The Franco-Brazilian trio composed of Páula, Povoa and Jerge (PPJ) reject pigeonhole thinking especially when it comes to geography or genre. Moreso their approach is an invite to a musical melting pot with elements of baile funk and samba from Páula's native country Brazil with techno, electroclash and hyper pop that is more commonly found this side of the Atlantic.
Refusing to conform with any rules of club music, the trio reflects on what PPJ and the Bloco series is all about: an electrified dancefloor with the Brazilian street party meets a club soundsystem vibe. The writing and production process is a mix of memories and lived experience. Some tracks were conceived in Paris and fine-tuned amid the chaos of the Rio Carnival. In other instances, the group sampled the voices and sounds of Brazil, and later worked them up back home.
Songs on Bloco Vol2 germinated from moments as striking as a tropical thunderstorm giving way to a burst of sunshine in the remote jungle of Paraty Mirim, which sparked the bubblegum pop melody of Double Rainbow.
A friend's leaking roof left the trio stranded within days of arriving in Rio, but led them to Renata, a chef in Gloria's street market, whom they stayed with for five weeks and whose voice they sampled in the eponymous track. Riding on the back of one of Rio's moto-taxis was the best way to navigate the cobbled, vertiginous streets up to Renata's house, situated directly between the bohemian hilltop enclave of Santa Teresa and the mouth of the Fallet favela. Nowhere was this apposition of beauty and violence more clear; Páula, the lead singer, narrates one such journey in the madcap Moto, singing of the hum of cicadas, the bark of a dog and the crackle of automatic gunfire. In Beijo, a subtle bossa nova acoustic guitar interspersed with UK-inspired techno rhythms: this is a group that transverses continents and resists being pinned down.
PPJ’s highly anticipated return to Paris based label R&D with their genre bending, high energy release ‘Bloco Vol 2’ is set for 15 Feb 2024. The Bloco Vol1 successor leads with single ‘Beijo’ on 2 November 2023 and ‘Double Rainbow’ on 25 January 2024.
Artist: PPJ
EP: Bloco Vol 2
Date: 15 February 2024
Label: Recherche & Développement R&D
next single: Double Rainbow (25.January 2024)
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