Expectations were high for Metá Metá’s UK live debut, and they didn’t disappoint. Praised as “inventors for the new-music scene in Brazil” by Afrobeat star Tony Allen, who appears on their latest album, this three-piece from São Paulo have created a fusion style that involves anything from rock and free-form jazz to the spiritual music of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé. They mixed all those influences together in their remarkable opening song, Exu.
The set started gently, with singer Juçara Marçal chanting to the orixás (spirit gods), against a wash of sound provided by a burly, bearded saxophonist Thiago França and guitarist Kiko Dinucci. Then França broke off into a frantic improvisation, backed by increasingly furious guitar riffs, as a bass player and drummer joined the trio. The music suddenly slowed down, before building into an exhilarating wave of sound. Already they had created a sense of menace and the unexpected.
A second Candomblé-influenced song, Oya, began with mellow saxophone, then built to a series of wild solos, ending with Marçal scatting over a repeated bass note. They changed direction again, adding more conventional samba-dance influences that were treated with an edgy backing. It was followed by a jaunty dash of African-inspired jazz-funk and a frantic burst of post-punk revivalism, Me Perco, first recorded in the 80s by the all-female São Paulo group Mercenárias. Metá Metá have the skill and bravery to play with musical dynamics, and they proved themselves to be even more exciting live than on their album.
