Nação Zumbi at Circo Voador in Lapa

By Maíra Amorim, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO – If you have never heard about Mangue Beat, here is you chance to discover the musical movement that started in the 90s in the Brazilian Northeast, as well as other contemporary Brazilian music. This Friday (April 17th), Nação Zumbi, the most popular Mangue Beat group, invites two others to join them in a Festival called Nação InFeste.

The event will take place in Circo Voador, the legendary venue in Lapa. Along with Nação Zumbi, Guizado and Turbo Trio will be the attractions to the Festival’s first edition, inspired by projects such as the Ozzyfest and the Sepulfest, where big bands play the role of curator to new ones.

Guizado is going to open the night at 10pm. The group is lead by the trumpeter Gui Mendonça, who also experiments with electronic devices, getting beats from analogical synthesizers and even Gameboys. He is going to play songs from the album “Punx”, released in 2008, in which the influence of São Paulo – Gui’s place of birth – is striking. As critics have been pointing out, his music reflects the contradictions of the giant metropolis: it is gray and colorful, noisy and silent, light and dark. It’s also not easily classified: it transitions from Jazz to Electro, from Hip-Hop to Rock, with influences from Afro and Brazilian music.

Turbo Trio is a group formed by BNegão, Basa and Tejo. They have already traveled all over Europe performing their music which combines Electro, Miami Bass and Booty Music – a mix that goes really far from the clichés usually associated with Brazilian music. The group has a huge fan base and will be showing songs from their first album “Baile Bass”, released last year.

Nação Zumbi is going to close the night with their mix of percussion, psicodelia, electronic and regional music that is called Mangue Beat. The movement started in the 90s in Pernambuco, a state in the Northeast of the Brazil. It was created by Chico Science, who was the leader of Nação Zumbi before he died in a car accident in 1997. Since, Jorge du Peixe has taken the leadership of the group and has been spreading Science’s legacy all over Brazil.

In Friday’s concert, Nação is going to play songs from their recent albums, as well as some covers and songs they haven’t perform in a long time. It is a good opportunity to see the band playing in more informal show and to get in contact with some of the new sounds Brazilian musicians are producing.

APRIL 17, 2009 – starting at 10pm
NACÃO INFESTE
GUIZADO (SP) + TURBO TRIO + NAÇÃO ZUMBI
Tickets: R$20 (with student card), R$40 – In advance
R$25 (with student card), R$50 – On day of the show

Circo Voador
http://www.circovoador.com.br
Rua dos Arcos, S/N – Lapa – Rio de Janeiro
Phone: (00 55 21) 2533-0354