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Nação Zumbi: Brainy Crabs & Cannibals

February 13, 2008 by A.S. Van Dorston

Nação Zumbi: Brainy Crabs & Cannibals
I first heard of Chico Science and Nação Zumbi in late 1995 on a music discussion list. I was just launching fastnbulbous.com, and a couple members of Tortoise had provided an intruiging list of music artists the were not strictly influences, but simply their favorite music. The name Chico Science & Nação Zumbi stood out as a name I had never heard of. This is understandable, as their debut album, Da Lama ao Caos (From Mud To Chaos) was just released in 1994, only in Brazil. Brazilian imports were nearly impossible to come by then, and there was zero media coverage in the U.S., outside of more established former tropicálistas like Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Tom Zé. Perhaps the folks in Tortoise caught their performance at Central Park’s SummerStage that summer opening up for Gilberto Gil. I was grateful for the tip, as the money spent on the import was well spent. The album was simply explosive, mixing the power of three large bombo bass drums culled from the Afro-Pernambuan maracatu tradition with embolada, raggamuffin, heavy metal, psychedelic rock, punk, funk and hip-hop. This fusion music was far more successful than the clumsy attempts of American bands to fuse rock, funk and rap. I would have thought they’d become immensely popular here. But the release of their second album, Afrociberdelia (1996) came and went with no acknowledgement here, and by February 1997, Chico Science was dead from a car accident. Just as Joy Division’s future was in doubt after losing Ian Curtis, many wondered if they could make it without their charismatic leader.

Nação Zumbi hail from the city of Recife in Brazil’s very poor northeastern state of Pernambuco. In 1984, Francisco de Assis França was a member of B-boy breakdancing group Legião Hip Hop (Hip-Hop Legion) along with his inseparable friend Jorge du Peixe. In 1987 he and Jorge joined Orla Orbe, which fused hard rock and funk. With guitarist Lúcio Maia and bassist Alexandre Dengue they evolved into Loustal in 1989, and began experimenting with mixing post-punk with Pernambucan folk elements. Francisco became known as Chico Science, and Loustal merged with samba-reggae group Lamento Negro (Black Lament). Samba-reggae was a popular style in the 80s, originating in Salvador, Bahia. They also experimented with the bloco afro style of the Afro-Brazilian drum corps. Chico Science & Lamento Negro spent a year focusing on mastering percussion, using just the tambor, caixa and repique. Eventually 15 members were narrowed down to eight, with Chico on vocals; Alexendre Dengue on bass; Lucio Maia on guitar; Gilmar Bola Oito, Gira and Jorge du Peixe on bombo drum; Toca Ogan on percussion; and Canhoto on snare drum. By 1994 they changed their name to Chico Science & Nação Zumbi (pronounced Nass-Ow-Zoom-Bee). Mistakenly translated by some to mean “zombie nation,” they’re actually named after Zumbi dos Palmares, a Capoeira warrior chief who defended Pernambuco’s largest quilombo (a settlement that provided refuge during most of the 17th century for escaped slaves, indigenous Brazilians and even whites fleeing oppression), the Republic of Palmares from slave hunters. November 20 is now a Brazilian holiday, National Black Awareness Day (Dia Nacional da Consciência Negra), commemorating his death in 1695.

Mangue: Crabs With Brains

Chico Science & Nação Zumbi - From Mud To Chaos (1994)

Chico and Fred Zero Quatro of the band Mundo Livre S/A (Free World Inc.), together with a group of artists and intellectuals dubbed caranguejos com cerebro [crabs with brains], envisioned a fusion of global cultural influences with the fertile local scene, symbolized by the tidal mudflats or manguezis that surround central Recife. A manifesto written by Zero Quatro appeared in the liner notes for Nação Zumbi’s debut album:

In mid-1991, a nucleus of research and production of pop ideas began to be generated and articulated in various parts of the city. The objective is to generate an “energy circuit” to connect the good vibrations of the tidal mudflats with the global network of circulation of pop concepts. Symbolic image: a satellite antenna stuck in the mud.

The signals the satellite antenna in the swamp mud of Recife picked up consisted of American hard rock, soul, rap, raggamuffin dancehall and electronic dance music. It was all integrated into the region’s ample folk heritage including styles such as maracutu, côco, ciranda, and embolada. The Mangue movement was also called Mangue Bit (as in binary computer bits) to more explicitly evoke the role of technology and electronic influence. Mangue Beat was a corruption of Mangue Bit. This is not unlike Caetano Veloso’s and Gilberto Gil’s tropicália movement of the late 60s, especially in the use of the modernist Brazilian concept of antropofagia, or cultural cannibalism, in which international culture is consumed and recontextualized within the framework of local culture. This references certain indigenous Brazilian tribes that supposedly cannibalized their vanquished in order to gain their strengths and virtues. This metaphor was elaborated in Oswald de Andrade’s 1928 text, the “Cannibalist manifesto”, symbolising a new Brazilian art that adapted rather than copied euopean and North American models.

