São Paulo Confessions

Perfect background music for a dinner party: no one would complain about it, yet no one would stop the conversation to listen.

I find myself wondering if this is one of the top one thousand and however many albums since the dawn of the recording era and I am not sure it is, but I understand why it is on this list. This feels like something one might hear in a prestige television upper crust club scene or an interlude for a long drive. There is something about the music that feels like it was in the groundwater in this era, maybe from the tonal qualities of the synth samples and the piano lines. Maybe this is the wellspring that fed the late 90s/early aughts but it feels like this stuff had already been well trafficked either way. In any event, even if the music is not particularly exciting, it is not even a bit unpleasant, and even if the songs do not feel unique, they are certainly representative of the genre.

Without all the weird wobbly synths and whispering, it would be a good album.

Takes me to a very specific place and time

I actually really liked this, more than I thought!! 3.49

This is the kind of background music that one would hear in a trendy, somewhat upscale hotel bar in the mid 90s. I can’t decide if this is mediocre electronica trying to make itself interesting by adding Brazilian instruments, or “traditional” Brazilian music trying to get trendy by adding electronica elements. It’s not interesting enough for me to read about its genesis and find out. It’s not offensively bad, but it is boring.

Absolutely hate the trip hop elements but absolutely adore the samba elements. I like what he was trying to do here just wish he wasn't trying to be so heady with the production. That being said, he paints a reeeeally pretty picture with his music. Vivid and digestible themes. Highlights: Samba Do Gringo Paulista

A great discovery from this list, I loved the listening experience of this one. The combination of Brazilian Samba and darker electronic sounds just worked so well and it was nice to hear something completely different! Favourites: Na Neblina Antropofagos Sereia

good chill opening but became a bit too jaggy for me later on

Better than I expected

Not really my kind of thing. Happy to have it background playing but not something I would listen to again for enjoyment.

Pleasant ambient music which could accompany a miami vice type of film

Not really the sort of thing I’d usually listen to but you know what, it had a good vibe to it. I could just see myself samba-ing through the South American favelas to this.

A great listen with a perfect fusion of dance and samba.

Trip Hop jazzy samba was not on my imaginary list of things we’d hear on here, but I’m so glad I have. While it’s very of its time, that’s jn a good way. It’s got a darkish feel to it, but the Brazilian beats and percussion really lift the songs in a way I haven’t seen this style of music done before. Intriguing.

mildly annoying at times. OK at times but still going 2

A vibe setting album for sure. Not sure I'd put it in the "great" category, but it's good for what it is.

It had a tendency to blend into the background, but it was reasonably interesting when I focused with headphones

I picked the wrong day to be part Brazilian

2/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/suba/sao-paulo-confessions/ Not my thing. I respect the artistic angle and it's a somewhat chill background album, but it does absolutely nothing for me.

I was torn on 3 or 4 stars for this one. It is a cool trip-hop electronic latin jazz album but it starts out just very chill and almost just background filler, great dinner party vibe. It really picks up on the back half, gets very tripped out and picks up the pace. I found the second half way more interesting. The album is a bit long at 1 hour for me and just not exciting enough in the beginning. I will save a couple songs to a playlist but probably will not be looking for this one at the record store. Solid 3.5 but I am going to round down for the couple flaws I found.

Very nice.

I thought this was gonna be another dumb salsa album…NOPE. This was awesome. A dynamic display of new DJing skills and Latin vibes. Not something I’ll return too often but glad that I was turned onto.

Pretty good!

Wieder nichts! Langweiliges Gedudel!

Loving the comments that this album sounds like what would've been played in a 90s wine bar or the Gap. I concur.

Hmmm. I'm not certain what I just listened to. Derivative Brazilian salsa-soul? Updated Euro-dance pop? Synth-driven elevator muzak? Whatever it was, I don't agree that I needed to hear this before I die. At best it's inoffensive, but also mostly forgettable.

4.5

The thing I feared most for a long time happened while listening to this? Or did I? I swear I’m losing it Now the album itself, not so remarkable, nice ambiance at some tracks where it was a perfect equilibrium, others more annoying, but interesting combination of jazz with downtempo, but as I said just some tracks mixed it properly. Interesting tracks: Na Neblina, Antropfagos/ Felicidade, Sereia Ok now I see how niche this artist is, I think the most niche one so far, has albums with just a few hundreds listens..

After one song I was not happy. I began writing my 1-star review in my head. 2nd song didn’t really turn me around. But then it grew on me.

My two-stars can roughly be divided into two buckets: albums that mildly annoy me, and albums that are just not my thing (harmless indifference). This one belongs to the latter.

Some of this was cool and some of this was mad. At some point I thought I would really like this but in the end it feels maybe more like a cool curio?

Made for a real nice drive to the office.

Mooie stem, maar chaotische achtergrondmuziek

Ik vond het aangenaam

Sounds a lot more interesting on paper than it actually is. Some very nice moments here and there but overall it’s quite forgettable.

