Search - Kenny Dope :: Brazilika

STELLAR Tracks, Great Mixing but....

bordersj2 | Boston | 10/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Far Out records is a label out of London that's been around for ten years now. They've certainly had their fair share of releases in the nu-Brazil and old-school Brazil music scene. But utilizing the talents of some ofthe all time greats like Joyce, Marcos Valle and Os Ipanemas, they more than carved a niche in the market and gained a terrific reputation for putting out quality releases. This particular release is a tribute to their history. It's a compilation of all of those works, including the "Brazilian Love Affair" series which spans 5 volumes on its own. This one's done by Kenny & Dope FX and, well, it's interesting and even has a few exclusive pieces thrown to the mix. But it's clear - he dug the third "Love Affair" cd the most.



The good: The INCREDIBLE songs! Besides those I mentioned above, you have a heavy Christian Franck influence (Smoke City/Da Lata/Chris & Nina), you have a chilled out beach guitar track by Grupo Batuque and cool samba with Percussion Breakdowns. You also have the nu-jazz of Los Ladrones in their sexy cut "Las Lues Del Norte". You also have some good cuts by Friends From Rio and several others like Azymuth, Nature's Plan, Democustico. And hey, Kenny Dope did a great job mixing here too. The Bad: Kenny Dope did okay with this but he didn't have to keep reminding the listener that he was the one mixing! Seemed like after every other cut he'd chip in with "This is Kenny Dope..." or whatever other self-glorifying crap, thus ruining the groove. Not only is his name in bright orange on the cover of the CD but it's actually fonted BIGGER than the name of the CD and he wants to make sure we don't 'forget'... Adios humility! Check Chris & Nina's "Agua" and how it ends vs. the one on Brazilian Love Affair. I don't know what else to say... it sucks that he did that throughout the CD. The cut'll remind you of August Day Song, only better, and while the mix in the end could have been great with the up-beat bossa/samba swing, KD didn't have to cut in with his own vocal...



I recommend this to anyone that hasn't checked out the Brazilian Love Affair CD's. This one has some fantastic tracks and a sweet groove to it. If you have those, only really check this for the exclusive cuts and maybe the linear notes that shows the small degree of separation between DJ's and artists that appreciate new Brazilian tunes (Rainer Truby, Nicola Conte, etc.). If you want the melancholic nu-Brazil, I recommend the Brazilution series... 5 and 5.2 along with Brazilectro 3. You want some mixed up-beat latin tracks check the Caiprinha series, Nova Latino series and Latin Deluxe Dia em Noite.

"

Really a Four Star Effort

bordersj2 | Boston | 10/16/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"At least it should be - but I cannot change the star rating so it sticks at three. Far Out records is a label out of London that's been around for ten years now. They've certainly had their fair share of releases in the nu-Brazil and old-school Brazil music scene. But utilizing the talents of some ofthe all time greats like Joyce, Marcos Valle and Os Ipanemas, they more than carved a niche in the market and gained a terrific reputation for putting out quality releases. This particular release is a tribute to their history. It's a compilation of all of those works, including the "Brazilian Love Affair" series which spans 5 volumes on its own. This one's done by Kenny & Dope FX and, well, it's interesting and even has a few exclusive pieces thrown to the mix. But it's clear - he dug the third "Love Affair" cd the most.



The good: The incredible songs! Besides those I mentioned above, you have a heavy Christian Franck influence (Smoke City/Da Lata/Chris & Nina), you have a chilled out beach guitar track by Grupo Batuque and cool samba with Percussion Breakdowns. You also have the nu-jazz of Los Ladrones in their sexy cut "Las Lues Del Norte". You also have some good cuts by Friends From Rio and several others like Azymuth, Nature's Plan, Democustico. And hey, Kenny Dope did a great job mixing here too. The Bad: Ho boy... Kenny Dope did okay. But he didn't have to keep reminding the listener that he was the one mixing! Seemed like after every other cut he'd chip in with "This is Kenny Dope..." or whatever other self-glorifying crap, thus ruining the groove. Not only is his name in bright orange on the cover of the CD but it's actually fonted BIGGER than the name of the CD and he wants to make sure we don't 'forget'... Adios humility! Check Chris & Nina's "Agua" and how it ends vs. the one on Brazilian Love Affair. I don't know what else to say... it sucks that he did that throughout the CD. The cut'll remind you of August Day Song, only better, and while the mix in the end could have been great with the up-beat bossa/samba swing, KD didn't have to cut in with his own vocal...



I recommend this to anyone that hasn't checked out the Brazilian Love Affair CD's. If you have those, only really check this for the exclusive cuts and maybe the linear notes that shows the small degree of separation between DJ's and artists that appreciate new Brazilian tunes (Rainer Truby, Nicola Conte, etc.). If you want the melancholic nu-Brazil, I recommend the Brazilution series... 5 and 5.2 along with Brazilectro 3. You want some mixed up-beat latin tracks check the Caiprinha series, Nova Latino series and Latin Deluxe Dia em Noite."