Nomade Orquestra unravel the nomadic spirit threading our bones together and turbulently take us to into previously undiscovered dimensions. With the musical depth of each song opening up new vistas, we are swung into their innermost sacred space. The band give no choice but to push reality aside and cosy up to their deliciously mangled psychotropic haze.
Made up of ten performers residing in Sao Paulo, this is evidence that Brazil has the ability to be at the centre of the world. Constructing soundscapes from a wide range of influences from Afro-Brazilian, Ethio-jazz, Funk, street brass, Middle Eastern and Oriental styles, this gives substance to the term ‘world music’.
EntreMundos is their second album released on 23rd June with Far Out Recordings, the UK label pioneering Brazilian music. The group originally started as a foursome and grew organically as they enrolled their comrades and musical friends from their local Sao Paulo suburbs.
“Rinoceronte Blues” is their most instantly accessible song on the album but far from predictable. Spookily ascending into an explosion of brass and metal, the introductory cosmic big bang gives birth to a catchy engagement between bass and harmonica blues. Each player filling the gaps of their celestial bandmates, the stellar sounds ground you onto one of their many arresting and vivid planets. The horns take the lead of the exploration into a ska-fuelled knees-up.
“Felag Mengu” is their fifth track. Starting out with 1960’s style jazzy psychedelic rock reminiscent of the Doors and then plunges headfirst into a compulsive Afro-Brazilian percussion solo, embracing the carnival spirit. This newest landscape in their sonic universe reveals beckoning oriental crying melodies on vocals mirrored by the horns, turning the corner into a new territory.
In its whole, this instrumental album creates a multi-dimensional image of a constantly changing galaxy, where each song reveals a different perspective. The LP is packed with drama and unexpected turns using adrenaline and excitement to catapult you into their world.
For such a large orchestra, it’s impressive that each member conjures their own image and influences the soundscape, adding their own context to the whole creation. This feels like an equal combination of talented minds, with no one voice dominating the sound.
Like a dream, the album passes so quickly the details are vague, but all you know is you loved every second.