The Bottom Line
If you like electronica/dance music but sometimes get tired of the same old rhythms, 1 Real might be just the CD to rejuvenate your dance floor moves. DJ Dolores delivers an album that mixes the modern with more traditional Brazilian rhythms from the area around Recife while describing the local social scene with quirky insight and unexpected images. 1 Real is a rich album that engages the mind as it motivates the feet.
Pros
- Video of DJ Dolores describing Recife & motivation for '1 Real'
- Electronic dance music fused with lesser known NE Brazil's rhythms
Cons
- None
Description
- 12 tracks of rhythms from NE Brazil fused with dance mix/electronica
- Bonus track -"Danger Global Warning" by The Blacksmoke Organization, remixed by DJ Dolores
- Bonus video "DJ Dolores presents 1 Real and Recife"
- Released March, 2008 by Ziriguiboom/Crammed Discs
Guide Review - CD Review: DJ Dolores - 1 Real
Helder Aragao has been part of Brazil's vibrant music scene since the '80s, collaborating with Mangue Beat originators Chico Science and Nacao Zumbi, composing music for film & theater and remixing tracks for Gilberto Gil, Tribalistas and others. As DJ Dolores, he turned his innovative attention to the turntable with 2002's Contraditorio and 2005's Aparelhagem.
The 'real' is Brazil's monetary designation, so 1 Real could be translated as the figurative equivalent of $1. DJ Dolores returns to his hometown of Recife in northeast Brazil and the title is a reference to the big gap that exists between the different social classes. But don't think that means you're in for an ultra-serious, depressing album.
On the contrary, 1 Real is alive with ebullient local rhythms and socially conscious lyrics that are insightful, irreverent and often just plain amusing. For instance, "Mind Inspector" considers what goes on in another person's head, "Mutant Child" was born as a soundtrack for a cartoon, "Wakaru" sounds like someone's conjugating Japanese to a backdrop of Caboclinho flute and trance.
The music is most definitely dance floor electronica but the spice is in the the plethora of different NE Brazilian rhythms and native instruments that make this an album you're not likely to forget nor resist.
