Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by John Richards, host of the Morning Show on KEXP, is "Dance of the Crab" by Barry Can't Swim, from the 2023 album When Will We Land? on Ninja Tune.
Scottish DJ/producer Barry Can’t Swim found inspiration from '70s-era Brazilian group Trio Ternura for today's Song of the Day. The track can be found on his debut full-length, When Will We Land?, which features a joyous and ambitious blend of jazz, house, and Afrobeat. Today's featured track in particular, found inspiration in the funky poly-rhythms of Trio Ternura, as the artist (real name: Joshua Mannie) explained in a press release:
“The track started over a year ago, I had just started the album and was digging for samples when I found this amazing record ‘A Gira’ (1973) by a Brazilian group called Trio Ternura. Immediately I could hear the track I wanted to build around it: a summery, groovy, not taking too much away from the original but just giving it a bit more energy”.
“Then we had to clear the sample. After some searching we eventually managed to get in touch with one of the original writers based in Brazil, who is now well into his 70s and doesn’t speak a word of English. Somehow we managed to contact him on FB messenger, and a friend of mine who speaks Portuguese was the middle man. It all came together quite quickly after that, and we’ve now met all the family of the original writers. Quite wholesome really. Thank you to Trio Ternura for letting me sample the record!”
