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  Mylene - Mylene (Fast Horse/Ryko FH004, 2003)
Daude - Neguinha Te Amo (Real World 70876 18101 2 7, 2003)
Many of Brazil's brightest musical stars have been women, as is the case in any
country with a sizable music industry (and Brazil's is huge). Some remain
little-known outside that nation, but increased worldwide interest in recent
years has given more rapid global recognition to newer stars like
Marisa
Monte,
Virginia Rodrigues and
Bebel
Gilberto, and the variations in Brazilian music they represent.
As luck would have it, two new CDs by two Brazilian women fell into my lap on
the same day recently. Both are similar in scope in that they are a well-crafted
mix of old and new sounds, but are different enough to make their respective
virtues distinct.
Mylene's self-titled debut, Mylene, is a sparse but enticing selection of pieces inspired
by her contemplative view of today's Brazilian culture and the traditions that
continue to influence it. African roots, Portuguese colonization, literary
works, media images and modern technology converge in Mylene's music, which
draws quiet strength from one and all. Noted percussionist/producer Ramiro
Musotto envelops the songs in a warm balance of acoustic instruments and shadowy
electronic sounds, complimenting tempos that range from samba and bossa nova to
reggae and subtle Iberian rhythms. Mylene's voice is low-key and oddly sensual,
gently breathing life into highlights such as the melancholy "Clareou," the
Jamaican-style chop of "Coracao Tonto" and a surprisingly good take on the
Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby." Pretty darn impressive for a first album.
 Daude
(pronounced dah-oo-jee) had an album put out on Tinder Records a few years back.
I don't know much about that one, so Neguinha Te Amo is my first true
earful of her sound. And it's a good one. She seems to be aiming more for the
dancefloor, and thus both the rhythms (mostly the Afro-Bahian kind) and the
electronics are notched higher than on the Mylene disc. Daude's got a huskier
voice too, well-suited for the bossa nova slink of a song like "Canto de Ossanha"
(which stands up well when compared to the Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes
original) or the slow "Sans Dire Adieu," where she comes across like a Brazilian
Annie Lennox. But the majority of the tracks are move-and-groovers that are
nicely laced with a variety of potions borrowed from samba, jazz and Middle
Eastern music, all with enough chill to cool you out without putting you to
sleep. The production style wisely gives both traditional and contemporary
sounds a fair amount of prominence in the mix, making Neguinha Te Amo bold,
modern Brazilian music that succeeds as well as it does not only through variety
but an understanding that sounding modern shouldn't cancel out sounding
Brazilian.
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