Tanto Tempo

Shout out to the reviewer who thought this was French music, I hope life treats you well but that you never vote.

I’ll again take issue with the notion that life is not worth living unless you’ve heard this album. Honestly, I could have heard it thirty times already in a dentist office and not even realized it. And that’s not necessarily an insult! As far as background lobby music goes, I thought this was really pleasant. Having a dinner party for your parents and all their friends? Now you know what to put on at a volume just loud enough to be heard but not intrude. And what a lovely name. Bebel Gilberto. I’ll be saying it in my dreams.

Weird french music

Stylish, cool, elegant, laid back bossa nova embraces modern production with electronic elements to create something beautifully dreamy and quietly glorious.

Is this progressive samba? whatever it is it’s fucking glorious - 10/10

The first thing I learned about Bebel Gilberto is that she's the daughter of bossa nova pioneer, Joao Gilberto. Joao was heralded as the father of bossa nova, which would make Bebel either its sister, or the genre incarnate. Either way, it's in her blood... and 2000's "Tanto Tempo" proves it track by track.   Raised on bossa nova music her entire life (naturally), Bebel Gilberto had been releasing music for fourteen years by the time "Tanto Tempo" rolled around. It was her third full-length studio album, and saw her become one of the biggest selling Brazilian artists of the 20th century. Despite this, it's extremely difficult to find online in the UK, and I've had to resort to listening to a cover of "Alguem" because there's no trace of it. If I ever finish the rest of the 1001 list, my final regret will be never hearing the original "Alguem". If you're reading this, HELP! "Tanto Tempo" is often billed as bossa-nova meets electronica, but on first listen the electronic elements are scarcely noticeable. At best, they contribute really well to the ambience: some whooshing, whistling synths turn "Mais Feliz" into an elegant beguiling soundscape. A couple of programmed drum beats crop up here and there, but they're subtle enough to not detract from the bossa nova feel. They've just allowed critics ever since to contextualise "Tanto Tempo" vaguely within trip-hop and downtempo. Instead, "Samba de Bencao" typifies the sound of the album: bossa nova guitar rhythm, whispering saxophone and twinkling vibraphone, percussion barely kept above brushes on the snare. There are no crescendos so much as waves gently breaking on the shore. Tying it all together is Gilberto's vocal: velveteen smooth, intimate and casual. Over the course of the album, she slips between Portugese and English (singing both beautifully, but hearing the lyrics in English somehow diluted the album's beauty. Imagine if, instead of birdsong, we heard their actual calls to one another of "Ey up! I done a shit! Fancy a shag and some worms?" Not as lyrical, is it? Anyway, that's my problem, certainly not Bebel's). Once the mood is established in "Samba de Bencao", it remains much the same across the rest of the album- sedate, sultry and smooth- until we reach a couple of surprises. First, "Sem Contencao" livens things up with a light samba, retaining the same instrumentation while upping the tempo a little. I appreciated the change in tempo, but on the whole this didn't quite work for me: too breezy to be exciting, but too energetic to be blissful. Later, "Bananeira" and "Close Your Eyes" are two shocks coming at the eleventh hour: out-and-out drum beats, a full brass section, lively samba. These feel as though they shouldn't work, particularly when the soporific, skeletal "Samba e Amor" sits between them. But, while bossa nova purists may well balk at it, against the odds I found myself grooving away contentedly.  "Tanto Tempo" is not something I'm likely to revisit often (mainly because it's so bloody hard to find), but it's been a relaxing Friday afternoon listening to bossa nova incarnate. And western pop fans rejoice: "So Nice (Summer Samba)" was also covered by Baby Spice herself, Emma Bunton. Hurrah!

This would be perfect in some cafe or similar as background music. Completely inoffensive, nice voice, flows along. So much so that Spotify had moved onto 3 similar artists before I noticed the change. Certainly not worth dying of smoke inhalation over 2

Fantastic album. I really enjoyed this. I'm thankful for this type of music The generator threw me a solid today. 5 stars all day for me.

Listened to this album many many times in grad school. It was a great melding of the bossa nova sound with modern production and some electronic elements. I had no problem giving it another listen and realized I had missed it.

