Satanique Samba Trio

No Brazilian traditional rhythm remains unscathed on Satanique Samba Trio’s trail of desecration. From Samba to Frevo, from Bossa-Nova to Lambada, this Brasília-based sextet (not really a trio, unsurprisingly) has been adding virulence, dissonance and provocation to Brazil’s musical heritage since 2003. After six albums of typical Brazilian horror, they surface again with Mo Bad, a semi-compilation comprised of six brand new and six previously released low fidelity bagatelles. More specifically and less technically, twelve short, unpretentious instrumental compositions that sound suspiciously aged. Even more specifically, Mo Bad is so exotic, it’s not even funny.

Formed in 2002, Satanique Samba Trio established themselves as the irrefutable proof of life after the tropicalia movement. Also influenced by the likes of Gustav Mahler , Dmitri Shostakovich , Anton Webern , Luc Ferrari , Stravinsky , Baron Samedi , Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Henry, they absorb elements of contemporary classical music, like dissonance and rhythmic distortions, inspired by what they call "the aesthetic of Satanism Tropical ".

The Satanique Samba Trio mission (as stated on their website) reads...

“Dear Gringos, It’s very difficult to explain POLITELY what most Brazilians are hearing when it comes to popular music. One’s most sincere description would be a straight “CORNY SHIT!” No joke! Imagine a constant reverberation of the cheesy parts in ‘The girl from Ipanema’ and you’ll have an accurate picture of what Brazilian media are made of. Now, someone has to step up and tell ‘em how it really is, right?”

Yet while merciless in their attitude towards the cultural status-quo in Brazil, their music isn’t all death and destruction; moments of true sonic beauty are buried deep in the carefully constructed chaos. Similarly, wild experimentation is balanced with consummate musicianship and incredible free-jazz style execution of freak-baroque melodies and spaced out textures. Their instrumentation is as varied as the styles they incorporate into their music and their research of the traditions and lineage of Brazilian folk rhythms is unparalleled.