Luiz Caracol’s Melting Pot

Luiz Caracol Devagar (DGP, 2013)

One the highlights of the Ibero American Music Expo (EXIB) 2016 was the concert by Portuguese musician, composer and singer-songwriter artist Luiz Caracol. We got a copy of his 2013 album Devagar that contains a lot of the material he performed live.

Luiz Caracol grew up in Lisbon, the son of parents who moved from Angola. His music reflects the melting pot of Lisbon with a mix of Portuguese, lusophone African and South American styles and jazz.

Most of Caracol’s songs begin with guitar and vocals and then he adds the additional instruments provided by his band. He sings seductive songs in the form of Brazilian samba, reassembled fado or featuring world music elements from other traditions of the globe. He also adapts a Spanish-language song by the great Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler to Portuguese.

In addition to his regular band, Luiz Caracol invited high profile guests to collaborate in Devagar, including Afro-Portuguese singer Sara Tavares and Brazilian vocalist Fernanda Abreu.

The album lineup includes Luiz Caracol on guitar, bass, cavaquinho, guitalele, vibraphone, percussion and vocals; Miroca Paris on percussion; Ivo costa on drums and tarola; Hernani Almeida on guitars; Renato Junior on Rhodes; Patricia Antunes on vocals; João Balão on kalimba, bombos and percussion; Carlos Lopes on accordion; Ruca Rebordão on percussion

Guests: Sara Tavares on guitar and vocals; Fernanda Abreu on vocals and beat box; and Valete on vocals.

Devagar delivers timelessly crafted songs with toe-tapping rhythms from Africa and Brazil.

Buy Devagar in the Americas

Buy Devagar in Europe

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.

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