Pleasant, samba-flavoured jazz-lite. I like her voice, but this is hardly the most inspired album. Is it significantly different from other samba albums from the previous four decades? Why did they choose THIS album? It doesn't really have anything to particularly recommend it, other than some occasional Portishead-like loops and synths. Soporific. Except Bananeria. I like that song, although exactly why we need another cover of this song from 1975, I don't know. Did not hate, but seems like a pointless inclusion on this list.

Im not used to this style, but i loved it

Great music, enjoyed it while on a long drive.

Like me some Spanish music

Bostil... Meu bostil bostileiro... 🐒🐒🐒🐒

Suba, the producer of this smooth, cool, down tempo album died while saving the newly recorded album from a studio fire!!! I mean, I love it, it's sumptuous and sexy but I wouldn't risk my life for it.

Very beautiful abd the instrumentation sounds so damn crisp!!!

This album is definitely a product of its time. In the early 2000s, there was a big trend of hip hop and electronic producers doing downtempo, acid jazz, and trip hop reinterpretations of classic jazz. This album came out right at the peak of that era, but instead of remixes, it’s built around original songs that are deeply rooted in classic bossa nova.

Didn't know a thing about this album or artist, yet I would listen again.

I like this

Instant sophistication as low background music at your cocktail party.

wow. This is music that doesn't just play in the background—it creates a mood that lingers long after the final note. Whether it's early morning, afternoon or late at night, her soothing voice and subtle arrangements are a treat for my ears and emotions.

Amazing bossa nova

Excellent

Great!

Love impromptu trips to Brazil. Haven’t seen Joao on here yet

I loved this!!! it’s not hard to sell me on bossa nova but I’ve never heard anything of that genre from as recent as 2000 so this was a nice spin on the classic sound. There was a lot of variety that reflected the genres that had developed since bossa nova’s 60s boom, like funk and contemporary smooth jazz sounds which was interesting too, although I still gravitated towards the more classic sounds. Fav tracks: Samba Da Bencao, August Day Song, Tanto Tempo, Samba E Amor, Close Your Eyes

This shit is chill man… really deep production and had me vibing all the way through

Very nice. Loved the mix of Latin and breakbeat, while still keeping it light and romantic.

Interesting and quite enchanting.

Relaxing and chill to listen to! That's it. Doesn't have to be more than that, to be honest.

Unless it is already playing on the dance floor or in my pretend cabana in Brazil, I’d never choose to listen

BRASIL 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll easily bump up to a 5. Sometimes you just catch a vibe, you know? This definitely caught a vibe for me; it’s bossa nova updated with some of the ambient, trip-hop sensibilities of the 1990s, with occasional hints of jazz fusion & big band in there. It’s a great fit, at least in the way it’s done on this album. Unlike the Gotan Project album we got back in September, this album feels a lot more subtle about infusing its extra instrumentation, more akin to how a 90s remixer might take on a 60s album instead of making something that feels different & new. It never overwhelms the bossa nova / jazz base that each track is built on, and only enhances it in a way that feels pretty contemporary for 2000. Suba, the producer for this album, died due to smoke complications after successfully recovering this album from a fire. He has an album on this list, “Sao Paulo Confessions”, which we’ll get later on down the line, and I really hope that album retains a lot of the style he set forth here. He did a damn good job. Bebel Gilberto certainly carried on her father’s legacy here; her vocals are really good on this album, and remarkably calming too. A track like “Mais Feliz” reminded me a little bit of Janet Jackson’s slower songs, and that’s a really positive comparison in my book. When she enters her faster, rap-influenced tempos, she glides on it all the same, especially so on “Bananeira”, which might be the highlight of the album. Her English vocals are really nice too; “So Nice (Summer Samba)”, besides showing me that Nintendo blatantly ripped off the melody for the track for StreetPass on the 3DS, showed me that she has sort of a natural Sinatra-y swinger voice to her, and one that could totally do a duet with anyone. I feel like I need to check out more of her stuff beyond this, especially any collaborations. So, why the 4.5 if I enjoyed this so much? The only nagging issue I have with this album is that most of the tracks loop halfway through, or simply repeat lyricism in a way that makes each track just feel a little bit unfinished. They’re clearly not, and it’s intentionally done. I don’t mind it, but it is something that feels more & more noticeable as the album goes on – really, this could have been easily fixed if they had just written a few more lyrics to make the loops feel less noticeable, or tweaked some of the instrumentals appropriately so that they could disguise it with a better sense of progression. It’s not a big enough deal for me to bump this down to a 4 though; it’s an easy bump up to a 5, and ultimately, just a deeply relaxing (whilst energetic) bossa nova album. I can easily hear how this crossed over into mainstream appeal (apparently over 1 million copies sold worldwide by 2004), and I’m glad it’s here on the list. Pretty damn good stuff.

