ronie & central do brasil
Francisco Espregueira
Rolling from the 70’s, with a sweet samba soul, Ronie & Central do Brasil is a brilliant reissue - for the first time in vinyl - by Lisbon-based Mad About Records. The album grooves smoothly with Ronie’s (a.k.a. Ronaldo Mesquita) drums and percussion intertwined with a luxurious use of Fender Rhodes and the delicious fingerprints of brazilian samba arrangements, reminiscin’, in a way, the funkier side of João Donato’s discography.
Starting with “Remelexo”, the album gets immediately into the right rhythm. The air gets warm. Everything else comes naturally: the flutes, the guitars, the voices, the batucada. The ensemble syncs in perfection with the influences that Ronaldo Mesquita brought home in the early 70’s, after touring with various artists in the US, Mexico and Japan. Feeling ready to step out from the shadows of a decade long sideman, he assembled a crew of rotating musicians called Central Do Brasil. More than forty years later, this reissue is just another reminder of the infinite gold we are yet to rediscover in the brazilian crates. Ouro de verdade. This vinyl edition is limited to 500 copies, courtesy of Ronaldo Mesquita and Mad About Records.