Bloco Electro - Global Beatbox Part 1

Breakbeat and Afro-Caribbean breaks may sound like a strange combination, but, for the most part, it’s one that works. Conceived from a love of both world rhthyms and old-skool beatboxing, Global Beatbox Part 1 mashes together traditional Brazilian drumming and rootsy latin rhythms, with old-skool electro and hip-hop beats. It’s an interesting concept for an album, with only percussive sounds being used - no keyboards, no decks, just drums, both traditional and electronic - and on the whole it works, creating some drumbeats that are guaranteed to get you bouncing. However, a subdued feeling to some songs, Havana 68 in particular, seems to stop the sound from assaulting the listener, keeping an album that is full of solid electro beats from being a collection of truly powerful dance songs. [Michael Slevin]