So ein schöner tempowechsel, ich wusste nicht, dass Joao Gilberto eine so talentierte Tochter hat.

Incredibly chill and relaxing, save for the tracks at the start that were so damn energetic I could barely keep up with everything happening. Will definitely give another listen!

Deep sounds of blissful exotic romance.

I didn’t understand most of the words on this album but it didn’t matter! This was a lovely album. Perfect for a summer evening out on the porch. Super chill and relaxing music:

Tanto Tempo Is there any other way than breezy to describe this sort of album? I don’t think there is, because it is breezy - gently swaying bossa nova rhythms and instrumentation with hushed and laid back vocals, evoking evenings strolling along beaches with pastel v necks slung nonchalantly across shoulders, the gentle lapping of the waves getting your rolled up linen trousers wet. I’m not so into bossa nova that I can differentiate it greatly from other albums in the genre, but I do like it. However I don’t find the tracks where it combines electronic elements with the core sound that interesting as on Alguem or the bonus track No Return, or when it deviates into insipid funk on Bananeira or when it lands on something like the uncomfortably upbeat Close Your Eyes. The more straightforward songs like the opening 4 songs of Samba de Bencao, August Day Song, the title track and Sem Contecao or Son Nice or Samba e Amor I find are far more engaging. For an album and genre that trades on lightness of touch, it is also a bit long at 45 mins. 30 minutes would probably feel like the right length for something like this to skip along amiably and end before it gets too cloying. It is very easy going, and very listenable, if not the most heavyweight of albums - making it the most three-est of threes. 🕰️🕰️🕰️ Playlist submission: Tanto Tempo

pleasant enough [EDIT: upgraded as I was in the mood to appreciate something light and groovy]

Soothing to listen to, like a cozy wrap-around heated blanket set on medium.

This album was never not pleasant but it was also never more than background music.

Far exceeded my preliminary album-cover-based expectations. Fans of Stereolab should find something to like on this record.

Pleasant

This is like jazz or something. Samba? Is that a genre? Mexican restaurant music? I’m not one to judge something like this. Even my expertise has its limits. Sure for its genre I’m sure it’s a nice sounding, well done record. Me, I don’t hear anything worth repeating but again, that’s unfair. It belongs with what labels I threw out at the beginning on my written response. There’s a need for music like this, just not any of my needs. I’m going back to listening to 616.

ugh the best bossa nova is dynamic and romantic. but it, because of the genre conventions, must be subtle. the greats, like Bebel Gilberto's father, take great care to make something beautiful and emotionally complex. but far too often the essence is diluted and you get muzak. this has that y2k electronic flair (this list loves the frictionless downtempo sound of this era), which i suppose is better than the early 60s pop that would artlessly chunk in bossa nova gestures. but still. not really interesting. pass. deserves to be one of the 1001? i take umbrage with this being here instead of any of Joao Gilberto's solo work. truthfully the Brazilian music selection on this list is nonsensical. Acabou Chorare is absent. what's goin on?

a nice safe samba album ..there must be more than 1001 better than this

i went to extraordinary lengths to pirate, upload and listen to this mediocre record, terrible all over it sounds nice, pretty, and all over nothing really happens. this can be made to happen in a glorious way, which it almost does, but does not. they should have put 'mundo civilizado' by arto lindsay on the list instead

Does every musician in Brazil have the last name Gilberto? Anyways - you hear one bossanova record you hear them all.

