Aloha S::L'ers:

I was meandering around the internets and accidently stumbled upon an
interesting album -- well, I was searching "Bebel Gilberto" and the results
soon went beyond the obvious -- that was just released by the NYC
group FORRO IN THE DARK.

As Dusty Groove states,

"A mix of rootsy elements and contemporary production -- but a set that
comes off a lot better than most other modern projects of this nature!
The style here definitely has some of the Brazilian forro styles you might
guess from the group's name -- but the overall sound is a bit leaner,
cleaner, and more appealing to contemporary ears as well -- thanks to
an equal focus on the bottom rhythms and acoustic elements, as well
as some key guest vocals from Bebel Gilberto and David Byrne on two
of the best numbers. Some of the tracks are totally instrumental, and
others have vocals by members of the group -- and titles include "Indios
Do Norte", "Wandering Swallow", "I Wish", "Cajuina", "Oile Le La", "Lampiao
No Ceu", "Limoeiro Do Norte", "Que Que Tu Fez", and "Paraiba".

http://www.dustygroove.com/browse.php?kwfilter=Forro+In+The
+Dark&incl_oos=1&incl_cs=1

Not only does David Byrne lend his voice to two tunes and Bebel Gilberto
guests on a third, but Dusty Groove overlooked the presence of our new
favorite commercial jingle writer Miho Hatori, who sings (in Japanese)
on "Paraiba."

A New York group doing Brazilian music with a Japanese vocalist sounds
just about right to me.

Best,
John

NP: Ciara - THE EVOLUTION (better than I expected it to be)