Kassin +2 | Futurismo
Written by Mrs. Tansy Maude Peregrine // May 13, 2008 // On the Record // 6 Comments
Most Likely To: spruce up any space-age bachelor pad.
Kassin +2 is a strange name for a band. What’s even stranger (and is probably an affront to their publicist) is that the band keeps changing its name. Brazilian trio Moreno Veloso, Domenico Lancelloti, and Alexandre Kassin rename themselves each time they release a CD depending on which member of the band is featured. They debuted as Moreno +2 with Music Typewriter in 2001 followed by Sincerely Hot as Domenico +2 in 2004. Four years later it’s finally Kassin’s turn to take the lead role on Futurismo.
Sung entirely in Portuguese, Futurismo plays on traditional Brazilian music, taking a base of Sergio Mendes-inspired samba and mixing in touches of electronica and country-tinged rock. Throughout the record, vocals and percussion are immediately recognizable as Brazilian pop music, even if, like mine, your experience with the genre doesn’t stretch much beyond “Girl from Ipanema.”
It’s what Kassin +2 does with the rest of the instrumentation that moves Futurismo beyond being a well-executed regurgitation of samba. “Ponto Final” buries quirky electronic buzzing sounds throughout the tight, percussive jam. Next up is the title track, which features a prominent flute solo. “Simbioticos” leads smoothly into “Homen Ao Mar,” and both songs use the wide-open twang of the slide guitar to darken the mood, creating a distinct feeling that differs from samba’s gentle vocals and complicated, but generally upbeat, melodies. “Samba Machine,” the most daring track, combines an elaborate keyboard line, vocoder, and bird-like vocal cries then fades out over a smokin’ guitar solo.
While listening to Futurismo, the music recedes into the background until the album’s final track, the extremely catchy, “Ya Ya Ya.” It caps things off as joyous, drunken singing might end a party in the wee hours. Will there be a fourth Moreno Domenico Kassin collaboration? Hopefully the answer is yes, regardless of what they decide to call themselves.
6 Comments on "Kassin +2 | Futurismo"
This sounds worthy of one of my sexy, sexy dance parties.
I want to go to a pajama dance party.
Also that track tranquilo off their myspace makes me sit back in my chair at work and smile.. I Float away to a place filled with rum thats so good you drink it straight, topless beaches, and a lazy lady sitting next to me who can’t stop licking her lips.
This is an amazing album! Actually if you would listen to the entire album its not all in Portuguese. There are 2 tracks sung in English. Lake Line and Bow Road. Along with Ya Ya Ya, they were written in collaboration with Sean O’Hagan of the High Llamas (In fact he does the vocals on Bow Road).
Also, Sergio Mendes-inspired samba??!! ugh. you can definately hear what artists have influenced Kassin, but sergio mendes is not among them. sergio mendes is not popular in Brasil. I could write a thesis on the subject of why sergio mendes sickens me, but since you stated you are new to brasilian music i will spare you any more of my snobbery.
However I am glad that you like the record. If you like samba machine you should check out artificial – free usa. its a side project of Kassin. He programed it all on a game boy giving it a gritty 8 bit sound and he sings all the tracks in English.
@makenji
Can you provide a link to artificial – free usa’s music? Google has let me down.
The album has only been released in Brasil so far on Kassin’s label ping-pong. I doubt it will ever get picked up here. If your favorite track is tranqüilo this is completely different. Its gritty 8 bit electronic music, but it does show how eclectic Kassin’s styles are. The best place to hear some tracks would be the myspace site. its http://www.myspace.com/artificialfreeusa nothing too great there, but a good listen for a Kassin fan. If you are looking for a more traditional Brasilian sound also check out Orquetra Imperial, its an old school big band samba group that feature Kassin, Domenico and Moreno in it. http://www.myspace.com/orquestraimperial although none of the +2 are proncipal vocals on any of the tracks.