I spent the first few minutes of *Tanto Tempo* wondering how on earth I had managed not to hear it in 2000. It seems almost absurdly well designed for the musical world I occupied around the turn of the century. This was the period when easy listening and exotica were being rehabilitated, when records that had once been dismissed as disposable lounge, soundtrack or library music were being pulled out of obscurity and listened to properly. I had embraced all of that. The Gert Wilden *Schulmädchen Report* compilation was not amusing to me merely because of where the music came from; I thought it was genuinely excellent. The Cardigans had found ways of bringing easy-listening textures into contemporary pop without making them a joke. Mike Flowers had demonstrated, rather more knowingly, that there was now a mass audience prepared to recognise the vocabulary. In Paris, Air were building *Moon Safari* out of analogue synths, softness, retro-futurism and a kind of immaculate weightlessness. Meanwhile trip-hop and dub had changed the way recorded sound itself could be treated. And running somewhere underneath all of this was bossa nova, one of the original sources of the cosmopolitan cool that so much of the 1990s was rediscovering. So when Bebel Gilberto arrives in 2000, João Gilberto's daughter making a contemporary record involving electronic producers, there is a sense in which the culture has spent years preparing the room for her. What surprised me was that *Tanto Tempo* never felt like a revival record. The opening immediately put me into a lovely loungy dreamscape, but almost at once there were details that made the historical relationship more complicated than simple recreation. Acoustic material seemed to have been looped, filtered and carefully restricted to particular areas of the frequency spectrum. Sounds were familiar but didn't quite occupy ordinary physical space. A guitar figure could feel less like somebody playing nearby than a memory of somebody playing, repeating itself with a slightly narcotic circularity. That was the point at which I started thinking less about revivalism and more about hauntology. The past on *Tanto Tempo* is rarely presented as something that can simply be restored. It comes back in fragments. A loop appears, disappears into electronics and returns. An acoustic instrument can be physically recognisable while behaving according to the logic of a sampler. Percussion is pushed backwards until it seems to be happening in another room. Gentle filter sweeps make whole sections of a track drift slightly in and out of focus. The filtering is particularly well judged. These are not the great theatrical sweeps that decorated house records, where opening the filter becomes an event in itself. Here the changes are much smaller. Frequencies recede and return just enough to create a mild sense of altered consciousness. The music never announces that something psychedelic is happening; it simply becomes a little less solid. By “August Day Song” I was thinking about Sean Lennon's *Into the Sun*. That comparison initially came from the slightly lo-fi surface, but became more specific as I listened. The guitar picking goes round in hypnotic circles and the understated duetting creates the impression of voices almost talking to one another across the stereo image. The harmonies are not simply pretty. There are slightly unusual intervals, little areas where consonance and dissonance rub together without becoming dramatic. The second voice changes the colour of the first rather than merely thickening it. There is a privacy to that sound which reminded me strongly of Lennon's album: voices, acoustic instruments and electronics forming a small interior world rather than a polished display. Then the title track arrived and essentially settled the matter. This is where Suba's production becomes extraordinary. Older Brazilian material seems to exist somewhere behind Gilberto, half submerged in a wash of strings and electronics. A sampled fragment establishes itself as a loop, falls away into a dreamy electronic middle ground and eventually surfaces again. It doesn't feel like a conventional reprise. It feels like remembering something. There are shimmering movements between minor and major, not big harmonic lifts so much as light briefly catching the arrangement from another angle. Gilberto's vocal remains completely unforced while an astonishing amount happens around her. The track is lush, but not thick. Hallucinatory, but never overwrought. Complex, but somehow presented as ease. Suba seems to be operating here in the role of producer-composer that dub and hip-hop had made increasingly visible: the recording itself becomes material for composition. The question is no longer simply what somebody played, but what can subsequently be done to that performance. A guitar phrase can be made circular. An old recording can be moved backwards in perspective. A percussion pattern can become atmosphere. The studio does not merely document a musical event; it determines the event. There is a point where dub and trip-hop cross inside this album. I joked while listening that the title track sounded like Portishead had opened a cocktail bar, but there is something serious beneath the joke. The resemblance isn't a matter of sounding like Portishead. It is the way depth, repetition, filtering and absence are used. The production understands that removing something can be as musically consequential as adding something. Bristol had developed that grammar using soul, reggae, hip-hop and old soundtrack material. Here a similar logic is being applied to Brazilian musical memory. What kept *Tanto Tempo* from becoming merely a beautiful production exercise was how readily it changed colour. “Sem Contenção” suddenly became brighter and quicker. It is gently danceable, brisk yet luxurious. The performance sounds acoustic, but also as though somebody has taken scissors to it: natural playing reorganised by electronic logic. Gilberto's stacked vocals in the middle are gorgeous. After the dreamier opening stretch, the song acts almost as a palate cleanser without breaking the atmosphere of the album. “Mais Feliz” has more of a played, organic feel, but with tiny electronic colours glinting at the top end. Again, nothing feels added merely to announce modernity. The electronic details simply change the air surrounding the musicians. By five tracks I realised that the album had not put the slightest foot wrong. I remember thinking that if the remaining half merely repeated this standard, five stars was already secure. “Alguém” then went somewhere else again. This felt like the least retro piece so far, perhaps the most obviously twenty-first-century. Rather than placing recognisable bossa inside contemporary production, it seemed to abstract bossa itself into an electronic rhythmic language. The track builds by accretion, elements gradually gathering around the pulse. The backing vocals are gorgeous wisps, heavily filtered and occupying precise little strips of the spectrum. That precision became one of the pleasures