WOW! I've been back a few weeks from Toronto, and still getting press, reviews and features being sent to me! Such an amazing and fun time I had out there! Can't wait to go back! Toronto was nothing like I imagined it would be, but 10x better! Check out this feature in the Brasil News - Toronto edition. A Very Special Thank you to Carolina Ladeira!! 

Thats right! I am going to be hosting and DJing at the 3rd annual Carnaval do Brazil event & concert! The big event is coming up on Saturday February 4th 2012! The event will unfold at the tempe live music venue, 910 Live! The evening is set for live brazilian bands, dancers, batucada, performances, food, drinks, and tons of fun! Tickets go on sale December 1st and are super cheap!!! Get all the information and more at www.CarnavalBrazilAZ.com

NEW BRAZILIAN BEAT (CD) Limited Edition - Brazil Film Festival (Toronto Canada) 
This is a limited edition album released solely for the 5th Annual Brazil Film Festival in Toronto. The album was printed to introduce and promote the Now Sound of Brazilian Music. The New Brazilian Beat, features an array of Brazilian artists that span the various regions of Brazil from Bahia, Sao Paulo, Piaui and more! To Purchase Click Here! 

The 5th Annual Brazil Film Festival is coming up! October 27th - 30th in Toronto, Canada! What an exciting time to be had for all these aspiring Film Makers, Brazilian Cultural Enthusiasts, and People who long for Brazilian Films! I am honored and excited to be able to DJ at this years event! Thanks in part to the good folks at Brazil Film Fest for sending me an invite to come DJ! I will be mixing up a variety of Brazilian Beats, Sounds and Rhythms from Across Bahia (this years theme), but also mixing a variety of grooves from Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Rio, Recife and more! 

Days & Venues I will be spinning at:

10/27/11 - Brazil Film Festival
@ TIFF Bell Lightbox - Toronto, Canada

10/28/11 - Brazil Film Festival
@ The Royal - Toronto, Canada

10/29/11 - Brazil Film Festival
@ The Royal - Toronto, Canada

10/30/11 - Brazil Film Festival
@ The Royal - Toronto, Canada

For more Information, log onto www.BrazilFilmFest.net

New Interview out today! The one and only Jonathan Overby from the Higher Ground Radio (WI) and I sat down for a chat about the latest happenings on Afro:Baile Records including play some new music by Micheline Cardoso's Cascadura Samba album. Jonathan and I go way back to 2008, when we met and spoke about the 1st Brazil:Sambossica album. But for now, check out the latest!  http://www.wpr.org/higherground/Podcast.cfm

Grabbing my passport, tons of music, my flyest gear and getting ready to take a trip! Thats right, I was invited to come out to Toronto, Canada, for the annual Brazil Film Festival. The big event is taking place October 27th - 30th! The focus of this years event will be the native land of Bahia, Brazil! The festival and Afro:Baile (my label) are planning on releasing something special for everyone at the event! So stay tuned! I will be announcing even more good news soon!

Keep the Funk Alive! That is the words of the wise! In celebrating the Funk! I am going to release the 2nd single from my latest album Brazil:Sambossica 3 Album. Free! Check out this funky soul number by one of Brazil's funkyest cats out there! Fred Jorge e os Mairorais! The funky song titled - Ponto de Vista (Tchau, Valeu) is a hip swerving number that takes you back to American funk of the 70's soul era. Fred Jorge is paving the way with the Now Sound of Brazilian grooves. Download the Single FREE (below)

I don’t sit down to write about other people’s music a whole lot but, in this case, I couldn’t resist. I ran intoDJ Seduce last year on The Sixty One and was impressed by the compilation he had posted there. I played Sambossica Vol. 2 on repeat for a few days, and thought about finding it somewhere to purchase. Somehow I wasn’t able to do it then but, today – on a beautiful Summer day – I decided to see what he’s been up to and track down his music once and for all. After scouring Amazon and not finding it there, I decided to go the easy route and visited his website. Turns out he sells his compilations throughBandcamp which I’ve heard of before but never used. Luckily, all of his compilations were available there, in high quality MP3 digital versions. A couple of clicks on PayPal and I had them downloaded, along with the satisfaction of supporting a fellow independent artist.

