Various Artists - Brazilectro, Vol. 8

Brazilectro surely counts among the best and most successful compilation series for Latin inspired grooves to date. More than just a term, Brazilectro has become a trademark, constantly reflecting the evolution of a very important musical genre throughout it’s beautiful and inspiring years of existence. Session 8 once again adds to the great image of the series and provides yet another top notch collection of only the finest grooves for fans, lovers and those in-the-know alike. Some of the world’s leading producers and DJs contributed 26 cherry picked tracks, including seven previously unreleased gems and quite a string of insider faves previously only available on vinyl.

Traditional Brazilian music of a distinct origin fuses easily here with contemporary dancefloor developments and sensual sofa rockers to form a sound which will always stand for important things such as the simple, yet highly effective "joy of life" and that certain "saudade" attitude. But does it work? It always works just fine. No matter the usual stereotypes on Brazil, the folks who live there and the drinks they drink, the inspirational power and positive force of South American music is more than obvious and works miracles in all doses and forms and simply can’t be ignored.

Just like all it’s predecessors, Brazilectro Session 8 comes as a refined and stylish 2CD / 3LP package, adding to the style and quality that oozes from every single note of music here. No surprise that this heartfelt compilation again works perfectly in multiple dimensions and way beyond any short-life trends or mere fashion. These days, a more updated and even more tasty view on all things Latin is hardly available anywhere else. Album Description

Where's the Brazilian music?

As a big fan of this series, my expectations may have been too high. This is the worst of the series. It lacks the Brazilian influence. This release is "stretching the soup", so to speak. September 30, 2006

Another Terrific Addition to the Franchise

I said it a few years ago, and will say it again. When summer comes, you know there will also be a Brazilectro. Since 2000, this series has taken off and brought loads of artists into the forefront. What aways sticks out in the series are the un-released tracks which, much like sister compilation Brazilution, are almost always quality - so much so, it warrants picking up the EP releases on vinyl. Volume 8 was compiled this time by Ralf Zitzmann, and while I can't comment much about him, I can safely say that he did a wonderful job of pulling the songs and presenting a great blend of tunes.

For the music, the format's the same. 2 discs. CD 1 starts out with a cool Joe Bataan instrumental and is followed up by a duet with two of my favorite singers, Marcos Valle & Joyce, with "Value". I like the beat and anytime you get musicians of their caliber together, you know you're in for something special. But going back to insrumentals and jazz, that's pretty much the feel of disc one - jazz and some funk. The Visioneers "Dirty Old Bossa Nova" lives to the title and has a neat, easy going lounge vibe to the music. The same can be sayd for DJ Day's "Sunday" - in fact that's one of my favorite tracks of the first disc. Other highlights on disc one was an energetic remixto Poncho Sanchez's renditoin of "Watermelon Man". Good stuff! Sounds like something you would've heard on the Rio Evolutions series. I also dug the "Lenda" by Ceu. Good to have a true Brazilian cut on there because to be honest, there was a lot on disc 1 that was Spanish. Meanwhile I thought that disc two had a few misses but overall I really liked the experimental vibe. Good find with the 7 Samurai (think Break & Bossa) remix to a classic Jorge Ben cut. S-Tone Inc's new album really is wonderful and they feature a strong track from it titled "Beira Do Mar". Very classy sound, nice and smooth. Other cool tracks to me were Big Bang's "To the Full Every Minute" remixed by Yam Who, "Smoothpipe" by Flamengo Star and "Dia Brazil" by the Juju Orchestra.

I recommend this one - it's a strong entry to the series. Not all of the songs really grabbed me and there were some real hea-scratchers that were abit too much of a stretch. But overall it's a very good double-disc set. Of course, there are many that say "this isn't Brazilian music" and a lot of the songs aren't, but when you really look at the series and how it started, from the first volume to this one, you get the idea that it's a series inspired by Brazilian elements in music in general and electronica with jazz. It's a terrific blend of different cultures and musical styles. Also, it looks like SPV-USA is distributing this so you get to forego those expensive import price-tags - you're getting two discs of good tunes for 14 bucks! (consider that Cafe Copacabana, which is maybe half as good, runs in the $38 range). So check this one out, you can also check out volumes 1-6 in a box set (although it's missing a few cuts), volume 7 was solid too and last but not least, if you can, get this in vinyl as Brazilectro has a nasty habit of chopping songs up in disc format. Also remember that the knock-off comps, including the next Nova Latino, will usually be at least a year and a half behind Brazilectro/Brazilution. So expect to see some cuts from this double-disc set out next summer on the knock-offs. September 30, 2006

Another great compilation.

Every year in the late summer I look forward to the newest release in this series--and this one does not disappoint. Excellent compliation. September 24, 2006

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