of the whole record. I kept noticing not simply what instruments were present, but where their frequencies had been allowed to live. It is a very controlled mix, yet it never feels clinical. Space has been carved so carefully that the music can become luxurious without becoming crowded. Then “So Nice (Summer Samba)” spins straight back towards the mid-1960s. It is delightfully kitsch. What I enjoyed was that the track doesn't apologise for this. Having spent the previous song abstracting bossa almost beyond period recognition, the album is quite happy to give us a recognisable slice of bright, immaculate lounge. Yet it still feels electronically constructed. The proportions are faithful to the older style without pretending that the intervening decades never happened. “Lonely” is almost the opposite: brief, spare and much less self-consciously retro. It comes and goes like a mood. What I saw of the translated lyrics was minimalist, with the idea of feeling somebody every day and imagining that they can hear you too. That small thought fitted something I was beginning to notice elsewhere in the record: a recurring preoccupation with solitude, absence and emotional connection across distance. This suddenly made the production choices feel emotionally relevant rather than merely beautiful. So much on *Tanto Tempo* is present and absent at the same time. Voices are near but spatially separated. Loops return like memories. Percussion comes through walls. Old recordings hover behind new ones. People in the lyrics seem to remain psychically close despite physical separation. The record's dreaminess is therefore not just decoration. Its sound continually places things slightly beyond reach. “Bananeira” then brings an entirely different kind of physical presence. A full band appears at the meeting point between jazz, funk and bossa. There is suddenly a lot going on and Gilberto's vocal changes role with it. Until this point I had mostly admired her softness: the breathiness, the phrasing, the way she can glide through a mix without asserting herself over it. Here she becomes almost athletic. The vocal lines are long and fast, with very precise diction despite the amount of rhythmic information around her. Her breath control is remarkable, but again it never sounds like technique being demonstrated for its own sake. She simply navigates the arrangement. The whole performance is busy underneath and effortless on the surface, which is probably as good a description as any of the album itself. And then “Samba e Amor” removes practically everything. Nylon-string acoustic guitar and Bebel Gilberto. Microphones and acoustics. That's more or less it. After so much discussion in my own head about filtering, sampling, stereo placement, dub space and producer-composition, this track was almost comically simple. It was also lovely. Its importance was not merely that it provided contrast. It demonstrated that Gilberto does not need electronic abstraction in order to make bossa convincing. She can simply inhabit the form. There is no sense that traditional material requires rescuing or modernising before she can engage with it. That changes how I hear the rest of the album. The electronics are not compensating for some imagined inadequacy in the source material. They are there because Gilberto and Suba are interested in what else can be done with it. She can move into the twenty-first century without disowning the form that brought her there. The original album closes with “Close Your Eyes”, where Suba returns to a much bigger and busier construction. There is the massed percussion of samba, but not the visceral air-moving experience of a percussion section standing in front of you. The drums are pushed backwards and made circular. They become a lovely loop, almost a rhythmic weather system drifting in from somewhere beyond the room. Gilberto floats above it. That image of music drifting in on the ether ended up feeling appropriate for the whole album. So many of these performances begin with recognisably human materials and then become slightly disembodied through repetition, filtering and spatial placement. I listened to the 25th-anniversary edition, which adds “No Return” after the original ending. It is a genuinely worthwhile bonus rather than something rescued because an anniversary edition required another track. I didn't know while listening that it was a Kinks cover. Going back to the Kinks original afterwards, the bossa character is already there. Ray Davies had written something with that light, gently swaying movement in it, so Gilberto doesn't have to impose an alien style on the song. What she does is sound more completely at home inside it. The composition seems to settle naturally into a musical language that it had already been half speaking. I compared the result to Soft Cell's “Tainted Love”. Not because the recordings resemble one another, and not because the source has been obliterated, but because the new version feels so thoroughly owned by the performer that the category of “cover version” stops being terribly useful while you're listening. Somewhere during the album I started calling all of this trip-bossa. I don't particularly want to defend that as a genre, but it describes enough of what I heard to be useful: bossa nova with dub depth, trip-hop loop logic, electronic colour and a recurring sensation that the music is being dreamt rather than straightforwardly performed. But even that doesn't quite account for the range of *Tanto Tempo*. It can be kitsch without becoming trivial, extremely tasteful without becoming wallpaper, electronically abstract and then almost completely acoustic, gently danceable one minute and suspended in a narcotic haze the next. The tastefulness is important because that word is often used as faint praise. Here it means something else. It means precision. Knowing when another instrument is unnecessary. Knowing how far backwards to push a sound. Knowing when a filter sweep should be almost imperceptible. Knowing when the cleverest production decision is to leave a singer and a guitar alone. And throughout all of this, Bebel Gilberto remains extraordinarily calm at the centre. There were long stretches where I scarcely cared what she was singing. She could have been reading the nutritional information from a yoghurt carton and I would still have wanted to hear the way she formed the sounds. Her voice functions simultaneously as language, melody and texture without ever losing its human presence. This album triggered an unusual amount of lateral thinking for me. It sent me back to *Into the Sun*, *Moon Safari*, Portishead, the exotica revival, records I discovered in Rough Trade, the strange aesthetics of the turn of the century and the way certain pieces of music seem to create not merely an arrangement but an altered physical environment around the listener. That is probably why my strongest response to *Tanto Tempo* is still disbelief that it managed to miss me. This was my musical neighbourhood. I was there. And somehow it took twenty-six years for us to meet.