About the compilations: There are three compilations available for digital download: Sambossica 1, 2 & 3, all of which are awesome. Lately I’ve been trying to find some good bossa nova / samba compilations and haven’t been all that successful. But, these compilations are all you need to fuel your light “summer sounds” craving. I won’t go into too much detail on specific tracks but pretty much all of them are artfully chosen and the flow of the compilations is very smooth. The compilations are inspired by Brazilian, afro beat,  latin dance, world jazz, reggae, world groove, funky soul, deep house, broken beat, downtempo, electronica. In other words, whatever you’re into, these compilations have it, and more. Lively beats, smooth vocals and an awesome summer vibe describe the sort of sound you can expect.

About DJ Seduce: DJ Seduce is based in Arizona, and according to his website: “Over the course of 10 years, DJ Seduce has shared the stage with legendary icons, played to crowds of more than 14,000, released critically acclaimed albums and launched the “Award Winning” Afro:Baile world music event & record label. His continued strive to bring a cultural groove to the forefront, has allowed him to push his way to new heights. Some of his recent & notable accolade’s include: 4 consecutive nominations for “Best DJ” by the “Arizona Republic” & “Best Jazz” by the “Phoenix Newtimes. He’s also been a featured guest on FOX-10, and performed live on Good Morning Arizona (3TV). DJ Seduce has an extensive list of featured articles & reviews in over 15 magazine publications, including Global Rhythm Magazine & Spin Magazine.”

I try to encourage people to occasionally step back from the mainstream and explore something new, be inspired by something different. This is a great opportunity to do just that. Check out the compilation and let me know your thoughts. Salud!

http://www.sonarismusic.com/dj-seduce-sambossica/

What else is there to say, then WOW! Thank you to the Phoenix Newtimes, but more importantly, Thank you to Nicki Escudero for writing such an amazing piece on Afro:Baile, DJ Seduce, and Brazilian Music in Arizona! I am ecstatic and feeling the love right now big time! A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to sit down with Miss Escudero and have some Tea, a few laughs, and really get out my story, my plans and my thoughts about Global Music, Culture in AZ and the state of Brazilian Music today! It went a little something like this! 

PRINTED THURSDAY JUNE 9th 2011The rhythm grabs you by the knees, starts bending them on every second and fourth beat, and before you know it, your head's bobbing uncontrollably to deep, downbeat surdodrums; the sharp snap of caixa snare drums; and the steady clapping of hands. This is the infectious rhythm of Brazilian music, and Phoenix-based DJ Seduce is obsessed with spreading it across the Valley.
Born Miguel Ivery, DJ Seduce stared playing saxophone when he was 7, drums when he was 14, and bass when he was 20. In the past 11 years, DJ Seduce has become one of the most prominent advocates of Brazilian music, founding Afro:Baile Records, which exclusively showcases up-and-coming Brazilian artists and is the only independent Brazilian label in the United States. At the end of the year, he'll be traveling to Brazil to meet some of his artists.

And to think the day Ivery decided to become a DJ, back in 2000, started as just another boring day for him.

He got up, made some breakfast, and got dressed in a professional-looking button-down shirt and slacks for his corporate gig at an insurance company in North Scottsdale. At his desk job, one of the highlights of his day was going to get lunch across the street.There, he chatted up the Roly Poly deli's staff, which just so happened to consist of several Valley DJs. One of them, DJ Pickster, would describe his DJ exploits, and Ivery soon envisioned himself spinning records instead of shilling himself in a white-collar world.

Then his little brother got a DJ-in-a-box set. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Ivery to get his fingers working and learn the basics of the craft. And when he won OM Records' complete catalog through a magazine contest, the DJ stuff got a little more serious. Ivery practiced for a year using his brother's equipment and his newfound music.

When he got laid off from the insurance company, Ivery didn't fret. He looked at the abundance of time he now had to really give it a go as a Valley spinster. He applied for a gig at the now-closed Ball Park Pub in Tempe, where he lied and said he'd been playing house parties for a while. Even though the restaurant had CD turntables — which Ivery had never seen because he'd been practicing on vinyl — he was hired.

