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Lounge music is a bit of a dirty word as far as I’m concerned, and is usually synonymous with the unimaginative or uninspiring. It is however the perfect term to describe Destiny, an album which bares none of those negative hallmarks. It is a combination of lounge like slow grooves and late 60s/early 70s Brazilian funk cuts. It is full of wah wah guitars, smouldering basslines and sultry vocals.

In the 60s and 70s Antonio was the master of funky Brazilian breaks and beats, and his compositions have been recorded and performed by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sergio Mendes and Herb Alpert. For Destiny he called upon his extensive network of musical contacts and the list of supporting artists is an impressive one. Percussionist Don Chacal was called in from Grupo Batuque, drummer Ivan Conti and bassist Alex Malheiros from Azymuth and both Arthur Verocai and Ze Carols make appearances.

The album is the follow up to the Ao Vivo Live CD released last year in the States by the Brazilian International Press Association. That recording featured his daughter Carol Saboya and here she is joined by her sister Luisa; their vocals are delicate yet powerful and combine in pitch perfect harmonies never more so than on the breezy ‘Dono do Mundo’ or Airessque ‘Eu e Vocé’.

Aside from those two, album highlights include ‘Luizão’ a psychedelic samba ode to the band’s former bassist of the same name, the swinging ‘SOS Amazonas’ and the bossa soaked ‘Bola de Vez’.

Much Brazilian music is concerned with trying to recreate the sound of times gone by, — attempts which rarely yield satisfactory results. It is a rather clever feat by FarOut therefore to call upon the old masters themselves and entice them back into the studio. Billed as quasi re-release Destiny comes with none of the dodgy recording one associates with bygone eras; it features new material and was recorded in a modern studio. The sound may be retro but the production quality is not.

Destiny is out on FarOut Recordings (who are also promising new offerings from Joyce and Arthur Aerocai later this year).

Links:
FarOut