Since the meteoric rise of Sao Pauloans CSS last year, and thanks in part to some serious A&R digging by Diplo, people’s eyes seem to be more intently focused on Brazil than ever before. And while it would be simple to lump Bonde Do Role in the same category as fellow countrymen/women CSS, their geographic origins and lyrical language of choice is pretty much where their similarities end. Choosing to embrace their roots rather than emulate overseas acts, BDR have borrowed stylistically from baile funk, a sample based style of party music originating from the poorest Rio favelas, and tweaked it to create their own mashed up, stripped back Brazilian party tunes. The aesthetic is simple, with shitty syncopated drum machines, tinny guitars and gimmicky samples slammed together with yelped Portuguese lyrics to create a raw, infectious brew that, with a little help from the Internet, has managed to garner the band serious international attention. Baile funk purists may well scoff at the adulterated form of the genre that BDR produce; however, for those of us who exist outside of the world of the favelas, BDR provides an entertaining insight into contemporary Brazilian music, and it seems like a pretty good time to me.
Dimitri Kalagas