If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed my obsession with Brazilian samba and bossa nova ever since I first discovered Jorge Ben. In fact, if you’ve seen me enter a record store in the past year you’ve undoubtedly seen me beeline for the “world music” section hunting for a copy of Gil e Jorge on vinyl. So it’s no surprise that I’ve been digging the jams of Oakland-based Trails and Ways. The Oakland quartet was formed after songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist KBB discovered a similar obsession with Brazilian music while living in Brazil. When he returned to the Bay Area he formed Trails and Ways with the specific goal of marrying the hypnotic flow of Jorge Ben Jor with indie folk artists like The Radio Dept. “Nunca” is the tropically rhythmic and warmly swaying child of KBB’s vision. The band says the tune was inspired by “hot June day in Sao Paulo listening to Drake and Jorge Ben.”
Their latest single “Mtn Tune” demonstrates that the success of “Nunca” was no fluke. Featuring gently blended male and female vocals crooning together atop syncopated rhythms, it’s an up tempo groove that is summery and feel good. These jams are the perfect soundtrack to your favorite summer moments.
Speaking of summer moments, you may recall that I’ve been asked to act as Haagen-Dazs’ music curator for their 50 Summer Moments program. You can read more about what that means here. Bottom line is that they are donating money to honey bee research. Every time you or I choose to share a summer moment they’ll donate an additional $5 to the program. All you have to do is make sure to add the #HDMoment hashtag to your tweet or instagram. In order to see the collection of Moments submitted so far check out http://hdmoment.tumblr.com/
Trails and Ways – Mtn Tune
Trails and Ways – Nunca
Get more from Trails and Ways on their Bandcamp page including a pretty slick cover of M83’s “Midnight City.”
