Andanças

Brazil's gaucho culture is pretty much unknown outside its native country. With globally feted rivals in the shape of bossa nova and samba, the gentle, rural folk music of the southern grasslands has never had a look in. Renato Borghetti, a straw-hatted accordionist of mixed Italo-German ancestry from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul (predominantly white, agroindustrial and rich enough to have considered independence from the fatherland) already has a small following, having toured widely in Europe since the 1990s. His fourth album, Andanças (Wanderings), is a live show recorded in Brussels that aims at sharing the concert experience with those who missed the gigs.

Borghetti's diatonic accordion, which he plays with passion and flair, is technically the lead musician's instrument, but flute, piano and acoustic guitar share the stage here, and there's some fine percussive guitar playing by Daniel Sá (who wrote three of the tracks and co-wrote a fourth with Borghetti). An inimitable Brazilian feeling comes through – a certain languor and a naturalness in the rhythms and relationships – but there are Argentinian rhythms such as tango, milonga and chamame in the mix too, as well as flamenco and polka, with touches of jazz and Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB). If it's less distinctive than Chango Spasiuk's cheeky, charming chamame, Borghetti's folk nevertheless has an expansive register and emotional range, and is an introduction to a sound as removed from the world music radar as its heartland is off the tourist map.