「Nova Bossa Nova」は90年代のアシッドジャズとブラジル音楽の新たな需要に応えたMarcos Valleの復活作。ロンドンのクラブシーンでのブラジル音楽人気と新しい音の不足を受け、Joe DavisがMarcosとの新アルバム制作を提案し、最新技術とアナログ録音を組み合わせた。1996年に録音が始まり、1998年にリリース。アルバムはブラジル音楽のピーク時に発表され、Bebel GilbertoやSabrina Malheirosらに影響を与えた。Valleのキャリアを俯瞰し、タイトル曲はモダンでファンキーなサウンドに進化。ダンスフロア向けの「Freio Aerodynamico」リワークや「Bar Ingles」、「Nordeste」なども収録。20年経ても重要な作品として輝き続ける。

A1. Novo Visual (New Look)
A2. Abandonu (Abandon)
A3. Cidade Aberto (Open City)
A4. Bahia Blue
B1. Nova Bossa Nova (New Bossa)
B2. Nordeste (North East)
B3. Bar Ingles (English Bar)
B4. A Vontage de Rever Voce (Rocking You)

Nova Bossa Nova brought Marcos bouncing back into the 90s, slotting nicely in place alongside the acid jazz movement as well as a voracious new demand for Brazilian music on dancefloors from London to Tokyo. It was witnessing the London club scene’s growing appetite for Brazilian music, as well as a lack of new sounds coming out of Brazil at the time, that a young Joe Davis put in a proposal to record a new album with one of his musical idols. Joe wanted to facilitate an album which would combine the latest technologies and production techniques, with live to analogue tape recording: a Marcos Valle album tailor-made for London’s clubs. Always open to modern influences and possibilities, Marcos agreed to the project, and Joe and his production partner Roc Hunter flew to Rio in ‘96. The record wasn’t released until ’98, as the original ½ inch tapes were stolen from Far Out’s London studio, meaning parts of the album had to be re-recorded.

Nova Bossa Nova was unveiled at the peak of the Brazilian movement, the record would also prove to be something of a revolution, inspiring a new generation of artists like Bebel Gilberto, Sabrina Malheiros, Da Lata and Bossacucanova, who continued to fuse Brazilian influences with modern electronic sounds.

The album takes a panoramic view of Valle’s career, which was so fundamental in defining the standard of bossa back in the Sixties and continues to do so to this day. Nova Bossa Nova, the album’s title track is an update on Marcos’s trademark style, developing a more modern, funkier sound. Other gems include the dance-floor ready re-work of his 1970 hit ‘Freio Aerodynamico’, and the smooth instrumentals ‘Bar Ingles’, a jazz fusion looper, and the sun-soaked samba ‘Nordeste’.

Twenty years since the original release, the album remains a landmark for Far Out Recordings and Brazilian music in general. It is yet another example of Marcos Valle’s ability to transcend musical limitations and explore new musical