Much of Brazil’s music is grounded in Afro-Indigenous traditions which, away from the music industry’s spotlight, often fall into oblivion. Na Eira, however, demonstrates the importance of these musical traditions to Brazilian music culture. The group Ponto Br is an ensemble of music masters aiming for new dialogues between different rhythms from North and Northeastern Brazil, like coco de roda, ciranda, bumba meu boi, and maracatu. Music from Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, like the doutrinas from Tambor de Mina (Maranhão State), are also celebrated in Na Eira, adding the transcendental to the album. While it highlights traditional instruments and chants, Na Eira is not orthodox in its arrangements: the bass is present in most of the album, and brass instruments eventually share the room with traditional ones, like pandeirão, matraca, alfaia, xequerê and conga. As for the tracks, “Caboclo” feels like a sacred ritual in a hidden forest, and from “Estrela_Estrada Linda” emanates the strength of maracatu and the mantra-like vocals of bumba meu boi. “Janaína” closes the album with an outstanding series of genre transitions, migrating from ponto de jurema, to ciranda, and then to maracatu rural.

– Beatriz Miranda