Anganga
Juçara Marçal & Cadu Tenório
2015
Why This Album Matters
Anganga, released in 2015, is an album that stands out for its audacious and innovative fusion, presenting a singular encounter between Juçara Marçal's ancestral voice and Cadu Tenório's experimental soundscapes. The work delves into contemporary reinterpretations of vissungos, work songs of miners' slaves, and congado chants, profound manifestations of Afro-Brazilian culture. This album is not limited to a reinterpretation, but rather a "reconfiguration of Brazilian music's languages, structures, and sensibilities", testing the boundaries between the traditional and the experimental. By combining the purity and strength of Marçal's voice with Tenório's noisy textures, collages, and synthesizers, Anganga creates a sound that is both reverent to the past and viscerally modern, evoking a "macumbeiro noise" that defies classification and invites the listener to a deep and sometimes disturbing sonic experience. More than a musical work, Anganga is a dialogue between eras and aesthetics, where the "lacerating humanity in Juçara's voice" meets Cadu's "noise distortions", resulting in something that transcends the academic or historical to become an emotional appeal and a landmark in the development of Brazilian electroacoustic music.
Context
Before Anganga, Juçara Marçal was already a respected figure in the Brazilian music scene, known for her work in groups such as Vésper Vocal, A Barca and, notably, Metá Metá. Her solo career gained prominence with the acclaimed 2014 album Encarnado, which earned her several awards. Juçara explored popular culture and Mário de Andrade's musical research, and already presented a process of deconstructing traditional popular music in her trajectory with Metá Metá, incorporating noisier sounds. Cadu Tenório, for his part, is a musician and experimenter from Rio de Janeiro with a vast discography, whose work is built on the exploration of different recording processes and the attainment of unusual timbres from synthesizers, field recordings, tape loops, and processed instruments. He is known for his forays into extreme noise sounds, but also for his ability to collaborate with artists from various segments, moving from experimental to Brazilian popular music, seeking to expand the pillars of song.
Recording
The creative process for Anganga lasted about a year and began with the idea of interpreting Dorival Caymmi's work with noise influences. The album's recording was carried out unconventionally: Juçara Marçal recorded her a cappella vocals at Estúdio Fine Tuning, in São Paulo, while Cadu Tenório recorded the instruments, such as synthesizers, amplified objects, cassettes, contact microphones, electronic drums, guitar, and prepared violin, at Estúdio 503, in Rio de Janeiro. Cadu was responsible for the production and arrangements, mixing the material with Emygdio Costa, who also mastered the album. This separate recording approach allowed Cadu Tenório to build the arrangements from Juçara's already recorded chants, creating a turbulent and unstable sound environment. The album's graphic work, including the cover art and photomontage, also featured the participation of Cadu Tenório and Tay Nascimento, with graphic design by Mariana Mansur.
Songs
Anganga is composed of eight tracks, divided between reinterpretations of vissungos and congado chants, and two original compositions. The vissungos, slave work songs collected by Aires da Mata Machado Filho in the 1920s, such as "Canto II", "Canto III", "Canto VI" and "Canto VII", had already been recorded on the album O Canto dos Escravos (1982) by Clementina de Jesus, Geraldo Filme and Tia Doca da Portela. Original compositions "Eká" and "Taio" were created by Cadu Tenório in collaboration with Juçara Marçal. "Eká", the opening track, is highlighted for its strength and for being an emotional appeal. Juçara's lyrics and vocalisations frequently evoke the suffering and inventiveness of slaves, transforming spiritual agony into song. The track "Grande Anganga Muquixe", a congado chant from Justinópolis, on the album indicates reverence for the master, the elder, the one whose "gunga não bambeia".
Legacy
Anganga was received as an album that "is a symbol of a rich and plural moment of reconfiguration of Brazilian music's languages, structures, and sensibilities", challenging the moulds of tradition and folklore. The collaboration between Juçara Marçal and Cadu Tenório is seen as an "intersection and meeting point" that revitalises petrified structures. The album was recognised as an important step for the development of electroacoustic music in Brazil, where Cadu Tenório's manipulation finds a powerful ally in Juçara Marçal's voice, creating an atmosphere that goes beyond desolation to highlight the complexity of sensations. Although there is no specific mention of awards or ranking positions for the album Anganga itself, the work solidified Juçara Marçal's position as a reference in contemporary and experimental music, complementing her award-winning work with Metá Metá and in her solo career. The album is considered a "turbulent meeting point" between the two artists, a work of "nostalgic essence, but which slowly plunges into a current, violent, and insane scenario". The album had an average rating of 4.6/5 across 10 reviews on Discogs.
Rankings
Tracks
Credits
Cabaret Voltaire, Phil Bush
Chris Watson, Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder
Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder
Stephen Mallinder
Stephen Mallinder
Alan Fisch, Nort
Eric Random
Richard H. Kirk
Richard H. Kirk
Chris Watson
Phil Bush
Porky
George Peckham
Cabaret Voltaire
Neville Brody
Cabaret Voltaire
Videos
Juçara Marçal & Cadú Tenório - Anganga ALBUM REVIEW (PT-BR)
O Audiófilo
Resenha Juçara Marçal & Cadu Tenório, Anganga
NonaOrelha
Analyses
Anganga | Juçara Marçal & Cadu Tenório | Cadu Tenório
cadutenorio.bandcamp.com
A cantora Juçara Marçal e o músico e experimentador carioca Cadu Tenorio apresentam Anganga, reinterpretações contemporâneas de vissungos recolhidos por Aires da Mata Machado Filho em São João da Chapada, município de Diamantina (MG) —, além de cantos do Congado Mineiro.
Juçara Marçal & Cadu Tenório - Anganga (2015) | cenaindie
cenaindie.com
'Anganga' não é apenas um álbum, mas uma experiência imersiva que moí a cabeça e reconstrói a percepção da memória ancestral. É uma jornada sonora intensa, que busca a essência da tradição através da desconstrução e da reinvenção.
Álbum Anganga, Cadu Tenório | Qobuz: download e streaming de alta qualidade
qobuz.com
3 Grande Anganga Muquixe 00:02:40 Direto, Composer - Juçara Marçal, MainArtist - Cadu Tenório, MainArtist (C) 2015 QTV/Sinewave [dist. Tratore] (P) 2015 QTV/Sinewave [dist. Tratore] 4 Canto Ill 00:02:02 Direto, Composer - Juçara Marçal, MainArtist - Cadu Tenório, MainArtist (C) 2015 QTV/Sinewave [dist. Tratore] (P) 2015 QTV ...
JUÇARA MARÇAL & CADU TENÓRIO - Anganga (2015) - Sinewave
sinewave.com.br
JUÇARA MARÇAL & CADU TENÓRIO - Anganga (2015) - Sinewave October 6, 2015 JUÇARA MARÇAL & CADU TENÓRIO - Anganga (2015)
Crítica - Disco: Cadu Tenório e Juçara Marçal | Anganga
revistaogrito.com
Juçara Marçal já pode ser considerada tranquilamente um dos principais nomes da música brasileira nos últimos anos. Seja no seu bom disco solo, seja no Metá Metá e nos vários projetos que participou, Juçara é voz marcante, criativa e presente em muita coisa boa que foi feita por aí.