Posted on 04/29/2008
    Lounge music and exotica records have thrilled music fans and audiophiles alike for their interesting techniques of enticing the listener with sensual sounds meant to exite the mind and ones stereo system.  While many of these albums have become the reason thousands of cratediggers browse through thrift stores and yard sales, either to listen and recapture those feelings or for sample raiding, there has been room for younger artists and producers to bring these smoothed out sounds to a new generation.

 

3 Na Massa ("3 in the dough") are a three-man collective who have combined electronic composition with real instrumentation to create a trippy collage of Brazilian bossa nova that sounds like an orgy film with its soundtrack supplied by Jazzanova, Da Lata, and Thievery Corporation.  The self-titled album is being described as music with the intent "to penetrate the female universe", as it is romantic and sexual in nature, if not downright erotic.  It's down tempo with gentle Brazilian touches, where you will hear distorted guitars and muted trumpets over the kind of beats and bass pulses that didn't exist in the late 60's and early 70's, at least not in a rhythmic matter.  To take the concept of erotic music even further, 3 Na Massa (consisting of Pupillo, Dengue, and Rica Amabis) looked for Brazilian actresses to do some of the singing, not professional vocalists.  In a country where one can find singers and musicians almost everywhere, it might seem odd for anyone to take that risk, but a lot of times those classic Brazilian albums were performed by non-professionals.  They may not have had the perfect voices, but it was less about perfection and more about a feeling, and they offer that throughout the album's thirteen selections.  Each of the ladies were told to put themselves in the character of a chanteuse and become that woman, inside and out.  "Tatuí", featuring soap opera star Karine Carvalho, sounds slightly off-key but hearing her over a tropical reggae beat somehow works.  Geanine Marques' performance in "Estrondo", a mixture of seductive singing and spoken word, is almost too much to bear, you can almost feel the quiver of her lips as she graces your ear.  Cynthia Zamorano, who sings under the name Cyz, begins "Quente como asfalto" by speaking seductively as if she's in the middle of something very important and perhaps personal, and inbetween the Portuguese dialogue one could swear she's saying a few dirty words in English.  Her vocals are delicate sounding, airy but in a warm way, only for her to return to her conversation that doesn't let up.

 

    The music itself could be thirteen mini-movies, ready made for the mind, body and soul.  With bits of reggae, jazz, funk, and soul heard throughout the album, 3 Na Massa aren't just about creating a retro-sounding album just because they can.  In fact, this is just as up to date as anything Bebel Gilberto or Ed Motta have done in recent years, showing that the music and spirit of Brazil continues to be an inspiration for people around the world.  It's a very open and revealing album that doesn't feel a need to deny what it feels inside, and in fact demands its listeners to get involved, in whatever way possible.  If anything, it's a fun album to listen to, and it was probably a lot of fun to put together.  I feel it will become one of those mandatory mood enhancers for those evenings that require a special touch, or more special touches that go beyond what your heart desires.

 

 

- John Book