Mombojó
Nadadenovo
mr0952 (2004)
Time: 49'16"

In the 1960's and the 1970's it was quite normal to "discover" new groups with very young musicians. They were inventive, talented and a joy to listen to. Next the music world was dominated by disco and other dance music. The punk revolution tried to break that, but until now many young musicians seem to focus on an obvious road to success: play what teenagers want to hear, follow the trend lines, don't worry too much about musical talent. But of course there is more, it's only hard to find. So now and then the matured music lover is pleasantly surprised by a bunch of youngsters. Like the band from Recife, Pernambuco, called Mombojó. Formed by seven obstinate youngster, ranging in age between 17 and 21 years old, they perform music that is hard to define. It's a bit of everything: a bit of samba, a bit of bossa, a bit of pop, rock, jazz, rock 'n roll, punk, mangue beat, reggae... But above all: it's clever. The band does its own thing, something that is definitely appreciated by the music critics, who rave about the quality of the presented music. The band's sound is not seldom compared to a mix of Mundo Livre S/A and Los Hermanos. Lúcio Maia (Nação Zumbi) acknowledges the quality of the band in an interview, admiring their own sound. This year the band released its first cd independently, Nadadenovo (Nothing new). A well chosen title, because when hearing this cd, one will probably say: everything sounds new here. But the musical influences refer to tradition. Singer Felipe S, 21 years old, states that his main influence is Tom Jobim. In the music you'll also hear the spiritual presence of icons like Hermeto Pascoal and Chico Science.

By introducing the instrumentation of this septet one can form an idea about the offered music. Felipe S is responsible for the majority of the compositions and is the soft voiced vocalist of the band. The others are two brothers Vicente (on drums) and Marcelo Machado (guitars), O Rafa on flute, Samuel on bass, Marcelo Campello on the acoustic guitar, cavaquinho and Chiquinho on keyboards and samplers. The samplers and loops are used to add very contemporary colours to the music. That starts right away with the albums opening "Cabidela," a beautiful bossa that floats through the air, propelled by various samplers. It's a clear own sound of the band. "Deixe-se Acreditar" fuses rock n' roll with pure rock and a bossa rhythm. An impossible task, but it works remarkably well. The song shows that the various band-members are nothing less than talented on their respective instruments. On "Nem Parece," drummer Vicente Machado holds control over the samba beat from which the song tries to escape in a friendly way, led by a jazzy sounding flute. The samba reggae is explored on "O Céu, o Sol e o Mar." "Adelaide" starts as a very lazy bossa, but lightens up after a change in tempo. The organ carries the arrangement to a very pleasant pop song. And thus the fifteen songs on this wonderful cd show us that there is still hope. Mombojó is no doubt a very talented band with a mature sound despite the average age of its members. The compositions are very well thought off as well as the instrumentation. Each member of the band plays an important role to give the band its own sound. Mombojó is ready to be discovered by a wider audience.

If you have trouble finding the cd, it can be found at Mombojó's home page.

Kees Schoof
August 2004

Track listing:

1. Cabidela (Felipe S - China)
2. Deixe-se Acreditar (Felipe S - China)
3. Nem Parece (Felipe S - Vicente Machado)
4. Discurso Burocrático (Felipe S)
5. A Missa (Felipe S - Marcelo Machado)
6. Absorva (Felipe S - Samuel)
7. O Céu, o Sol e o Mar (Felipe S - China)
8. Adelaide (Marcelo Campello - China)
9. Duas Cores (Felipe S)
10. Estático (Felipe S - China)
11. Merda (Felipe F - Marcelo Campello)
12. Splash Shine (Felipe S - O Rafa)
13. Faaca (Felipe S - Chiquinho - Maurício Silva)
14. Baú (Felipe S - Marcelo Campello - O Rafa)
15. Container (Felipe S)