Afrociberdelia

Barnes & Noble

You say you love Brazilian music because you dig the records Milton and Gil and Caetano Veloso did about 25 years ago. If you only heard the Brazilian music of today, you'd probably like it about as much as a Hank 'n' Cash country fan likes Shania Twain. The late Chico Science exploded on a moribund music scene -- Brazil's a big country, and the common denominator is as low as anyone's. Gathering up the scraps of traditional northeastern music still heard at festivals in his native Recife and mixing them with a love for hip-hop, heavy rock, and psychedelic soul jazz, Chico Science galvanized an alternative movement as important as the Tropicalia boom 30 years prior. AFROCIBERDELIA was the group's second and final album before a car crash took the visionary MC's life. Gilberto Gil was already on board, jousting with Chico on "Mac⊚"; Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato was at the mixing desk; Goldie would write Chico's drum 'n' bass eulogy on SATURNZ RETURN. The power and potential of the group were written large over this ambitious, futuristic Amazonian swamp rock, replete with three drummers pounding out ancient grooves, a sampling DJ, a demonic guitarist, and Chico's own sunstroked, Sun Ra verbosity. Meet the band that saved Brazilian music. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Rougher and rawer than Da Lama Ao Caos, Afrociberdelia sounds like it should have been Chico Science & Nação Zumbi's debut album. The music feels like it was recorded live in the studio without overdubs, and virtually all the songs sound like unfinished sketches one step removed from the final form they could have taken in the studio. The individual elements so artfully layered together on Da Lama are separated out and isolated here, although "Etnia," "Quilombo Groove," "Macó," and "Samba do Lado" are potent examples of prime Chico Science & Nação Zumbi. But the songs meander more and more as the disc plays -- only the surprising acoustic lope of "Criança de Domingo" has the focus and clarity of the group's best material. Whether Afrociberdelia signaled a shift in direction, a slight second-album slump, or just an attempt to showcase the group in stripped-down form became a moot point with Chico Science's death. Despite its flaws, this is still a potent example of the innovative thrust of Chico Science & Nação Zumbi's new vision for Brazilian music. Don Snowden