-me para Buenos Aires por dois meses; ela volta hoje em grande para trazer de volta a quase esquecida série do Late Nite Lounge, com duas músicas chilled, downtempo e electronicas do seu primeiro álbum, Nectar. Ay de Mi e La Mitad é o que acontece quando os dotes productivos dos Thievery mistura com a musicalidade das terras do tango.

'Brazilian' Sounds From The Verve Hi-Fi

Sounds From The Verve Hi-Fi is a compilation album by DC DJ duo Eric Hilton and Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation fame. As with anything that Thievery ever touches, it's a fine piece of work and highlights some of the best Brazilian/Latin numbers from the legendary Verve Records vaults, which are teeming with quintessential, classic jazz music and the like. Verve was responsible for bringing bossa nova to the United States, with such records as the mythical Getz/Gilberto and Jazz Samba, the album that first gave America a taste of the sultry bossa genre. In effect, Verve is responsible for the bossa nova craze that sweeped America during the 60s and beyond. It was also responsible for introducing a certain Astrud Gilberto to the American public.

Included below for your aural enjoyment are two fairly rare jazz beauties. The first is an Astrud Gilberto cover of The Doors classic, Light My Fire. Hearing it sung evocatively by Miss Gilberto's beautifully smoky voice is as stunningly sexy as music gets. Menina Flor by Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa is another amazing track, and its saxophone lazily caressing the soft bossa nova beat gets me every single time. Press play and enjoy the beauty of when jazz first met samba and created bossa nova.

Light My Fire
Menina Flor

Sounds From The Verve Hi-Fi é uma compilação feita pelo duo Eric Hilton e Rob Garza, os DJs que constituem a dupla dos Thievery Corporation. Como sempre, tudo que os Thievery fazem vira ouro, e esta compilação não é excepção. A compilação destaca as melhores músicas brasileiras da já lendária label de jazz americano, a mítica Verve Records. Foi a Verve Records que trouxe a bossa nova para os Estados Unidos, por intermédio de dois albuns importantíssimos na divulgação da bossa nova pelo mundo: Getz/Gilberto e Jazz Samba, os dois lançados no ínicio dos anos 60. É a verve a responsável pela forma como a bossa nova foi aceite pelo público americano, que naquela época não queria outra coisa e que até hoje conhece profundamente a clássica canção The Girl From Ipanema. E foi assim que os americanos primeiro ficaram a saber e depois se apaixonaram por uma tal de Astrud Gilbero.

Para fazer os seus tímpanos chorar de emoção, basta clicar nas duas músicas destacadas acima. A primeira é um cover da famosa canção dos The Doors, Light My Fire, cantado pela Astrud Gilberto de uma forma sensual e ofegante. Ás vezes penso que música mais sensual que esta, voz mais ofegante que a dela, não existe. Menina Flor é a segunda, composta por Stan Getz e Luiz Bonfa. A maneira que o saxophone acaricia esta bossa é difícil de digerir. Carregue no play e aprecie a beleza do momento em que o jazz seduziu a samba e criou a bossa nova.

Sounds From The Verve Hi-Hi on Amazon

Thievery's Brazilian Passion, Part II: Pela Janela and Sol Tapado

Thievery’s love affair with Brazilian sounds and rhythms is a well-known facet of their music. Some of my favorite songs of theirs are sung entirely in Portuguese, such as Só Com Você featuring Bebel Gilberto. Others, like Air Batucada, Samba Tranquille, and Manhã,, focus on fusing popular Brazilian rhythms with electronica and dub rather than having Portuguese lyrics.

This DC duo continues to incorporate Lusophone harmonies and sounds in one of their most critically acclaimed albums, The Cosmic Game. This acid jazz-dub-reggae-samba fest has two songs in Portuguese, namely Sol Tapado and Pela Janela. Sol Tapado is actually sang by a Cape Verdean artist, a certain Patrick de Santos, who is a very popular and gifted singer in the Washington DC area, having won several musical awards there. A visit to his Myspace is a must. Pela Janela meanwhile is still a strictly Brazilian affair, featuring an underground singer from that country, Gigi Rezende. Both songs are back to back on the album and add a welcome Latin affair to the proceedings. Happy listening.