Love that samba and bossa nova sound. I own this album

A lovely album, chill and happy

been listening to this a few times, and it is so absolutely goated to enjoy while youre just hanging out doing nothing. kinda bossa nova-ey i think? really chill. really enjoyed it.

Que voz da Bebel e que arranjos fodas, uma mistura de musicas calmas e sambas agitados, toda a estrutura do álbum é maravilhosa. Produção impecável, letras profundas e ao mesmo simples, a mistura de Inglês e Português é muito bem feita e deixa a harmonia do álbum ainda mais linda e sólida.

oh hell yeah

This album genuinely calmed me down when I was stressed out at work. It came on and I felt calmer right away, her voice is incredible and very soothing. And the music is so relaxing, I felt like I was transported to a slow summer day in Italy by a river. I had no idea what she was singing but it felt like she was saying everything is going to be alright. Which sounds corny but this album really helped me feel calm. Will definitely listen to this again

Goddamn, I loved pretty much every second of this.

Perfect example of a late night album

I wish I spoke Portuguese - it would be amazing to know what Bebel is singing about, and to be able to appreciate the music far more. Despite being able to understand very little of this, I feel extremely safe in my judgement that every part of this is "good" at the very least. On top of that, there's some tracks which absolutely stirred _feelings_ inside me - feelings I didn't expect coming into this. I certainly didn't see it coming that an album with so few words I could comprehend would leave me feeling such intense emotion. I honestly think that _Close your Eyes_ single handedly pulled this experience from "good" to "great".

so nice that it becomes great

Perfect. A strange marriage of futurism and bossa nova that Bebel's voice binds together as if the two were always meant to go hand in hand.

Still exquisite. This is a masterpiece.

wowowowo if sade norah jones and paid ot vibe had a baby -samba da bencao -so nice

Beautiful album! I loved her voice, the variety of instruments mixed with electronic elements, and how it all blended together to make a really lovely sound. Will probably visit this again very soon in the future.

Loved this!

Отличный лёгкий альбом для летнего субботнего утра

Fantastic, just the right music at the right time

The twenty year old me would get a rash from this. The 55 year old me, on the other hand, mixes a piña colada, throws himself in the hammock and just enjoys life.

I won't always be in the mood for this, but for the times when I will be, it's perfect.

