Kassin

Kassin

Sonhando Devagar

20|20|20

In his native Brazil, Kassin is a sought-after producer (Bebel Gilberto), bass player (Caetano Veloso) and musical director (Orchestra Imperial, a new-twist samba band that regularly plays for audiences of 40,000). But outside Brazil, he is best known as a member of the mysterious trio known as +2, who released three albums on Luaka Bop, each identified by a different leader: Moreno +2 (lead by Moreno Veloso, Caetano’s son), Domenico +2 (lead by Domenico Lancellotti), and Kassin +2 (the last of the series, released in 2008). The +2s toured the world, collaborated with royalty of the indie rock world like John McEntire (Tortoise) and Sean O’Hagan (High Llamas), and, upon completing their high concept trilogy, called it a day. Kassin’s first songwriting project since the +2s, and his first proper solo release, is likewise conceptual: a set of songs about dreams. Sonhando Devagar (“Slowly Dreaming”) is no routine mishmash of oneiric whimsy, however; Kassin’s unconscious turns out to be both lucid and precise. He dreams / sings about eating zebra (“Natural World”) and bananas (“Potassium”), about losing cell phone signal (“Out of Service”) and his heart (“When You Are Dancing Samba”), about sex in a handicapped bathroom (“Gym Pants”), and about the similarities between ice cream and bodily fluids (“Absorb You”). The journey is as deadpan as it is surprising—plus, you can dance to it.