Pela Janela
Sol Tapado

O namoro entre os Thievery Corporation e a música e ritmos brasileiros não é de hoje. Algumas das minhas músicas preferidas deles são cantadas todas em português, tais como Só Com Você com a Bebel Gilberto. Outros, como Air Batucada, Samba Tranquille, e Manhã, fazem uso de ritmos brasileiros misturados com electrónica e dub, mas ou são instrumentais com ou são cantadas em outras línugas.

Este duo de DC, cidade onde eu vivo nos States quando não estou em Boston, continua a incorporar ritmos e influências lusófonas em Cosmic Game, um dos seus CDs mas bem recebidos pela critica e pelo público. É uma festa de acid jazz, dub, reggae, samba, enfim, o que os Thievery nos habituaram, e contem duas músicas em português. São elas Sol Tapado e Pela Janela. Sol Tapado é cantada por Patrick de Santos, um emigrante Caboverdeano que vive em DC e que lá nutre uma grande simpatia pelo público daquela cidade, tendo inclusive arrebatado vários prémios por lá. Já Pela Janela é cantada por uma cantora brasileira que não conheco, a Gigi Rezende. Os dois sons aparecem um atrás do outro no disco e dão-lhe um sabor lusófono.


Cosmic Game on Amazon

Thievery's Brazilian Passion

Sounds from The Thievery Hi-Fi was the Corporation's first album, and it's hard to believe it was released so long ago (1996). Like any great album, like any decent wine, like any real woman, it only gets better with age. One of the duo's greatest influence have been the sounds from Brazil, and both of them have confessed to being enamored to the great musical diversity of that country. Even in their first album, their passion for Brazilian music is evident. Manhã is a laid-back, unassuming, meandering chillout song that lazily plays it's way through time until a subtle breakbeat and congo drums wake it up towards its middle. Then there is Enconter in Bahia, a sweetly psychedelic, classic Brazilian-flavored, instrumental Thievery jam with a killer bassline. Enjoy with a cold, icy caipirinha and a comfy couch...

Manhã
Encounter in Bahia

Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi é o àlbum de estreia dos Thievery Corporation, e é díficil conceber que foi feito a tanto tempo (1996). Como qualquer àlbum a sério, como qualquer vinho de qualidade, como qualquer mulher de verdade, melhora com o tempo. Uma das maiores influências deste duo tem sido a paisagem musical brasileira, e os dois admitem que estão completamente apaixonados pelos sons e a energia daquele país irmão. Mesmo neste primeiro disco, ja se nota o namoro entre os Thievery e a música brasileira. Manhã é um ‘brinde’ relaxado, chill, refrescante, que caminha lentamente para o nada até que um toque subtil de breakbeat e batucadas acorda-lhe do sono, lá pelo meio da cancão. O Encounter in Bahia ja é mais mexido, mais ‘psychedelic’, o tipo de fusão electro-brasilieria de que os Thievery são peritos em fazer. O bassline desta música está excelente. Disfrute-o com uma caipirinha gelada e um cadeirão confortável, daqueles que nos chamam para sentarmos neles...

Late Nite Lounge Vol. 7: Une nuit avec les femmes fraçaises

Amanhã é a minha partida para Luanda.

Este pensamento não deixa com que outros passem pela minha cabeça. A ansiedade é muita, a expectativa é enorme, a saudade ainda maior. Enquanto faço as malas, tentando empurrar as encomendas da última hora como de costume (todo mundo que viaja pra Luanda recebe sempre aqueles telefonemas: Cláudio me traz só....!), tenho a minha playlist francesa a tocar, e uma sequencia sublime de canções fez me parar a meia-mala para escrever e partilhar estes tesouros com vocês.

