Schema's Still Gettin' Jazzed Up
bordersj2 | Boston | 11/19/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was pumped when I first heard about "Garota Moderna" and when it came out in 2002, several months after getting a preview of what to expect thanks to Break & Bossa vol 5, I knew that Rosalia De Souza's feature CD would be a smash success. It featured Nicola Conte's great musical influence/production work and hey, it is on the Schema label after all. But today there's the remix project that's been IMO LONG overdue but you look at the tracks on "Garota Moderna" and think, how can you improve them or give the tracks a twist without taking away their charm? Enter the fortune of Schema's evolution. The label's been going into a mad big-band bossa styled that's crazy jazzed up and slick & cool. "Garota Diferente" is yet another sample of that.
The CD starts out with labelmates Five Corners Quintet contributing with their rendition of "Adriana" complete with a fresh beat, live instruments and solos. The cut starts out slowly but you can feel that it'll kick up and when it does, watch out! Want something slick, check Zero dB's remix to "Maria Moita" which has a old school sly, top hat, zoot suit sort of feel to it before transforming into a sort of drum & bass hybrid... neat stuff. "Fica Mal Com Deus" is given two different face-lifts, one by Truby Trio and the other by an old time Break&Bossa veteran from the old days, Stateless. Honestly, neither version grabbed me, which was surprising because I'm a huge Truby Trio fan. But I have to admit - the first 2:12 secs of Truby Trio's gets me - especially that quiet intro. But there are some other fantastic remakes by other Schema artists and even Povo, who's "Saudisismo" is cool and collect, GIanluca Petrella proves he's no slouch when it comes to mixin' it up and Gerardo Frisina... if you heard "Hipnosis" a few years ago, you know what he can do to a tune. But the real gem on this one is IMO The Dining Rooms take on "Mais". That was one cut on "Garota Moderna" that did need a nice remix and they did it very well with a gentle beat, a cool guitar and alternate direction with the music. Same sweet vocal, different, sexy, lazy mood.
I definitely recommend this. It's not like a few of the other remix projects that've come out over the past. You can tell Schema put a lot of effort into who actually would redo the cuts and all in all, they're rather good. Besids who I mentioned, Big Bang, Raw Deal and Buscemi contributed with some pretty neat takes on the tracks. And hey - these songs are anything but short so you'll hardly feel slighted with cut length... many clock in at around at least 6-7 minutes long or more! But there are some noticable omissions - "As Gotas", "Mar Azul" and "Ipanema" missed the remix bag. But if you look hard enough in the lounge/underground market, you might find something. And if you dug this - check out Nicola Conte's "Jet Sounds Revisited" for some beats, maybe Koop's "Alternative Takes" and for fans of the new jazzed up sound, check Nicola Conte's "Other DIrections", Gerardo Frisina's "Hi Note" and Soulstance's "Life Size"."
A Classic Becomes a New Classic
Kookie Kokaine | Le Earth - South of the Milky Way | 12/28/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A true treat: de Souza and producer Nicola Conte offer 11 different takes on the songs from de Souza's critically acclaimed debut album "Garota Moderna" ("Modern Girl"). Hers is the sultry voice that evokes memories of the best Brazilian vocalists of the 1960's and their total passion for their craft and de Souza joined their ranks with the stunning premiere volume of her discography. With this disc, we are presented with remixes of those songs that offer an entirely new dimension to this now classic album. The reconstructions are accomplished by the likes of Zero db, Stateless, Big Bang, Buscemi, Dining Rooms, Raw Deal, The Truby Trio, Povo and more. Each is well known in the chillout community of remixers and they have each performed an invaluable service to music lovers everywhere. Highly recommended!"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1