Fernanda Abreu: Amor Geral

Back in Town

It’s hard to believe that it’s already 10 years ago since Fernanda Abreu was last seen in the CD business! Her last album, MTV Ao Vivo, dates back from 2006. “Danceable samba-funk” was a nice way to describe the music of Fernanda Abreu (Rio de Janeiro, 1961). This is the 7th album under her own name since SLA Radical Dance Disco Club in 1990. And lucky enough, we hear Fernanda the way we remember her. Funky and danceable. There’s something special about the samba-funk of Fernanda Abreu. She gives the style a very personal touch. Her voice is not the one you would expect in samba-funkland. She has a warm and relaxed timbre which makes it extra enjoyable to listen. No loud obtrusive voices that inforce the lyrics. And she uses a tasteful instrumentation with ditto arrangements. These are Fernanda’s trademarks.

On a personal level, the ten years in between the most recent releases weren’t the easiest ones for the singer. On “Antídoto” (Antidote) she sings “I want an antidote to cure the sadness/…/ I want to look inside/ And feel the beauty that comes from the heart.” Love is the strongest feeling in good and bad times. That’s the message Fernanda aims at with this CD, Amor Geral. General Love.

The main sound of the album is funky, but there are also a few introspective moments that have an aura of lounge (“Antídoto” and “O Que Ficou”) and a cute waltz “Valsa do Desejo.” The most surprising moment on the album is “Tambor,” which features the participation of Kevin Donovan, world-wide known as Afrika Bambaataa (1957). The “father of electro-funk” from New York’s West-Bronx gives the song an extra boost. But besides his participation, “Tambor” is a song that is 100% Fernanda Abreu, a signature song, so to speak. It can’t be a coincidence that the background vocals in this song feature some of her musical friends like Suely Mesquita, Cecilia Spyer, Delia Fisher and Pedro Luis (to name a few).

No bad news about the album? Well, maybe only its duration, a bit more than half an hour. But it’s good to hear Fernanda Abreu again. She picks up where she left us in 2006, with some additional contemporary details. She proves to have a unique sound in the Brazilian music scene. Warm but funky!

ALBUM INFORMATION

Fernanda Abreu
Amor Geral
Garota Sangue Bom (Sony music) 88985319252 (2016)
Time: 35’52”

Tracks:

1. Outro Sim (Fernanda Abreu – Gabriel Moura – Jovi Joviniano)
2. Tambor (Fernanda Abreu – Gabriel Moura – Jovi Joviniano – Afrika Bambaataa) – w/ Afrika Bambaataa
3. Deliciosamente (Fernanda Abreu – Alexandre Vaz – Jorge Ailton)
4. Saber Chegar (Fernanda Abreu – Donatinho – Tibless – Play Pires)
5. Antídoto (Fernanda Abreu)
6. O Que Ficou (Fernanda Abreu – Thiago Silva – Qinho)
7. Double Love (Amor em Dose Dupla) (Fausto Fawcett – Laufer)
8. Por Quem (Fernanda Abreu – Qinho)
9. Valsa do Desejo (Fernanda Abreu – Tuto Ferraz)
10. Amor Geral (Fernanda Abreu – Pedro Bernardes – Fausto Fawcett)

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