From João Pessoa, Brazil
Recommended if you like Hermeto Pascoal, Mr Bungle, King Crimson
Up next Celestial album released 7 August, touring the UK and Europe from 15 August
Thanks in part to its famed music department at the local Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa – the easternmost city in South America – is a hotbed of artists playing different folk styles from all over the continent. Papangu sound like all of them at the same time. The five-piece blend a long list of genres: bossa nova, the circle-dance song ciranda and forró, with its dry-tuned accordion and pulsing rhythm section, plus the more ubiquitous progressive rock and extreme metal. The band’s virtuoso chops and intensity keep their songs from buckling under the weight of those ideas, from the hurried drums to the mountains of synthesisers and pianos.
For their upcoming third album, Celestial, the band recorded everything live in just nine days and refused to use any kind of computer in order to make a statement against AI music. After all, what program designed to scrape existing ideas from the internet could produce something as genre-splicing and organic as this?
Papangu broke through in Brazil when they played to more than 50,000 people at Slipknot’s festival, Knotfest, in 2024. Now they’re focused on Europe, scheduled to tour the UK for the second time in two years, and they play Bristol’s experimental festival Arctangent this August. If Angine de Poitrine have set a precedent for proudly technical, outsider music finding a mass audience, then who’s to say these maestros can’t repeat that trick? It would be another nice break from the AI slop filling up most people’s feeds, at least. Matt Mills
This week’s best new tracks
Stormzy and Odeal – 24 Hours
“Nobu or Lebanese Grill?” For his first single in a couple of years, Stormzy plays generous first-date organiser, with British R&B star Odeal singing a chorus resplendent with romance and summer sunshine. BBT
Lido Pimienta – Tóxica
“You always want more!” the Colombian singer chants (in Spanish) over stark cumbia, an incantation to cast out draining spirits – and the first taste of an album called Caribenya, celebrating Indigenous Caribbeans and, natch, Enya. LS
Helena Gao – Lao Shi 老师
After cowriting Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun, the Chinese-Danish pop star takes the spotlight with this cheeky plea to learn how to please a lover: her vocals Caroline Polachek-worthy, her 2-step glimmering like fireflies. LS
Arab Strap – You You You
Over muscular synthpop, Aidan Moffat recites his middle-aged health woes in a droll laundry list, but as it spools out he works himself into a rage at demagogues, the UK government and Spotify’s founder. BBT
Mary in the Junkyard – New Muscles
In singing about her newfound strength, are Clari Freeman-Taylor’s lyrics about being ready to fight? Or satirising self-improvement culture? Either way, the London band’s incantation shivers with traces of Wild Beasts’ clattering menace. LS
Moriah Mensah – Hero
A 19-year-old rapper and producer of Nigerian-Ghanaian heritage from Peckham, Mensah debuts with a two and half minute epic, as she hypes herself up over towering synths and earth-scorching bass. BBT
Play Time – Open the Door, Joey
There’s as much steady krautrock as there is exploratory Alice Coltrane styling to this captivatingly wibbly, six-minute tonal workout from musicians including percussionist Booker Stardrum. LS
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