Lucas Santtana

A frequent collaborator of no wave/alt-Brazil hero Arto Lindsay, Santtana takes bossa-style guitars and puts them through Ableton-like chop'n'mulch to create a futuristic throwback. He's not the first to try this kind of approach ― this release could quite adequately be described as folktronica. However, on the whole, this album is a winner because Santtana balances the relaxed soulfulness of Joao Gilberto's archetypal Brazilian guitar style with the temptation to completely freak out. The album's beginning ("Super Violao Mashup") isn't promising ― you can practically see the edits on his computer screen flitting before your eyes, which creates a manic, stiff and fairly shallow collage effect. After a track or two, Sem Nostalgia hits its stride, with languid singing in English and Portuguese being augmented by a wide range of some of the best rhythm magicians in Brazil, such as Curumin and Buguinha Dub. The beautiful stasis of numbers like "Amor Em Jacuma," with its gentle harmonisations and heartfelt vocals, overcomes most of the herky-jerky missteps along the way.