This was fun, and a lovely start to the day which ended seeing a flamenco/jazzy/funk/idk Latin fusiony magic show this evening.

An interesting blend of world music and downtempo electronic. Not at all what I was expecting

hoe is dit in de 1001

Y no sé. Lo más probable es que este sea un disco al que a VG le encanta, pero a mi no me gustó mucho. Espero que Suba suba el nivel SIX SEVEEEN

Well THIS is a delight. Reminds me a lot of Kruder & Dorfmeister, dZihan & Kamien. Sort of downtempo. Beautiful. This level of percussion is lush. I will listen to this again. 4 stars!

Dette var og ein periode, då bakgrunnsmusikken fekk skinne i CD hyller og på cafear rundtom. Ikkje min kopp te i det heile.

Dette er musikk for hasjrøykere. Helt spesifikt for de hasjrøykerne som synes de er spennende mennesker med spennende liv som har spennende meninger nettopp _fordi_ de er hasjrøykere. Folk som har hasjrøyking som altoppslukende hobby. Verre mennesker finnes knapt! 2/10

Meir nittitals kafémusikk. Dette måtte eg skumma meg gjennom. Gir meg tett på ingenting.

Jeg skaffet meg en del slike caféjazzplater midt på 90-tallet, ting som stort sett står urørt i hylla i dag. Men Suba har jeg ikke hørt om før. Dermed ryker muligheten for nostalgipoeng. Når plata heller ikke er spesielt bra blir det ikke så mange poeng. Av låtene peker «Sereia» seg ut som en liten favoritt. Mest av alt sier kanskje São Paulo Confessions noe om hvor mange 1001 plater faktisk er. Selv om dette forsøket ikke var særlig vellykket, er jeg generelt positiv til å trekke inn alternativer til den etablerte kanonen. Heller det enn å øke antall Beatles-plater fra syv til åtte.

Suba - Sao Paulo Confessions Så.. Eks-jugoslaver som flytta til Brasil og laga denne musikken for så å døy i brann då han skulle redde ut opptaka til det som seinare skulle bli "The Sao Paulo Confessions"? Heng du med? Dette er ei slags blandinga av ambient-drønn over tradisjonelle brasilianske rytmar, tidvis med sløye, draumande vokalspor frå ei Cibelle. Eg har aldri høyrt om verken han, ho eller denne tidlegare, men i kategorien stemningsbærande musikk eg kan sette på utan at det forstyrrar flyten i arbeidsdagen kjem denne langt nede på lista. Tenk å høyre Apollo-plata til Brian Eno etter å ha høyrt denne, til dømes. Reine reinsinga frå det som nok i utgangspunktet skulle være ein reinsing? 3/10

Overall Rating - 3.88/5 (7.75/10). Solid Brazilian Jazz. Always a style I enjoy.

Better than most of the stuff that sounds like this on this dumb list but I'll still never listen to it again

Was quite surprised by this - a blend of electronica and more trad Brazilian sounds. Lends it a groovy, mysterious quality that feels perfect for late night listening.

Oooh, obscure pick! I did not know about Suba until now or what to expect when I hit play. This was actually pretty great working from home background music (and a good reminder there's more I could be listening to than "work from home lo-fi beats" / risking AI slop) Anyway, it's smooth and vibey, the combination of Brazilian beats with electronic/ambient production is really interesting. It's a cool little world to inhabit for about an hour, sonically interesting, but steady and never really asserting itself or becoming a distraction. 4 stars for enjoyment, and the fact that I'll probably drop this in my WFH playlist folder.

Really enjoyed this album, but I'm not sure I'll ever listen to it again.

Super boring and a little off-putting. DNF

Really not my thing. Was ok for half an hour or so but I'd kind of had enough by around track 7. Sure it's brilliant but if that is the music you like but not for me.

Some of the songs had a good groove, some seemed to go on forever. Mixed bag for me. Decent rhythms, but not the Brazilian jams I was hoping for.

Very new to me! Pretty good overall, expecially the first track

latin house downtempo, 1999 -> 3

Another "pleasant" album. Not sure why this is on here.

Immersive and trancy. The group of friends I was listening to this with hated it. I quite liked it. And it's me who awards the stars

This album is going to have its niche, but outside of that niche it might not resonate. There are parts that are very "electronica" sounding, almost like abstract downtempo. Other parts are pretty straight-up bossa nova. The people that appreciate downtempo, bossa nova, and electronica (or IDM), should love this album. Otherwise, without being a bad album, it might just not be for some people. I liked it, enjoyed it, but doubt I would put it on myself in the future.

Catchy infectious roots pop at a very high level. Lots of talent on display and songs you will remember. 3.5

Good background music, some solid beats and very pleasant phrases.

Not a lot going on here and what is isn't really great

Sounds like if a wine bar and a Nescafe advert had a baby.

