Zuco 103, founders of the sound they dub Brazilelectro, have done it again with their newest album, After the Carnaval. The bond between Rio-born vocalist/lyricist Lilian Vieira, keyboard man/producer Stefan Schmid (Munich) and drummer/producer Stefan Kruger (Amsterdam) goes back to 1998 and still results in some of the freshest Brazilian electronic fusion in the world.
In their years together, Zuco 103 have seen it all: from performing at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival to Bumbershoot in Seattle. They have toured the world, performing everywhere from Moscow to Tokyo.
The unique Zuco 103-sound lies in their choice of additives (Afro-Cuban, drum 'n bass, Ethiopian, West-African and dub sounds fill their compositions). On After the Carnaval, the group has moved away from sample-based music to a warmer more organic, band based sound. The new album starts with the energetic 'Nunca Mais', grooves on with
"Beija a Mim" (Kiss Me), rocks with "Pororoca", gets lightly melancholic on "The Same Way", declares love in "Cria", confronts you with "She", balances out with "Fulero", gets sensitive in "Madrugada", world-ish in "Ginga de Crian", brings you straight Brazilfunk in "Back Home", nostalgic with "Espero" and finally leaves you in a tender mood with the touching ballad "Volta".