Tropicália took advantage of a juncture in the history of Brazilian culture when they could ironically juxtapose the range of music that Brazil had “digested” up to that point to be on the vanguard of global culture rather than lagging behind. In Christopher Dunn’s Brutality Garden: Tropicália and the Emergence of a Brazilian Counterculture, Caetano Veloso said:

We were using lots of rock ‘n’ roll type electric guitar with Brazilian melodic styles and quotations from tangos and the Afro-Bahian thing. And a posture of being in the world, not like a Third World country that keeps being towed along behind what happens in the developed countries.

Despite operating as a unified movement for only a brief time (1967-68) in which they influenced visual art, poetry, architecture and drama, the tropicálistas achieved their goal, not only influencing Brazilian culture, but spreading to the world. In the U.S. it took nearly thirty years, but by the end of the 90s, critics and musicians like Beck spread the word enough that a large part of the musical community knew about Tropicália and were being influenced by it, acknowledging they perfected the collage technique that confused Brian Wilson into putting Smile on the backburner, long before hip-hop. a Tropicália exhibit toured the U.S. and was prominently featured in museums like Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Os Mutantes reunited and toured to an ecstatic reception.

Chico Science & Nação Zumbi - Afrociberdelia (1996)

Mangue seemed destined to be just as important and influential in continuing the Brazilian tradition of creating new hybrid identities by negotiating local and global cultural influences in innovative ways. It already inspired its first dissertation, Maracatu Atômíco: Tradition, Modernity, and Postmodernity in the Mangue Movement of Recife, Brazil (1999), by Philip Galinsky, which focuses mainly on Chico Science & Nação Zumbi. In the liner notes for their 1996 album Afrociberdelia:

(Taken from the Galactic Encyclopedia, volume LXII, 2102 edition)

AFROCIBERDELIA (from Africa + Cybernetics + Psychedelicism) &150;s.f.&150; The art of mapping the primal genetic memory (which in the 20th century was called “the collective unconscious”) through electrochemical stimulation, verbal automation and intense bodily movement to the sound of binary music.

Practiced informally by tribes of urban youths during the second half of the 20th century; only after 2030 was it officially accepted as a scientific discipline, together with telepathy, pataphysics, and psychoanalysis. For afrociberdelic theory, humanity is a benign virus in the software of nature, and can be compared to a Tree whose roots are the codes of human DNA (which originated in Africa), whose branches are the digital-information-electronic ramifications (Cybernetics) and whose fruits provoke altered states of conscience (Psychedelicism).

Taking after the irreverent space-madness of some of Funkadelic’s liner notes, the passage indicates the creed of mangue is to embrace technology as an aid in the art of mapping the “primal genetic memory.” The liner notes continue with instructions:

ENTER–Subversive technology, the grand library of cyberspace, symbiotic viewpoint, fractals in the cure for stress (plug in and chill out [sic]), afrociberdelia, theater of chance, impressive cinema, copied literature, fractal poetry, sampled culture, telecracy, interactive community, science-fiction, revival sense and musicracy.

DEL[ete]–Fraud, midiotia [media+idiocy], illicity wealth, false doctrine, misery, evil space, religious commerce, fanatacism, huge corporations striving in cerebral deformation, racism, exploitation of child labor, suffering from death and hunger shame the planet.

Chico Science & Nação Zumbi - CSNZ (2000)In contrast to an earlier generation’s fear of destruction of the world at the press of a button, Nação Zumbi embraced the idea of high-tech interactive community years before blogging and social network systems like Tribe and Myspace took off. Their idealism was not utopian but rather pragmatic, accepting the existence of globalization in both positive and negative consequences. However, the main difference between Chico Science and Tropicália is the lighter use of irony and satire. Chico Science didn’t dabble in culture, he lived it. He was a rapper and an embalador [singer of embolada], a rocker and a ragamuffin singer. Those were massive shoes to fill, and when Nação Zumbi chose to continue what Chico Science started, his lifelong best friend Jorge du Peixe was just the man to fill them. At the turn of the century, they closed out their first chapter with a double album, CSNZ (2000) compiling five studio tracks and six live performances with remixes by Mario Caldato, DJ Soul Slinger, David Byrne, Fila Brazillia, Mad Professor, Arto Lindsay and Goldie. The studio tracks are hardly leftovers, featuring lovely Hendrix-like guitar melodies (“Malungo”), horn accented hip-hop (“Nos Quintais do Mundo”), and dub (“Dubismo”).

