Céu

iTunes Review

Along with Marisa Monte and Seu Jorge, the young Sao Paulo songstress Céu is at the forefront of the popular revival of the sounds of early seventies Brazil. Like her contemporaries she draws upon the influence of musical giants like Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, and Caetano Veloso, but blends these influences with a decidedly contemporary approach to rhythm and production, adding electronic flourishes to lilting sambas and delirious layers of overdubs to simple folk melodies. Though Céu’s album might be classified as worldbeat thanks to the presence of turntablist DJ Marco, and the warm Portishead-like production of Beto Villares, the sounds here are largely organic, and the adventurous fusion of styles on Céu never sounds forced or insincere. Instead, Céu proves herself to be a stunningly original songwriter, juxtaposing the soulful horns of “Rainha” against an infectious Bossa strum and layers of angelic vocalizations. Though Céu stumbles somewhat on her beautifully delivered, but somewhat too straightforward, cover of Bob Marley’s “Concrete Jungle”, she has managed to deliver an engaging and stylistically diverse debut that ranks among 2007’s best Brazilian releases.