He may have DJ in his name, but the Brazilian-based turntablist would probably be at home next to world music compatriots like Balkan Beat Box and later-day stuff by David Byrne. Whatever Dolores is spinning on his third album 1 Real, there aren’t any tracks that are going to get the raver kids bouncing up and down or end up on any Aphex Twin nerd’s playlist. Most of what Dolores is doing here is infusing traditional Brazilian music with his own electronic flavor. One can only imagine that dance houses across Rio are banging to track like “Deixa Falar” and “Cala Cala” but the songs don’t mean nearly as much if you aren’t familiar with what Dolores is sampling and drawing from. Occasionally though, the turntable/electronic influences are brought to the forefront and the traditional South American themes are taken back a bit. “Flying Horse” is built off of a strange vocal sample and even stranger beat; it would fit right in on an U.N.K.L.E. or DJ Shadow record. “Mutant Child (Run, Run, Run),” which according to the liner notes was inspired by a Wolverine comic book story – is a slow groove deep house kind of track, and the haunting “Wakaru” is trance, pure and simple. Dolores is politically active in his native country, and that is reflected in the lyrics of his music. However, since most of the songs on 1 Real are in Portuguese, that really won’t matter much to the American audience. Still, electronic music fans might want to check 1 Real out; it’s intelligent dance music of a different variety. (LABEL: Ziriguiboom/Crammed 2008)
