The Record Store Day 2021 vinyl edition of Super Nova Samba Funk – the comeback album from Banda Black Rio, featuring Brazilian heavyweights Seu Jorge, Marcio Local, Elza Soares, Cesar Camargo Mariano & more. Originally released in 2011, this new special edition for RSD features two tracks from the project that were never released on vinyl, ‘Irerê (feat. Gilberto Gil)’ and ‘Aos Pés Do Redentor (feat. Caetano Veloso)’.

William Magalhães formed Banda Black Rio as a modern-day incarnation of his father Oberdan’s original ‘70s Brazilian samba soul and funk outfit. Re-igniting the Black Rio flame, Magalhaes’ brought together Brazilian icons Seu Jorge, Marcio Local and Elza Soares feature alongside bossa pioneers Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, as well as Flame Killer and GOD PT3 from the famed NYC Mobb Deep crew for the project.

Formed in Rio De Janeiro, 1976, Banda Black Rio pioneered the soul-funk movement in Brazil led by renowned saxophonist Oberdan Magalhaes. As global stars of the politically charged Black Rio movement, emerging almost a decade earlier from the Soul Brasileiro genre, BBR brought together Rio’s black funk scene to rally against repression, a conservative record industry and white middle class press to mobilise disenchanted black Brazilian youth against the military dictatorship that mirrored the struggles in North America. Banda Black Rio released a string of unforgettable recordings in the late-1970s from 1977 debut album, Maria Fumaça, on Warner Music to 1978’s Gafieira Universal on RCA Recordings that is considered one of the all-time great Brazilian jazz-funk records. The third album, SaciPererê, was also released in 1978 by which point the band had made a lasting impact both in Brazil and abroad. Following the death of original band leader Oberdan Magalhães in 1984 the band stopped recording and performing. Far Out’s Joe Davis helped the rare-groove scene rediscover BBR in the early 90s supplying the top DJs such as Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay with the imported vinyl before celebrated artists such as Mos Def and Incognito recorded their songs to further resurrect the legendary band’s name. With a renaissance in Brazil's black music culture led by a new generation of soul, funk and hip hop artists BBR finally returned with a brand new formation for comeback album Rebirth in 2000, before launching their most ambitious project to date with 2011’s Super Nova Samba Funk – the group’s sixth studio album produced and led by William Magalhães.

The philosophy on Super Nova Samba Funk remains the same: celebrating the musicality of black Brazil through strong lyrical representation and its unique combination of jazz, funk, soul, samba and gafieira. Super Nova Samba Funk (9 No Samba) and Samba Nova are two special instrumental tracks that showcase Rio’s finest players who together form BBR. Isabela combines elegant brass, jazz and gafieira swing that counts the special input of Elza Soares – the legendary scatting samba singer – and Cesar Carmargo Mariano – the famed pianist and arranger, father of Maria Rita, and husband to Elis Regina.

Seu Jorge – world famous Brazilian musician, singer, songwriter and actor famed for his roles in City of God and Life Aquatic whose latest music project with Almaz signed to Stones Throw Records – distinctive samba vocals fire the infectious Brazilian soul-pop of Louis Lane and Lindos Olhes - Jorge featuring alongside respected Brazilian r&b and rap stars Dom Pixote and Mano Brown; Marcio Local – a major new Brazilian star signed to David Byrne’s Luaka Bop

Press Quotes:
“Remarkable cool, tight, rhythmic jazz-funk…great musicians in magnificent form” Guardian
“Packed with star names…blends consummate musicianship, tradition and mainstream appeal. Slickly smooth groove… (near) contemporary classic status” Metro
“Had the American band Earth, Wind and Fire grown up next to a samba school, they would sound like Banda Black Rio: playful beat, a little shimmer of 'saudade' with soul singing, the typical Portuguese world-weariness, and yet everything would be rooted in a rich foundation of radio. The old heroes seem fresher than ever!” Sueddeutsche (SZ)
“Brazil’s brightest and best team up for a funky Rio rejoinder….vintage BBR sound” Songlines
“A unifying trip from Rio to New York and back via Paris…it’s a perfectly intriguing journey” Time Out