A primeira canção que vos trago é da autoria dos Thievery Corporation, como não podia deixar de ser. Estes mágicos de Washington, D.C. convidaram a cantora LouLou (Ooldouz Ghelickhani), iraniana de nascença, criada em França e agora residente da capital americana, para ser a vocalista da hipnótica canção La Femme Parallel. A voz de LouLou é arrasadora, altamente sensual. Ela nem parece que se esforça. Os seus versos franceses dão asas a música, fazendo-a voar, e com a entrada das trompetas no último coro esta canção voa alto mesmo, e eu voo com ela sem nunca tirar os pés do chão. Vi esta música ao vivo e foi uma sensação única. Hoje faz me companhia enquanto conto as horas até pisar o 4 de Fevereiro.

Ja a segunda música deste post também não deixa os seus créditos em mãos alheias. É uma bela bossa nova, toda ela em francês, cantada, ou melhor, sussurada por Coralie Clement, uma cantora francesa no verdadeiro sentido da palavra ‘cantora’ e alguem que um dos meus parceiros nestas andanças vos pode descrever muito melhor que eu. Samba De Mon Couer Qui Bat (Samba do meu coração que bate) é um casamento feito nos céus: a combinação da sensualidade de Coralie ao je ne sais quois do bossa nova. Espero que gostem, e au revoir.

La Femme Parallel
Samba De Mon Couer Qui Bat

Tomorrow I leave for Luanda.

This thought has effectively monopolized my brain, letting nothing else through. The anxiousness is high, the expectation is enormous, the saudade even more so. As I pack my suitcases, cramming into it the assortment of goods my mother has asked that I bring (any Angolan leaving for home will tell you all about the midnight calls they receive from their families asking for the latest in all sorts of electronics and whatnot), I have my French playlist on the stereo, and a sublime sequence of songs made me stop mid-pack and share these treasures here for you.

The first song I feature here is La Femme Parallel, a hypnotic track by none other than Thievery Corporation and featuring LouLou (Ooldouz Ghelickhani), an Iranian born but French raised femme fatale who now resides in DC and tours regularly with Thievery. Her voice is the perfect complement to this downtempo jam and it’s slick bassline, and it makes the song drip with sensuality. The lyrics themselves further add to the mystique of the song, as any French-speaker will happily tell you. By the time the horns come in towards the climax of the song it’s hard to keep your head still. Seeing this song live was a dream come true, and today it helps me count the hours until I touch down at 4 de Fevereiro.

The second song of this post has a totally different kind of vibe when compared to the first. It’s a beautiful, classic bossa nova with the added twist of being sung entirely in French by one of the best voices to sing, or in this case, whisper in that language, a certain Coralie Clément. She’s the face that adorns the header of Guuzbourg’s francophone blog, a man who is much better at describing the sweet sunshine that is Coralie. Samba De Mon Couer Qui Bat is a match truly made in heaven: the sensuality of Coralie with the je ne sais quois of bossa nova. I hope you enjoy it, and au revoir.


-Photo: LouLou, by Jazmin Million, and Coralie Clement, by Flaviochan

Thievery Corporation Featured on Current TV's Embedded

Kristal from Current TV sent me this interesting clip about Thievery Corporation, a "band" I love. If you like this band it is really worth a look – this extensive video explores Thievery’s psyche, their love for the great city that is Washington DC, and how they feel their music, city, and even their food. Towards the end there is also a short blurb on Amanda Palmer’s “Twitter Concert” (she let her fans know of an impromptu concert via Twitter an hour before the event) and a surprise Delta Spirit performance aboard a San Francisco trolley.



Kristal, uma funcionária da cadeia de televisão independente e progresista denominada Current TV, mandou-me este video bastante interessante sobre a minha banda preferida, os Thievery Corporation, formado por Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, e a sua legião de músicos acompanhantes. Para quem goste e tambem para quem não conhece este duo da capital americana, cidade que me acolheu durante largos anos de infância e juventude, este video será muito útil. Fala sobre o que é o Thievery, o porquê das suas músicas, o seu amor por DC, as suas opiniões políticas, e até um pouco sobre um restaurante bastante concorrido que o Eric Hilton abriu em DC. Mais adiante no video ha uma pequena menção a um concerto relâmpago que a artista Amanda Palmer promoveu usando só o Twitter (ela só mencionou o local do concerto uma hora antes do mesmo começar), e no fim ha um concerto surpresa pela banda Delta Spirit à bordo de um trolley em São Francisco.

