Features which connects the Brazilian electronic music to traditional elements, like forró or bossa nova, is increasingly seen as fallacy.
When a simple computer connect you with the world, all barriers falls down. And emerges artists such as Kdu Costa.

“Nothing To Say” communicates with a range aspects of electronic music associated with pop. An audio software and so many concepts are enough to change forms, structures and beats, along with a producer ability. This is what we called beatmaker.

An experienced musician, Kdu Costa has been living in Rio de Janeiro for over 25 years. He took approximately two to three months to create the 12-tracks of this new album. “It’s exactly like that: notebook on my lap, headphone, without looking at the time”, he says.

Let’s go through the album.

Questions in Paradise is a midtempo house which emulate vocals that sound like Martina Topley-Bird’s. A futurist melancholy is permeated on In My Dreams‘ female vocals: the flow between piano chords, organ church, string arrangements, and kaleidoscopic beats throws the listener to an interstellar space, surrounded by ethereal possibilities. “It’s a special track for me”, admits Kdu.

Here’s a quick snippet of the first song.

The loopings around You and I subverts the music tempo. Only requires a few seconds to go to trip hop from downtempo, carrying scratches, economic piano-chords, with the intention to show more emotions.

Waiting For the Sun shows the contrast between vocals that carry a sentiment of hope and drums in which urgency is very much felt.

Nevertheless aggregate techno elements, it stands out as an epic, tribal high-tech piece of music. For Kdu, this track announces the pop/dance vein from the album. I’ll Never Be Alone has synth-pop beats who make us imagine a Madonna-Lykke Li collaboration on a massive production, gathered by a blizzard which fades away like the music character, opened to what life could give.

Trip hop circulates on the trippy efforts Judgements and Blue, trying to indicate more a futurist perspective than looking to the past perpetuating names like Massive Attack and Morcheeba. The first one bring vocals who remind us Alicia Keys, while Blue puts a past versus future counterbalance. The 1990’s synths gives a new musical approach to R&B lines.

The pop /dance vein comes back on Nothing But the Spirit: on a Crystal Waters’ moment, Kdu Costa allows his sounds to rule the dancefloor once again. It’s the happiest song from the album.

Grim guitars and light effects that remind us fireflies are part of the appeal of Lost, in which Kdu Costa shows a curious exploratory sense. The song brings back souvenirs from something close to Avatar, or Nigel Godrich’s production touch. The progression chords of The Same has a similar feeling. Kdu himself agrees this is the most unlabeled track from the album. But it had to be that way, as everything fits perfectly.

Heart On Fire‘s heritage comes from oriental music, due to the string arrangements. But it’s romantic sweetness is the most recognizable element on this track.

The last song, Say I Love You, combines the most modern thing we’ve found on new electronic music: neo-soul vocals, crescendo beats and effects that sewn which other. Beautifully, the music forms his own frames, to stamp as the most recognizable artist’s work. This is more than adequate choice to close a debut album.

“This is how I see my music: without labels, without commitment to this or that kind of sound, explains Kdu Costa. I love strings, pianos, keyboards, I love music with atmosphere, and soulful, I like music that evolves, details, and instruments that emerge like the surprise”.

The album can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon and streaming services, such as Spotify, SoundCloud, and Deezer.

KDU COSTA
Nothing to Say
(independent, 2015)

-Genre: electronic music
-Sounds somehow like Morcheeba, Massive Attack

Listen to videos on the artist’s YouTube channel

Visit the author’s music blog, Na Mira Do Groove.

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About The Author

Collaborator - RREVERB

A Brazilian journalist who likes experimental music, jazz, avant-garde and hip hop, but also feel thrilled by artists such as Aretha, Ella, Elis, Nina, Otis, Marley, Bowie, Miles... He is the man behind Na Mira do Groove website and maintain the press office service Na Mira Assessoria.