Nação Zumbi - Rádio S.Amb.A. (2000)On their first album as Nação Zumbi, Jorge du Peixe took on the nom de plume, Pixel 3000. Whereas New Order were still floundering on their first album Movement, Rádio S.Amb.A. shows a confident, seasoned group who have more than a decade of experience together who did not hesitate to experiment more than ever. In a nod to their hip-hop roots, they collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa on “Zumbi X Zulu,” and Jeff Parker and Dan Bitney of Tortoise, the very band that first turned me on to Nação Zumbi, contributed to “Lo-Fi Dreams.” One of their harder punk songs, “Quando a Maré Encher,” became their first hit single. Their sound snakes between tambour drums (“Azougue”), psychedelia (“Carimbó”), flute solos (“Pela Orla dos Tempos Velhos”) and melancholic instrumental Latin space-rock that Santana would be proud of (“Na Bala do Rio Salgado”).

Nação Zumbi (2002)Their eponymous album in 2002 consolidated their strengths into a tighter, cohesive whole. The heavy songs hit harder than ever (“Meu Maracatu Pesa uma Tonelada” – “My Maracatu Weighs a Ton,” “Blunt Of Judah”) and any experimental elements, such as the middle eastern instrumentation, dub and scratching in “Faz Tempo” are so closely woven into the fabric of the song that they don’t stand out, but rather serve as an integral part. “Ogan Di Bele” expands on their mastery of atmospheric, psychedelic dreamscapes. “Caldo De Cana” reveals the influence of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, mixed with sampling and Dona Cila’s guest vocals. “Amnesia Express” integrates a panoply of electronic bleeps. The songs are well constructed to further their status as an astounding live band.

Live – “Meu Maracatu Pesa uma Tonelada (My Maracatu Weighs a Ton),” on Later with Jools Holland

 

Video – “Blunt Of Judah”

 

Nação Zumbi - Futura (2006)In 2004 Nação Zumbi released the Propaganda DVD to give fans a taste of their live shows. Finally in 2006, they released Futura. After four years their sound has continued to evolve, incorporating up to date electronic beats and effects to some extent (hear +2 guest Alexandre Kassin’s Game Boy effects in “Expresso Da Elétrica Avenida”), but mainly developing a more organic analog sound of sleek, psychedelic surf rock with a tinge of jazz. “Na Hora de Ir” brings Dick Dale’s reverb into the 21st century with a hint of orchestration. The single “Hoje, Amanhã e Depois” incorporates the surf elements into the bands signature heavy bass drum sound and chanted vocals. It’s interesting that they brought in American Scotty Hard to produce. While he was responsible for engineering albums by Boogie Down Productions, De La Soul and Wu-Tang Clan, there are fewer hip-hop elements on Futura. His subtler touch here reflects how his interests has expanded into jazz, both with his work with Medeski, Martin & Wood and his 2006 solo album, Scotty Hard’s Radical Reconstructive Surgery which features Medeski, Matthew Shipp and free jazz giant William Parker. The production does a nice job in evoking the feel of early 70s soul-funk, afrobeat and jazz fusion and even Ennio Morricone without sounding dated. The cacaphony of horns and proggy guitars on “Sem Preço” even recalls work by The Mars Volta. In a press release for the album, Alex Antunes characterized Nação Zumbi as the musical equivalent of a collaboration between Simeão Martiniano and Jim Jarmusch. Hopefully Jarmusch will get wind of this and use them for his next movie.

Video: “Hoje, Amanhã e Depois”

 

 

Nação Zumbi - Fome De Tudo (2007)
Amazingly, they released the followup to Futura just over a year later. Again going with a hip-hop producer, Fome De Tudo – Hunger For All (2007) was co-produced with the band by Mario Caldato Jr., best known for his work with the Beastie Boys. Nação Zumbi already established a relationship with him a decade ago when he engineered Afrociberdelia. As expected, the band’s musical progression is subtler. Like their 2002 album, it’s more of a consolidation of strengths. Though it was recorded in only nine days, the production sounds flawless. It is arguably their best batch of songs yet. It’s hard to pick highlights when every song is strong. Their first single, “Carnaval,” for example, shows off the limber, lighter percussive touch, where the layered polyrhythms dance with their increasingly melodic sensibilities, reminding me of Talking Heads circa 1983. “Onde Tenho que Ir,” “Inferno,” “Bossa Nostra,” “Assustado,” and “Toda Surdez Sera Castigada” provide other highlights. The album closes on “No Olimpo” with a grand gesture, a sample of the crescendoeing strings in The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life.” The Pedro Bell-influenced cover art (think Funkadelic’s The Electric Spanking of War Babies) features a cybernetic woman holding a knife and fork. It’s unclear what she’s poised to eat. It might be that she hungers for more global culture to feed Nação Zumbi’s growing range and prolific repertoire. Or maybe she has intentions to consume herself. Similar to Radiohead’s In Rainbows, Fome De Tudo was available to download months before the official CD release on Deckdisc (available in the U.S. through Dusty Groove.

The importance of Nação Zumbi through their philosophy and the rich music scene they spawned as co-founders of the mangue movement is undeniable. Whether or not they achieve real commercial success won’t change the fact that they have already proven themselves to be one of the best bands of both the 90s and 00s from any country.

The Making of Fome De Tudo

More Mangue and Nova MPB (Musica Popular Braseilera):

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