Astrud Gilberto... oh boy. Her music relaxed me. Helped me regain a connection to my body, to wherever I was. Which was often in my dorm room in the Arts House, at Tufts. I came across her recordings in the stacks at WMFO, where I had the privilege of being a DJ for a semester, alongside lifetime friend Daniel, who has been a DJ since those early days, in NYC. Astrud's music was a little kawaii, a little funky, a little smoky. I listened to her contemporary, composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, much more regularly... the bossa nova they shared felt like a vision of adulthood that was strong, supple, and pleasurable. A vision I liked much better than the cheese of the Tijuana Brass Band (one of my parents' 25 record albums at home). Bebel has a beautiful voice, and I'm grateful to her for keeping the musical tradition of her parents alive on this record. I'm giving it a 5 for my relation to that tradition.

A really fun and interesting album. I quite enjoyed this one. I think I saved maybe half of the songs from this album to my playlist. It has a nice varied sound within the album, and has a nice, light touch with the instruments when supporting the singing. Great voice too. 4.5/5 stars.

Masterpiece

Bossa nova mixed with trip-hop with a hint of city pop. Fucking phenomenal album, the best one I've got that I hadn't heard before.

BRAZIL MENTIONED I confess I had never listen to anything from the daughter of the legendary João Gilberto, so I was taken by surprise. I read someone's comment saying "is this progressive samba?" and I simply couldn't find a better term. 5 stars.

Never knowingly listened to bossa nova before. I recognised the style — that gentle, warm, rhythmic thing — but didn't have a name for it. Two songs in I already loved it. Tanto Tempo is the perfect warm evening album. Garden, beach, someone you'd like to spend time with. Romantic without being sentimental, calm without being boring. Bebel Gilberto's voice sits exactly where it needs to — unhurried, close, like it's not trying to impress anyone. It turns out bossa nova is Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese. I didn't know that either. Everything about this album felt like a small discovery. 4.5/5 — filed under 5. New favourite genre.

loved this!

Definite boat playlist

Bien.

this is why I started wading through this list. loved the sound, fantastic vocals, & enjoyed the Portuguese

I really enjoyed it :)

I knew I like Bossa Nova, but I didn’t realize I could like it this much

I've been listening to Os Mutantes and other tropicalia recently so I was entirely in the mood for this - but also how can you not get drawn into her intoxicating spell?

wow!

This album is absolutely a mood. Relaxed yet precise, groovy but languid. Excellent!

Life would be so nice. Calm.

Beautiful album. I can't believe i overlooked it all these years. Floating and calm samba, sultry and slinky bass lines, fun brass songs. Putting this one on repeat!

Who doesn’t like some nice Brazilian vibes on a dark winter day? Very good album!

фантастика, очень понравилось необычное звучание, не знаю, какой это жанр, но она его сделала, супер, буду переслушивать точно 1. Samba Da Bencao 10/10 2. August Day Song 9/10 3. Tanto Tempo10/10 4. Sem Contencao 8/10 5. Mais Feliz 7/10 6. Alguem 7/10 7. So Nice (Summer Samba) 9/10 8. Lonely 9/10 9. Bananeira 10/10 10. Samba E Amor 8/10 11. Close Your Eyes 9/10

Great!

Although this artist was new to me, I enjoyed her music.

It was so nice, I loved the instrumental and her voice was so soothing, I adore this type of music

Such beauty in oral form can only be found when you have the purist of intentions. I ain't never found a portugese album I ain't like.

Beautiful

pleasant

Echt wow

128 Bossa nova con un twist, antes de que nos llenáramos de covers de canciones populares en todos los hoteles. Definitivamente lo escucharé de nuevo.

Last time I spoke about Serbian producer Suba, I mentioned how his final act in life was saving the recordings for this album from a studio fire. The third studio record from acclaimed Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto, daughter of bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto and Brazilian singer Miúcha. Needless to say, there's a lot of pedigree going into this album. Right off the bat, I have to give props to Bebel's sultry vocal delivery. She offered a mesmerizing performance as she ebbed and flowed between Portuguese and English lyrics of yearning emotions. Pairing her with Suba's downtempo meets bossa nova style of production was a good match. The organic instrumentation, the soft electronic loops, all these elements worked in unison for a very lush style. It felt like a natural continuation from São Paulo Confessions, while elevating a promising vocal talent. Tanto Tempo was such an exquisite listen. It makes me wonder what could have been had Suba lived to continue working with Bebel. For now, I'll take solace in what we have.

What a beautiful album.

Bossa Nova is always a good time, plus the splashes of electronic elements elevate it up quite a bit. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I enjoyed it very much. Great samba music, easy to listen to while you write.

Very nice soft music