Album review: Gilles Peterson/Sonzeira

Brasil Bam Bam

Gilles Peterson’s famous catchline is “joining the musical dots“, and the BBC DJ’s Sonzeira collective continue that mission on an album that was recorded over several weeks in Rio.

Those who listen to his weekly radio show might have expected those dots to be joined to Western genres such as hip-hop and electronic dance music, but instead Peterson has concentrated on connecting some of the more significant forms of the Brazil’s own music. As such, you’ll hear the intact African rhythms of Salvador, the samba and bossa nova sounds associated with Rio, alongside Tropicalia grooves given a modern twist in the studio.