Words: Rafe Llewellyn, Images: Ravi Chandarana
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of taking a gander down to North London to see world-renowned Latin star, Seu Jorge for his first UK appearance in 6 years.
From the moment I arrived bodies and souls aligned on the floor of the Roundhouse venue. The renowned venue is akin to an amphitheatre of sound, darkened seating circling above a packed pit of shifting bodies. As the eyes above peer through the darkness , the ground shines alight with dancing and movement.
Support for the night, Nina Miranda is a trip-hop veteran who has pioneered new, experimental sounds finding influences from both sides of her Brazilian/British heritage. Miranda hailed back to a time where everybody used to ‘check each other out’, teasing the audience with seditious melodies from her illustrious career. A palmarés spanning both solo experiences as well as a variety of bands including ‘Smoke City,’ ‘Zeep’ and ‘Shrift’. Amongst her flamboyant nature, Miranda has a sincere message. She calls for an end to fascism and censorship, citing that ‘we are all connected’. A warm reception ensued before the buzz began to rise for the next act.
The crowd was a fusion of South American elegance and summer London streetwear. The masses had turned out in Brazilian football jerseys for the headline of the night, the man often credited as the ‘spearhead of modern samba.’ Seu Jorge.
Seu Jorge sauntered on to the stage to a crowd set alight by Brazilian flare, bright lights illuminating up his brilliance. Accompanied by a posse of swaggering musicians, Seu Jorge took to Roundhouse with a playful grasp that held the crowd in blissful wonderment.
At 54 years of age, the Brazilian is full of youthful exuberance, fuelled by all the walks of life rolled into one. Seu Jorge has seen it all, from working odd jobs as a teenager in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, to military service, to losing his young brother to police, to teaching himself guitar. He has garnered acclaim from the likes of David Bowie and the Grammys, achieving 3 Latin Grammys and 8 nominations. His story is as heartwarming as it is heart wrenching, but his experience carries through to his performance, soulful and moving – proof that you can use the past to heal.
From the depths of the Rio favelas, the man known for his part in the samba renaissance is a workhorse of South American music, having released regular music for over thirty years. We saw a detailed tour throughout his decadent discography, with recognisable tunes such as ‘Burguesinha’, ‘Mina do Condomínio’ blessing the sound system in the first section of his performance.
Seu Jorge then thanked the crowd for coming out, amongst a mix of profound Portuguese words. Celebrating the release of his fourteenth album, Baile à la Baiana, Seu Jorge brought down special guests and ‘oldest friends,’ Magary Lord and Peu Murray as well as an exceptional trombonist for a journey through his latest project.
The diverse audience revelled in the infectious energy of the group. Pockets of Portuguese echoing back the words to almost every hit whilst those not well-versed in the language swayed just as joyfully. Each crowd member enjoyed the sounds in their own ways, some stood watching hypnotised , others moving in sync with the motions of the music.
Commanding the audience, Seu Jorge ordered us into a slow trance as he stripped back to him and his flute before giving us a highly anticipated rendition of David Bowie’s ‘Rebel, Rebel’ and a soulful ‘É Isso Aí’. With the crowd lulled into a satisfied awe-struck trance, Seu Jorge brought back his band to reignite the pit into a glow of energy with an encore of ‘Felicidade’ to send the crowd swinging in Samba into the night of London.
