Rahim recorded these four songs between France, Spain, and New Zealand, adapting as the journey progressed, slipping between languages, instruments, and musical influences with equal levels of fluidity.
There are new ideas bristling from every bar of this: notes of Brazilian Tropicália inform opener ‘Spacecab F’, which begins with a Casio beat and layers of a woozy melody that never quite stay still; a pleading howl of a vocal on ‘Cuerpo Sueño’ breaks into a menacing surf guitar prowl that feels like Lee Hazlewood at his most flamboyant; the gentle sliver of ‘Mão e Concreto’ at just over two minutes still manages to cram in musique concrète samples and a choral climax.
The constant shifting and impermanence of it all feels like Rahim is pulling the listener along on his multi-continental path; unsettled, inspired, never totally at home – an album’s worth of ideas concentrated like espresso, a dense jolt to the senses.
Novas Distâncias Quebradas is out now. Available here.
