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Their wildly inventive fusion of Afro-Brazilian carnival rhythms with the global sounds of dub, rock and hip hop laid the foundations for the manguebeat movement and garnered some serious international attention for the music of their native Pernambuco. Manguebeat was simultaneously more traditional and more modern, more local and more global than anything that had gone before it and it was Nação Zumbi, more than anyone, who set the pace.

Following Chico Science’s tragic death in 1997, Nação Zumbi regrouped, fixed their gaze even more firmly on the future and continued to produce explosive, experimental music. Futura is their third release without Chico Science and sees the band finally escape from the shadow of his musical legacy to create a new, mature sound that is defiantly their own. Co-produced by American Scott Hard (whose previous credits include albums by De La Soul and the Wu Tang Clan), the set sees the band abandoning the scratching and hip hop inflections of their previous releases in favour of vintage 1970s keyboards and other analogue hardware. In the words of vocalist Jorge du Peixe, the overall effect is of a ‘psychedelia in black and white’.

The sound is sleeker than before, all industrial post-rock soundscapes and grainy cinematic textures. The rhythm section remains as powerful as ever, providing a tangentially funky base over which du Peixe’s elliptical melodies hang. Futura is drenched in languid guitar work that consciously echoes Ennio Morricone’s film soundtracks and, on Gameboy-sampling standout ‘Expresso Da Eletrica Avenida’, surf-guitar hero Dick Dale. Elsewhere ‘Memorando’ sees the band pay homage to that earlier pioneer of Brazilian fusion, Jorge Benjor.

But for all the futuristic sheen, I can’t help but miss the sonic assault and moments of blistering invention that have traditionally elevated Nação Zumbi into the ranks of the truly great. At any rate they remain a truly world-beating live act and I can’t wait to see what they make of these songs on stage. The future’s still in safe hands.