Forro in the Dark

We continue riding the Brazilian wave this week. After Otto, we dive into the music of Forro in the Dark – old favourites of ours, not very well known in this neck of the woods. Ever since we started this project we have been searching for the right moment to share them with everyone, and today is the day. 

Forro in the Dark are Brazilians living in New York – Maoro Refosko on percussions, Guilherme Monteiro on guitar and Jorge Continentino – flutes and saxophone. They formed as a band in 2002, playing at a birthday party at Nublu in New York. That is where they get heard and discovered and end up recording two albums, the first of which features David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto. The second one features the vocals of Sabina Sciubba and the third one, recorded in 2017 in Brazil, features music by John Zorn. 

Forro is actually the name of the most popular musical genre in the northern parts of Brazil. It combines music, dance and traditions that were formed on the plantations and farms in that part of the country in the 19th century. To this day Forro competes for popularity with the samba, it gets performed and danced to all around the globe, and at least according to us, especially in Forro in the Dark, it’s a style full of energy, humor and joy. 

Also, especially with Forro in the Dark, surprises are the most common thing – today they play the music of John Zorn, tomorrow they play Red Hot Chili Peppers, the next – Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace. And we don’t even count the Brazilian project Cometa, featuring some of the members. 
That is why we decided to continue the Brazilian takeover, with a lot of joy and pleasure, with Forro – the music by Maoro Refosko and co. 
It starts with Forrowest from the 2006 debut album Bonfires of São João (Nublu records) – never getting old, fun, and always bringing smiles. From the same album we also listen to Asa Branca with David Byrne. 
The song from the second album Light a Candle (Nublu records) form 2008, is Silence is golden, featuring Sabina Sciubba from Brazilian Girls. 
Followed by three pieces from the 2015 album with music by Zorn Forro In The Dark plays Zorn (Tzadik) Forro Zinho, Sunset Surfer, Zavebe. 
To wrap things up we listen to a piece from the latest album Sandcastle, issued in 2017 in Brazil by Nacional Records.
July 2019
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