Nyron Higor – Nyron Higor
After the success of his debut instrumental album “Fio De Lâmina”, which he released himself, multi-instrumentalist Nyron Higor has moved to the brilliant Far Out Recordings for his second album, which came out last week. And following in the footsteps of his first LP, the album opens with a delicate instrumental, the frevo-based “Ciranda” where Nyron plays all instruments himself except for the longing tone of the trombone, which is played by Tico Lima. Nyron is from Brazil’s Northeast where both his producers, Bruno Berle (who has his own two Far Out LPs out now) and Batata Boy, come from. The three of them have come up with a wonderful, albeit much too short (less than 24 minutes) album representing the traditional, MPB-style music of their home turf with new and in-demand recording and production techniques, similar to what both Bruno and Batata Boy stand for on their respective albums.
I really dig the organ and percussion work on the second instrumental, “Louro Cantador”, complete with joyful whistles and sweet guitar work. And the keys and synths on the rather short “Demo Love” further express his love for beauty, simple as that. The first vocal track of the album, “Sâo Só Palavras”, features singer Alici Sol and Bruno Berle and could have been culled from Bruno’s last album. Another piece which is way too short though. Bruno can be heard again on the melancholic, bittersweet “Estou Pensando Em Você” which comes over like a raw jewel, aided by the angelic voice of Johanna. Beautiful! And there is another guest voice: Nathalia Grilo graces the slightly edged and atmospheric “Maravilhamento”. “This work is liberating, contemplative and victorious!”, says Nyron about his album which can be confirmed with each second of the LP. His way of creating certain soundscapes and leaving things out of the process is indeed liberating and totally fascinating. Modern flourishes easily sneak in throughout the album.
Case in point: the moody and spacy “Som 24”, where Nyron’s steel guitar dances over some sampled beats which are underscored by a windy bass synth. His main instrument, the bass, is showcased on the very fleeting “Pizzicato”. Nyron can be heard as a singer on the really beautiful and soft “Eu Te Amo”, written by Joāo Menezes, who also plays guitar here. And he teams up with singer Johanna on the album’s highlight, the closing number “Me Vestir De Você”. The Rhodes is snuggling up to the light and breezy voices and the pure and unadulterated melody. What a ravishing beauty this is.
Far Out Recordings have more highlights coming up by the way: for the next Record Store Day in April, the label will release “Equlibria”, the 2005 groundbreaking debut album by Nu Bossa icon Sabrina Malheiros, on vinyl for the first time. The daughter of Azymuth member Alex Malheiros cleverly combines classic Brazilian songwriting with contemporary production, courtesy of Daniel Maunick. The album, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, still sounds amazingly fresh and jubilant today. Three songs from the original album (clocking in at around 53 minutes) have not made it onto the vinyl version because of sound issues, though. Neverthless, we can’t wait!
