Sramba.

Domenico Lancellotti, son of iconic bossa singer and composer Ivor Lancellotti, has amassed a wealth of important playing, writing, and producing credits across his career. Though best known for membership in +2, a defunct funky neo-psychedelic samba trio with Moreno Veloso and Kassin, the guitarist, percussionist, and producer has also worked alongside legends including Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, and Marisa Monte. Sramba, his first outing since 2021s Raio, reunites him with bassist, electronicist, and producer Ricardo Dias Gomes of Do Amor, who is best known for his work with Lucas Santtana, Caetano Veloso, Thiago Nassif, and Andre Henriques. In 2022, Lancellotti invited Gomes for an extended stay in Lisbon. The duo holed up in the Cave -- an underground studio -- for months with guitars, basses, percussion instruments, drum machines, and a clutch of recently acquired Russian-designed analog synths. They spent weeks just making sounds, beats, and vamps, many of which became the basis for these ten songs. Sramba is darker in sonic texture, weaving almost industrial distortion and machine-like percussion sounds alongside nylon-string guitars, lush vocals, hand percussion, and other sounds. Opener "Ere" is a case in point. Analog drums and synth loops meet a rockist, minor-key guitar vamp in a hypnotic circular rhythm. When Lancellotti begins chanting, Gomes paints a resonant backdrop with his bass, berimbau, stacked backing vocals, and more. "Um Abraco no Faust" is an instrumental tribute to the German band based on a melodic guitar line from Joao Gilbertos "Um Abraco no Bonfa," with multi-tracked berimbaus, keyboard harmonics, plenty of reverb, and clattering industrial percussion. The single "Diga" rides a glitchy machine and bass drum pulse as Lancellotti plays an airy, pre-jazz samba -- reflecting the influence of Pixinguinha -- framed by strummed nylon-string guitars and hand percussion in a lilting melody that is as sunny as a Rio beach. "Nada Sera de Outra Maneira" is a swooning old-school samba with strings and glitches that pays tribute to both Tamba Trio and Tom Ze, whose efforts furthered samba to embrace other sounds and experimentation. "Quem Samba" is one of two tunes with horns. Ghostly electronic sounds, tremolo electric guitar, and strummed acoustic guitar frame trumpet, trombone, tuba, and organic percussion. The melody juxtaposes fado, modern samba, and flamenco as Lancellotti gets vocal assistance from Marcia Santos. "Descomunal" features a guest vocal by indie singer Tori in a moody, lush ballad draped in electronica, echo, and cellos. Closer "Florescer," co-written with Tori, is a bright, breezy neo-psychedelic samba. Its horns act as a harmonic counter to Lancellottis buoyant vocals. The artist refers to the music on Sramba, his finest outing to date, as "machine samba," a modern construct placing the root music in a continuum with the disruptive sounds, textures, and spaces of the 21st century. The notion is apt but doesnt quite portray how closely this new approach relies on the lush lyric harmonies and inventive rhythms in sambas evolution. ~ Thom Jurek