Bixiga 70 @ Sala Clamores, Madrid.
An afro-brazilian hurricane passed through Madrid filling the city with a show full of African and tropical sounds.
A few days ago in Madrid, we from W.I.M. were able to enjoy one of those concerts that will stay in your memory for a long time. Not often does one have the opportunity to listen to a band of the calibre of Bixiga 70.
This band is formed by 10 young artists coming from the legendary city of Sao Paulo who reach a fusion between highly danceable rhythms and different musical traditions in a way never heard before. One could define their music as a mixture between afrobeat, funk, jazz, reggae, psychedelic keyboards, spiritual brazilian music and southern american repertoires - but perhaps it is even more than that.
By means of their guitars, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, congas, djembés, a large variety of wind instruments, such as the tenor sax, baritone sax, trompete, trombone, some transverse flutes, as well as other African percussion instruments like the cencerro and the shekere, Bixiga 70 were able to create moments of deep harmony between the musical collective and audience, and if one closed the eyes, one could perceive the inheritance of musical giants like Gilberto Gil, Tito Puente, Ebo Taylor, Pedro Santos, Fela Kuti or William Onyeabor.
We have to compliment the band on their compositional abilities, the different variations that happen in every song, the gentle and elegant conversation created by the solos of the different instruments and this constant, piercing rhythm that lets you forget any distress, makes you feel a wave of happiness and immediately invites you to dance until you are left with no breath - as it happened with the totality of the audience during magical concert.
We are sure that much will be heard in the near future of this fabulous band, given that after having lived through the experience of attending one of their concerts, one knows with certainty that this was not the last time. In a few days we have the luck to be able to seem them again on stage, this time in Copenhagen for the last concert of their Europe tour, but for all the others out there - don’t hesitate to see this swirl of good vibes called Bixiga 70 on stage as soon as possible! Que beleza!
