Review - Ceu @ Band on the Wall

No doubt about it, Ceu has style. Performing in a night dress and slippers amidst cups of herbal tea, this band is a haunting powerhouse of everything that central Brazilian contemporary music has to offer. Blending elements of minimalism and avant garde with dark, erotic songwriting, gritty rock and voyeuristic MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira), her delivery was raw, timid and humourously neurotic, brimming with nervous energy and the weight of intellect.

There was no lack of variety in grooves and textures between the songs, which incorporated everything from Mexican cha-cha-chá, Jamaican reggae, West African highlife and Brazilian funk, overlaid with subtle electronics and cool, airy rock. The ouevre was intelligent, weightly and mentally charged. An unusual and captivating performance.

The usual sambistas and Bossa Nova aficionados may have not got quite what they bargained for, but it certainly did not disappoint. Ceu reveals an alternative, darker side to the face of contemporary Brazilian music - at least from an international perspective - one that was true, honest and manifestant of the turbulent dynamics emerging from this amazing sub-continent.