Press Release Aláfia – Corpura Who started all that? Was it Jorge

Press Release Aláfia – Corpura
Who started all that? Was it Jorge Ben? Elza Soares? Tim Maia? Dom
Salvador? Itamar Assumpção?
The roster is huge, possibly never-ending. Perhaps it is the case of stepping
back in time in order to recall the grandeur of Clementina de Jesus, Noriel Vilela,
Zé Keti, Moacir Santos, and Pixinguinha, among several others.
There are no doubts that they were the ones setting grounds and guidelines
for all of us. I am pretty sure that each of our sweat drops bear at least a
molecule of these composing elements.
I have always believed (and still do) in the thesis that our mission is to
defend, develop, and bring forth both the thoughts and the music of our mentors.
It might seem simple and obvious, but it isn’t…
“Pelas nossas contas
Pelo nosso toque
Nosso fio desencapou
e você não escapa do choque…”
“Through our accounts
and our touch,
the wire is now bare
and you can’t escape the shock...”
This is the opening stanza of Corpura, second record of Aláfia, a group from
São Paulo that, one and done, states its commitment not only to our ancestors
and matrixes, but also to the discussion of the myriad of Brazilian social and
cultural realities, which keep shouting and struggling for acknowledgement and
for their entitled spaces.
It is no coincidence that the track “Salve Geral”, chosen to open the record,
poses itself as a letter of intent of these eleven subjects, spreading their claims in
a solid speech, tracing the path braved by the aforementioned masters.
We are facing difficult times, in which our freedoms and ideas are threatened
on a daily basis – hence the relevance of accomplishing such a conceptual work,
raising issues of major importance. Aláfia’s lyrics are not only a call for
consideration – its critical verve portrays, denounces, and exposes the current
contradictions and tensions of the Brazilian urban centers, sounding as an
inevitable summons. And at this very moment, when the text increases its density
and becomes disturbing, nothing can beat the band’s musical resourcefulness
that captivate, attract, and make us dance with its infectious grooves and
arrangements. They also make us think. A record is culture, remember?
Corpura ensues from the meeting of numerous components – each of the
words, phrases, notes, melodies, chords, tones, blows, beats, and turns that
show up when we are listening to it, are clear in stating that its members’
influences inspire them just right, firmly leading to the elaboration of their own
dictionary of sounds. One can easily identify their fine tune with the black music
of Rio de Janeiro from the 1970s, as well as with the American and African funk.
The atabaque drums from candomblé meet Motown, Gil Scott Heron, George
Clinton, Fela Kuti, Lincoln Olivetti, Robson Jorge, and Cassiano. All that with a
signature element, a singular accent full of meanings.
On the other hand, the respect of traditions does not withdraw Aláfia from its
own time – their music, pretty well recorded and produced by Alê Siqueira and
Eduardo Brechó, is also that of a newborn in the heart of the biggest Latin
American city. It is responsive, pugnacious, a legitimate child of São Paulo’s
magnificent alternative scene, since long established as one of the most
significant to our country’s situation. It reasserts its bonds, and refers in full
power to the poetry and language of the surrounding urban universe, especially
that of hip hop.
“Você não escapa do choque…”/“You can’t escape the shock…”
The stock keeps getting stronger throughout the eleven tracks – eleven
petards, actually, unmissable.
What else can be said? You better listen to it. Please do it, right away.
Hail to Xênia França, Jairo Pereira, Eduardo Brechó, Fabio Leandro,
Alysson Bruno, Filipe Gomes, Gabriel Catanzaro, Gil Duarte, Lucas Cirillo, Pipo
Pegoraro, and Victor Eduardo!
Praise be to those that seek for freedom through music.
To finish, a phrase of the chorus of “Salve Geral”:
“Com a nossa rapa você não é capaz...”/“You can’t mess with our
gang…”
Right on, Aláfia. Go ahead. At full tilt.
Charles Gavin, July 2015.