Here’s my review of Moto Continuo by China, a Brazilian rapper-turned-pop-star. This was for Time Out Sao Paulo October 2011.

Album Review
China – Moto Continuo
Trama Records
****

Pernambuco, along with Sao Paulo, Bahia and Rio, is one of the musical epicentres of Brazilian music. Yet, it doesn’t currently have a musical icon in the way that the other have Céu, Seu Jorge or Carlinhos Brown. This could change with Moto Continuo, the new album from China that takes manguebit (a highly percussive mix of funk and rap from the region) and pumps it full of punk attitude, pop hooks and the occasional tender moment.

China has recently started as a VJ for MTV Brasil and it feels as if he has been absorbing the videos he has been watching on the channel. Opener “Boa Viagem” and “Nem Pensar” have the kind of crunchy synth lines that MGMT have become notorious for, “Só Serve Pra Dancer” is a surf-punk swagger though Tarantino-esque waters, and we also get the conventional strummed rocker “12 Queda” and melancholy duet “Terminei Indo.” The impressive thing is that China manages to pull off all the different styles that he embraces, and this is surely why if Pernambuco is to get it’s own national star it could well be him, especially if he can continue on this form.