Why I Love Thievery Corporation

Last night, at the House of Blues in Boston, I did one of my favorite things in life. I watched Thievery Corporation live.

Thievery rocked the House of Blues for a bit over two hours in a highly entertaining and energetic set that was opened by none other than Federico Aubele and his well-tended afro. It was my first time seeing this Argentine live and he was as mellow and sophisticated as his music suggests, smartly dressed in slacks and a blazer and oozing charm and class with his acoustic guitar and the stunning female guest singer at his side. Aubele sang an extra-reggae version of Ante Tus Ojos that was an absolute joy to listen to live. After he left to loud applause and whistles, Thievery opened their set with Mandala, the tripped out Indian-flavored dance track from their latest album, Radio Retaliation, and the place went wild. Throughout the entire show they brilliantly incorporated three visual screens, filling them with rich imagery and footage of people in India or Latin America participating in rallies or doing yoga excersizes. Thievery sang music from all of their CDs, sometimes making them reggae-heavy or slightly changing the rhythm. The basist from DC and their sultry singer from Guyana were particularly tasty eye candy. For the climactic finale Sleepy Wonder had all the pretty girls go up on stage and dance with them to the sound of thumping drums and the stellar brass section as the place went wild.

I love this band because we share a lot of the same beliefs about life, politics, and music. They push all the right buttons for me. When you go to a Thievery concert you are always reminded that the world is nothing more than a global village. They are able to bring people from the most disparate of places into a single room, and they are able to make them laugh and dance to the same music. Just in my immediate vicinity I heard people speak in Spanish, Arabic, and French. And then there is the diversity of their sound. Every show features a sitar, African drums, and several different types of guitars. Their music is a truly eclectic blend of dub and reggae, samba and bossa nova, Cuban and other Latin rhythms, trip hop and acid jazz incorporating the Indian sitar, and the odd afro-beat enveloped in electronica. The singers that Thievery has on stage, which last night included Natalia Clavier, LouLou, and the ever impressive Sleepy Wonder, sing in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Jamaican Patois.

Lies & Theft
Guns & Debt
Life & Death
IMF!
-Fela Kuti in Vampires

But beneath their deep understanding of world music, beneath their ability to make certain music fans like myself tick, is Thievery’s willingness to incorporate world politics into a lot of their music, particularly in their last album, aptly titled Radio Retaliation. Thievery is from DC, where I grew up, and it is impossible to remain impassive in the face of politics if you have ever lived in that microcosm of power and intrigue. Thievery are left leaning and it shows through in a lot of their lyrics, from Fela Kuti strongly denouncing the IMF in the song “Vampires” to the incendiary lyrics of the jam “Sound the Alarm” with Sleepy Wonder calling his troops to action. One of the high points of last night, and one I will never forget, is Natalia Clavier and the Brazilian songstress whose name escapes me right now chanting “el pueblo unido jamás sera vencido” with their fists up in the air along with the frenzied crowd in a scene right out of Chile or Angola during their most turbulent years. What with all the frustrating political crap going on in the States today, from Tea Party nutjobs to the country’s inability to pass a healthcare reform bill among a growing tide of misinformation, it was a truly captivating, powerful sight (below is the track El Pueblo Unido, from the album Radio Retaliation and featuring Verny Varela).


Such was the acclaim of the public that Thievery returned not once but twice for lengthy encores in a Boston night that featured one of best live acts I have seen in my life, a night that inspired me and reminded me that despite all the dissimilarities between people of different races and cultures, despite all the bullshit in world politics, despite all the infuriating injustice, there are still many, many people out there who love and respect each other and each other’s culture, and who dance to the same eclectic beat.

And that is why I love Thievery Corporation.

-Photo: That sultry singer from Guyana whose name I can't remember, during a concert in DC. Photo by Jazmin Million

El Pueblo Unido

Thievery online
Theivery on Myspace