I got this album last summer completely by accident. I was driving daily from my brother's house to the beach and had nothing to listen to on the way, so I went into a Public store and bought the cheapest interesting looking CD's: this one and a celtic punk record I've already presented here. Surprisingly, the latter got played more often. My first impression of Célia Mara, from the pose on the cover to the music, was that she was trying to be the female Manu Chao. Reading up on her now, she seems to have paved her own way, from playing tropicalia as a young girl in Brazil to emigrating to Vienna during the early 1990s and creating the style she calls bastardista: A mix of traditional Latin, Brazilian, and Jamaican rhythms and electronica. Her defiant posing, dressed in garbage bags, on the cover is probably an illustration of the grab-bag nature of her music. The lyrics are (apparently) socially conscious and sung in a variety of languages (Portuguese, English, German, and Spanish). The best tracks here are the Manu Chao-like salsa/ska "Matriaméricas" (duet with Amparo Sanchez) and "Fábrica De Armas" and English language ska "AnaMaria". "Ilegal Na Geladeria" marries funk and bossanova, while "Brigada Rosa" and "Alma Reciclada" are among the more danceable tracks with their mix of samba rhythms and electronic beats. "A Flor do dendê" is a slow dub/samba piece and "Dá-Me Um Beijo" a bluesy ballad. The album closes with two of the poppier songs, German language reggae "Du Und Ich" and worldbeat "Nanâ Burukê". IMO, despite a few good tracks, the album as a whole is rather underwhelming, hence the overall rating is lower than individual ones.
**** for Matriaméricas, AnaMaria
*** for Ilegal Na Geladeria, Brigada Rosa, Alma Reciclada, Fábrica De Armas, Du Und Ich, Nanâ Burukê
** for A Flor Do Dendê, Dá-Me Um Beijo
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