Di Oro

Boy Ge Mendes and Manu Lima make a formidable team. Boy Ge Mendes' easy, sensual voice paired with Manu Lima's keyboard and programming strength makes for both a potent mix and a languid, plush mellowness. These two extremes make the album stick together with danceable infectiousness. Di Oro has a dance-pop stamp, but it's not done much better in Africa with a very respectable nod to Cuba and its timeless dances. "Ce La Vida" can take you to Cuba easily on its in-the-pocket cha cha. "Assim Nao" is a coladeira, the Cape Verdean dance, that stands up to repeated listening. The break on this track is to be reckoned with. There is a lot going on here and it's all filled with the grace of dance in its many forms. The slower grooves draw one in to the movement in a more subtle way. The music and rhythms come through the back door/ear of the listener. "Da-Li, Da-La" puts out monster bass like an erupting volcano. The brass here and on other tracks is tight and straight-ahead. Manu Lima knows how to work a groove and he does here. Turn it up and enjoy the chest-pounding bass.