Standing behind turntables in a crowd was a little different from what Ivery had been used to as a musician. The 33-year-old Valley native grew up in what he describes as a multicultural, musical home, with a soul- and funk-loving dad who DJ'd functions and a mom who introduced him to jazz, country, and Led Zeppelin.After honing his DJ skills throughout the early '00s at spots such as AZ 88 and The Owl's Nest, Ivery started P.A.I.N.T. in 2004, a weekly night dedicated to spoken word, live art, and music at the now-closed Paper Heart. He also started the Afro:Baile event in 2006, a dance night focused on African music's influence in Latin America. He'd bring in a variety of artists from Central and South American countries to play the events, and wanted to put out a compilation featuring the musicians who'd played. Why not start his own label?

"I realized all this Africanism was linked in all the Latin American countries in the Caribbean," Ivery says. "I wanted the label to be based strictly on that rhythm."

He released Afro:Baile: The Southern Root in 2008 and then signed some of his first artists, including Yaaba Funk and The Afrodelic Stegosaurchestra. Though he enjoyed different types of world music, his heart had been with Brazilian beats since he heard a remix ofJorge Ben's "Take It Easy My Brother Charlie." That was the first time Ivery had delved into an African Brazilian artist, and he fell in love with the musical style.

"Brazil just had this really rich history of religion and culture and influence," Ivery says. "My true passion — as much as I love Afro beat — was Brazilian music."

Now, Afro:Baile focuses exclusively on promoting Brazilian artists in the States and around the world. Ivery says he looks solely for up-and-coming artists because labels in Brazil tend to reissue classic albums or promote new albums by already-established artists, and he wanted to be a catalyst for underground artists to get their voices heard. "I care about the music. I care about the people. I care about the culture," Ivery says. "A lot of people want the Top 40 hit, but that doesn't matter to me."

Thanks to Afro:Baile, the label's Brazilian music has been played on radio stations from Seattle to England. Ivery's put out three compilations of Brazilian music, including the most recent, Brazil: Sambossica 3, and Afro:Baile Records now represents and promotes nearly 40 Brazilian artists. He also puts on several parties throughout the year in the Valley, including Brazilian Day Arizona and Carnaval, and Afro:Baile will host the Brazilian-themed Summer Samba party Friday, June 10, at Mijana.

Brazilians living in Arizona have taken notice of Ivery's efforts, and some of the people who have attended his events now work with him on the label. One, Paula Hall, says she's grateful for Ivery "holding the Brazilian flag up high" in the Valley. "In Arizona, we don't have much of an international culture as other areas of the country," Hall says. "I think his work helps with bands to bring music to the Valley and throughout the world and the U.S."Another collaborator, Brazilian singer/guitarist Marcos Martins of local Afro:Baile-signed band Som Brazil, says Ivery's goal to bring new artists to non-Brazilian audiences is vital for him and fellow Brazilians. "To Brazilians, he's very important," Martins says. "He's trying to be as original as possible by trying to make sure the musicians we incorporate in our events are as close to the Brazilian culture as possible."

Now if only more Arizonans would strive to discover Brazilian music, as well. Ivery says the majority of his business comes from retail stores in Chicago and Los Angeles, but you can buy Afro:Baile records at the Musical Instrument Museum in North Phoenix, as well as online. Afro:Baile doesn't release singles for downloads because Ivery wants people to get a good feel for what Brazilian artists have to offer on full albums. And chances are, you'll be able to pick up on the passion Ivery looks for when he's choosing artists to feature on his compilations."The rhythm has to be there, the soul," Ivery says. "You can hear it in someone's voice. My Portuguese is horrible, so I can understand bits and pieces about what they say, but when you hear the melody, and you feel the rhythm, and you hear the soul of how passionate they are about singing it, you know they love what they do and they're passionate about what they're singing."

Ivery is just as passionate himself about his label and his events. And one he gave DJing a serious effort, he hasn't had to work a boring desk job since.