following on from last week’s m.i.a. playback on the radio show, i’ve put together some info and links on the sound that’s been championed by m.i.a. and is picking up a great deal of press – ‘baile funk’.
an interview with dj marlboro on hyperdub:
“In a famous quote, Chuck D refers to rap as the black CNN. In many respects Rio or baile funk could be referred to as favela CNN. That is, it’s used as a medium to convey how the people who live in the Brazilian favelas really feel using their own language, idioms and slang. baile funk is basically a strain of Miami Bass breakbeat, but much cruder and ruffer in it’s production. There is a healthy anything-goes and fuck-fashion attitude to using samples, and classic late 80’s Todd Terrycan meet the riff from Doo Wah Diddy. The scene is scorned upon by the Brazilian electronica scene-makers as well as the middle-class media. It’s prole-like unpretentiousness and complete lack of “cool” makes it a scene apart from the rave and club scene dominated by São Paulo and the fashion conscious Paulistas. But ironically, baile Funk is the original Brazilian electronic dance music stemming from the incredibly popular Rio sound-systems of the 70’s.”
a review from stylus magazine gives a good back story:
“as the sounds of American hip-hop and R&B began to infiltrate the [south american] continent in the 1980s, crucially introducing Miami Bass music to the listeners and DJs who already worshipped any music with an intense amount of bass. DJ Marlboro is the acknowledged major bridge between Miami and Rio, bringing back a number of records from his trips to America and producing the first album with bass tracks rapped solely in Portuguese, Funk Brasil. Since its introduction, the myriad of genres intertwined in Miami Bass: electro, hip-hop and R&B have all made their way into the melting pot that is Rio Funk.”
from simon reynolds‘ blissblog:
“What baile funk shares in common with the other shanty house musics is that it’s rude… The other thing about baile funk is that it’s cheesy. Samples from things like cheesy technorave tunes like “Met Her At the Love Parade,” elements that recall early 90s hip house of the Technotronic sort, or Europop. And there’s no contradiction, the rudeness and the cheesyiness are connected and mutually reinforcing. This rude’n’cheesy quality is something you can find across the hardcore discontinuum.”
from a new interview with diplo @ pitchfork:
“I’m so into it because I loved Miami bass growing up, that’s all I had, that was my Bible. So going down to Brazil and hearing it [and] finding MC A.D.E. records from some Miami bass label that [I’ve] never even seen before that were only pressed in Brazil– that’s how big it was in the 80s– and now they’ve created something that’s purely Portuguese, using backwards drums in cheap programs, with no plug-ins. They do it all by hand on the computer… The music has so much energy, and is so ridiculous because they’re working under the most hardcore circumstances. They have nothing to lose.”
as you can imagine, music made on home PCs in favelas may never make its way to a record store near you. however, some compilations are now finding their way through:
Rio Baile Funk – Favela Booty Beats [buy]
Slum Dunk – Funk Corioca [buy]
Diplo – Favela On Blast mixtape [buy from turntable lab, if in stock] see below
you can also check out m.i.a.‘s ‘arular’ (particularly the track ‘bucky done gun’, and its apparent similarities to the baile funk track ‘injeção’ by deise tigrona that i played on yesterday’s show). m.i.a. and diplo‘s ‘piracy funds terrorism’ mixtape also has some baile funk beats scattered throughout.
a long time back, this site become the unofficial home of baile funk mp3s and their ilk. you know my schtick is that i don’t post to or host mp3s that haven’t been vetted by the artist – in this case, i can make an exception. if you find any of the following are available commercially (and i’m doubtful it ever will be), then let me know and i’ll post links to buy in their place. there are literally 100s of mp3s to download, i’ve posted a few that pricked my ears, mostly for their ‘interesting’ sample use. in most cases (particularly under the ‘funk neurotico’ compilations), the original artist is uncredited.
FUNK NEUROTICO
lanchinho (rmx) mp3
beijoquinha mp3
safada sem vergonha mp3
MC VANESSINHA
danca de peteca mp3
UPDATE 120405 19:22
cokemachineglow have been cleared by diplo to offer both his ‘favela on blast’ and – yes – the m.i.a. / diplo mixtape ‘piracy funds terrorism’ as free downloads. scroll to the foot of the page for info on unzipping the ‘piracy’ file. don’t stop until you own both of these mixes..