Aurora: Remixes & Originals

To celebrate Azymuth’s 40-something years and 25 studio albums together, the band’s label, Far Out, commissioned an album full of remixes of the trio’s Aurora, a record that was released in 2011 and acclaimed in Songlines for its ‘seamless sonic vision.’ 4Hero, Ashley Beedle and other usual (and not so usual) suspects were invited to re-work the original tracks of the album, which bore the band’s indelible hallmark of deceptively simple, infectious melodies underpinned by slippery, funky grooves. Unlike some such projects, this one works a treat.

Apart from the distracting and irritating electronic tics that Kirk Degiorgio adds to the track ‘Diz No Pé', the remixes and re-edits generally stretch the sinuous raw material and add splashes of fresh colour to the palette. A gold star goes to Mark E for transforming ‘Meu Mengô’ into something that broods and simmers like an approaching storm. 4Hero’s somnolent interpretation of the lovely title-track comes in a close second.

The untimely death last summer of Azymuth’s chief composer and keyboardist José Roberto Bertrami, a significant third of this long-running Brazilian trio, means their future is uncertain. But if you missed this album the first time round, here’s something twice as nice to tempt you.