Vem pra minha ala que hoje a nossa escola vai desfilar (Fall into my row because today our samba school will parade.)
Sinto a batucada se aproximar Repique tocou O surdo escutou (I feel the drum beat approaching The repique played The surdo heard it.)

The lyrics, if you were to read them first, are deceptive – it’s not a batucada or samba groove, like from the percussion group, Olodum – rather it’s a strong atmospheric tune, driven by guitar, cuica, and three soaring voices, that declares its Carnaval intent. From there, 12 more songs flow, unbelievably understated, considering the styles and reputations of each of the participants, each of whom has his or her own solo career.

Marisa Monte has been a strong vocalist and solo performer in Brazilian music circles. Formerly an opera singer, she switched over to jazz and pop at nineteen, becoming more and more popular with a big following. She is also a songwriter and of late, has done some producing, living in Rio de Janeiro.

Arnaldo Antunes is from the city of Sao Paulo, and has had a long and artistic career as a musician, composer, producer, and songwriter. Through the 80s and early 90s, he was involved in the Brazilian rock punk group, Titas. He’s also released his own solo albums and his songs have been covered by the likes of Gal Costa, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, and Caetano Veloso, among many others.

Carlinhos Brown comes from the region of Bahia in Brazil, the heart and soul of the samba and Carnaval. Originally home to African slaves, some of the best and most rhythmic music has been made there. Brown grew up, trained by a master of Brazilian percussion but expanded into a songwriter and producer. He has collaborated in those areas with a number of disparate but major artists ranging from Margareth Menezes (also from Bahia), Daniela Mercury and Caetano Veloso to American jazz and funk players like Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell and Bernie Worrell – even the Brazilian heavy metal band, Sepultura.

This is an innocent collection of songs but not naïve – a logical progression from the Tropicalismo school with lush guitars, voices, percussion and understated subtle synth effects. Some standouts:

Track 3, ‘Velha Infancia’ (Old Childhood). A gliding 3/4 with minor chords propelling it – guitar and voices speak to the childlike aspect of love while further along, track 5, ‘O Amor E Feio’ (Love is Ugly), explores some of the less attractive qualities of the same subject in a moody but exquisite ballad.

O amor e feio Tem cara de vicio (Love is ugly. It looks like addiction) Anda pela estrada Nao tem comprimisso (It walks the highway. Free of obligation.)

Track 7 ‘Carnalismo’ (Carnalism) starts with Marisa singing a beautiful line, again in slow ballad form, Arnaldo joining her the second time around singing the same melody but with a rich deep-voiced contrast.

No rastro de seu caminhar No ar onde voce pasar O seu perfume inebriante Pendura O instante A rua inteira a levitar (Right behind the way you walk In the air where you go by Your overwhelming perfume Hangs the instant high Levitating the whole street.)

There are a couple of others, track 12,’Ja Sei Namorar’ (I Already Know How to Love) with its upbeat rock groove and the title track 13, ‘Tribalistas’ (Tribalists), a bouncy acoustic funk piece that lyrically embodies the concept behind the collaboration, the melding of three different styles into one – Marisa, from the cool sophisticated Rio, Arnaldo, of the industrial Sao Paulo, and Carlinhos, with the Afro-Brazilian soul of Bahia.

Lyrically, this cd is not heavy or profound, or even particularly radical musically, but is a beautiful and deceptively simple offering from three major musical personalities and I find myself playing it constantly. Some of the tracks are ‘lite’ but others more than balance it out, and played as a whole, flows along in a dreamy wistful way. One of my favourite percussion instruments is the cuica, a high-pitched instrument that is almost a caricature of the human voice, and it can be made to wail, growl, plead and laugh. I keep coming back to the opening track,’ Carnavalia,’ where the cuica features in the background all the way through. A line even mentions it:

Cuica gemeu Sera que era eu Quando ela passou por mim? (The cuica moaned Could it have been me When she passed me by?)

© Marc Goldin
Reproduced with permission

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© 2004 Laura Hird All rights reserved.