Bonde do Rolê

Bonde De Rolê are a Brazilian dance act drawing heavily on funk carioca, but delivered with an upfront quirkiness which wins over audiences incredibly quickly. That, and the fact that whenever they take to the stage they’re a guaranteed party. Funk Carioca, for those who don’t know, is like the Brazilian answer to Miami Bass, a kind of gritty, sweaty electro that came out of the favelas in mid-1980s Rio. At their explosive live shows, which are ramshackle and chaotic affairs in the most exciting possible way, you can expect the banging, thudding electro beats characteristic of straight up funk carioca, but with a slice of trashy, merry insanity. Their song James Bond is a pun on Bonde (they’re pronounced the same in Portuguese) which is about the super agent getting on a bus and actually being gay. Their lyrics are hilarious and littered with profanities, screamed into the mic by MCs Laura Taylor and Pedro D’Eyrot, though in a previous incarnation the band featured Marina Ribatski (aka Marina Vella, aka Marina Gasolina) on MCing duties. The cover of their 2007 album With Lasers, which features Rio’s landmark Christ the Redeemer shooting lasers from its eyes, perfectly encapsulates the cross-referencing absurd humour. Highly recommended.