Lounge music. Soulles, uninteresting, boring. Not for me

Nice

Huh, si mislim, spet nek brazilski šit, k mi najverjetneje ne bo ful všeč, po pa na wiki vidim, da je bil Srb! Prvi komad je prou všečen ("Tantos Desejos"). Zelo of the time. Zj je pa k da sm stuck v early 2000s TV seriji/filmi v sceni, ki se dogaja in a trendy club. In en in istim ritem se nonstop ponavlja & ne vem, a je the song, a sm too high/drunk. Fak, brazilska muska with a tinge of yugo je po možnosti the worst combo zame? Ni, k da je vsak komad isti, se pa v samih komadih ponavlja eno in istoooooo. Fak no, k una muska k si jo dobil na CDju pri Persilu. (Prisežem, da je blo to kratek čas konc 90h, začetek 2000ih! Mogoč je bil Ariel.)

This was a pretty easy listen, even if most of it stayed in the background for me. “A Noite Sem Fim” stood out because the acoustic guitar was really good and gave the album a warmer feel than some of the more electronic tracks. “Pecados da Madrugada” felt a little out of place compared with the rest of the album, but I actually liked the ethereal electronic sound. It was different enough to get my attention. Overall, there were some cool textures and a few songs I liked, but not enough here that I’d be in much of a hurry to revisit the whole thing.

I like the chillness of this, and there are attempts at darkness and variety, but as a whole package it’s way too repetitive and uninspiring.

If you’re dismissing this as wine bar music I urge you to listen again because there are a lot of really interesting things going on here. Also what’s wrong with wine bar music anyway? I’m always Shazaming stuff in wine bars.

6.5/10

This album has some immaculate vibes and then also some mediocre stuff, all-in-all, 3.5/5

It was nice! For a while. And then the screeching violins got to me

It's Brazilian

Sure. 2.4.

Pretty boring music, no memorable songs

Conceptually, this album is excellent. I think a little was lacking in the execution with songs that were overly long or a musical idea that was left on the stove a few minutes more than it should have been. I loved the downtempo/electronic/bossa nova/vocals very much, and if the artist could have focused on that and tightened things up a bit, this might have crossed into five star territory for me. As it is, I feel like there was a lot of wasted potential on the album. I have always thought one of the most important skills an artist can have is knowing when to stop adding to a composition, and for me, Suba missed the mark, unfortunately. At some points listening to this, I would have rated it four stars, but there were too many instances of overdoing things. ⭐⭐⭐

Love it

Would never listen to this again but it made for some decent background music

Had to listen to this one twice to understand it. Way too techno for me and a little boring/background music for my taste. But I did like the more traditional Brazilian rhythms that came through. Antropfagos is quite good with a strong Samba beat.

I like this kind of thing, so I like this pretty well, at least for the first few tracks. Like so many albums in this style, it becomes boring and repetitive as it goes along. Few artists have enough real ideas to sustain a whole album of this style of music. But this gets to the purpose of this book. It should be a list of albums that are a good place to start if you're curious about a genre -- albums that are good of their kind. Albums that are worth a listen if you are already committed to the genre is different. This to me is worth a listen for the committed, but ... hard to see how this is a good entry point for this sort of music.

I couldn't with this one. I can't say I hated it but every time I tuned out and started spacing out I would suddenly get jolted back to whatever song was playing and it was not something I actually wanted to hear. I see this is listed as being in the genres of "electronica" and "acid jazz." At this point in this project I'm learning these genres are really not for me.

Love this genre of Music. Such good vibes. Will revisit i'm sure!

Nice voice, not a genre I know much about but definitely a good listen.

Not bad, just really not for me.

Decidedly decent vibes, but definitely not required before death. Might come back to it for chill background music some day.

Incredible. #1 album so far.

I have no idea what they were saying but this was fire the whole album. They were really on point here. That last song sounds a bit like Angine de Poitrine which was cool.

Wow, this flows so well. Feels extremely fresh. Might have something to do with me not being into this genre.

Pretty cool downtempo album

Nice album

Reminds me a little of the band Thievery Corporation.

It’s admittedly rather forgetful. Not bad just forgetful. It grooves along fine enough though

This was a fun listen and I enjoyed the vibe of this a lot for my day today

This sort of stuff is my jam. Proper lock in type shit. Didn’t understand a word and it was still clasa

*1999. Acid jazz. *Despite the album title, apparently this guy is from Serbia. *Sounds like Brazilian Portishead, but with bizarre electronic sounds scattered throughout. *Eh, not for me. RATING - 5/10

Easy listening but not a dull moment, constant interest and texture layered over and behind some real smoooooth jams. Not heard anything quite like it before

I had to have a couple of goes at this. No real reason, just life getting in the way. I enjoyed it a decent amount. I'll definitely listen again.

Jazzy lounge international

Fun techno / samba

Smoooooooth 3 - deserves to be on this list