From the opening drum rolls of “Bandinha” to the last swinging guitar chords of “Just Like Any Other Night,” it’s clear that Light A Candle, the sophomore release from the Brazilian-born, NYC-based Forro In The Dark, is no lethargic, bedtime affair.
This is party music, and the group, who were literally born at co-founder Mauro Refosco’s birthday party in 2005, make music that, despite incorporating elements of country and western, dub, surf rock, and MBP, stays true to the original idea behind forró: that is, the dancing.
So it makes sense that the thirteen songs on Light A Candle, a name borrowed from a Neil Young song, were also formed in this same kind of environment, composed and developed during the band’s weekly Wednesday-night gig at the New York City club Nublu. Some of them, like the instrumental covers “Saudades de Manezinho Araujo” and “Forro de Dois Amigos,” have been popular elements of their live show for years, but the dynamic between the players and their fantastic stage presence is also conveyed in the studio: all of the songs on Light A Candle recorded live at FLUXSTUDIOS, with only the occasional stringed or percussive instruments overdubbed later.
In making Light A Candle, the quartet employed the help of producer FAB and bassist Alberto Continentino, as well as singer-songwriter and New York fixture Jesse Harris (of Norah Jones fame) on the song “Just Like Any Other Night,” and Brazilian Girls frontwoman Sabina Sciubba, who adds her sultry, tongue-in-cheek vocals to the Astor Piazzolla-meets-Ennio Morricone “Silence Is Golden.” The album will be released on Nat Geo Music on October 13, 2009.
The quartet recently sat down to talk about forró music and their band, and even give an impromptu a cappella percussion performance. Check it out, plus a sneak peak at their live show, below.
And for more than just a peak at the group on stage...
FORRO IN THE DARK US SUMMER SHOWS
Sep 18 Monterey, CA @ Monterey Jazz Festival
Sep 20 Chicago, IL @ Chicago World Music Festival
Oct 16 Black Mountain, NC @ Lake Eden Arts Festival
Oct 17 Black Mountain, NC @ Lake Eden Arts Festival
This is party music, and the group, who were literally born at co-founder Mauro Refosco’s birthday party in 2005, make music that, despite incorporating elements of country and western, dub, surf rock, and MBP, stays true to the original idea behind forró: that is, the dancing.
So it makes sense that the thirteen songs on Light A Candle, a name borrowed from a Neil Young song, were also formed in this same kind of environment, composed and developed during the band’s weekly Wednesday-night gig at the New York City club Nublu. Some of them, like the instrumental covers “Saudades de Manezinho Araujo” and “Forro de Dois Amigos,” have been popular elements of their live show for years, but the dynamic between the players and their fantastic stage presence is also conveyed in the studio: all of the songs on Light A Candle recorded live at FLUXSTUDIOS, with only the occasional stringed or percussive instruments overdubbed later.
In making Light A Candle, the quartet employed the help of producer FAB and bassist Alberto Continentino, as well as singer-songwriter and New York fixture Jesse Harris (of Norah Jones fame) on the song “Just Like Any Other Night,” and Brazilian Girls frontwoman Sabina Sciubba, who adds her sultry, tongue-in-cheek vocals to the Astor Piazzolla-meets-Ennio Morricone “Silence Is Golden.” The album will be released on Nat Geo Music on October 13, 2009.
The quartet recently sat down to talk about forró music and their band, and even give an impromptu a cappella percussion performance. Check it out, plus a sneak peak at their live show, below.
And for more than just a peak at the group on stage...
FORRO IN THE DARK US SUMMER SHOWS
Sep 18 Monterey, CA @ Monterey Jazz Festival
Sep 20 Chicago, IL @ Chicago World Music Festival
Oct 16 Black Mountain, NC @ Lake Eden Arts Festival
Oct 17 Black Mountain, NC @ Lake Eden Arts Festival
