The opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics included a tribute to the Tropicália movement, and rightly so, for the ideas of “cultural cannibalism” and experimental fusion promoted by Gilberto Gil and his colleagues still play a major part in new Brazilian music. Graveola are from the inland city of Belo Horizonte, where they pioneered a style that once involved toy instruments and lyrics about social issues. The latter are still part of the mix, as shown by such new political songs as Indio Maracanã, but their current style combines angry and surreal lyrics in an easygoing, melodic style that features bursts of pop, jazz and rock. To this they add unexpected rhythm patterns from Brazil’s north-east or the Cape Verde islands, along with a dash of reggae. It’s an original, gently subtle set that sounds better with every listen.
