Tangential Music are incredibly honoured to release ‘Quotidiano’, the classy new album from one of Lisbon’s most accomplished artists, Milton Gulli. A true musical artist with a long lineage of quality projects under his belt, Milton’s Mozambican heritage and cultural upbringing in the African diasporic suburbs of Portugal’s capital have given him a rich palette of musical influences that he harnesses with great skill and energy.

Hooks and melodies seem to come easily, every track on the album a standalone listen, yet as a whole, the atmosphere and vibe is perfectly poised. Soulful sunshine music with a serious inner core.‘Quotidiano’ translates as ‘Everyday Life’ and the album is offered as ‘a contemporary photographic report of everyday life in Mozambique and the World’. The music is a union of all the music he has been making from his first EP ‘Capital Som’ with Philharmonic Weed back in 1997, right up to now.

Touching on reggae, funk, soul, electronic, African music and hip hop, his deep knowledge of all of these genres permeate the record.The unique tonalities of music from Mozambique shares much from its long history as a Portuguese colony and these hybrid sounds have fed back over the years into Portugal’s own musical development. From the 70s onwards, however, newly independent Mozambique looked towards its African neighbours for inspiration and created something that is now recognisably theirs.

Milton’s music has always been about empowerment and justice for all and his music and life of travelling reflects this. He lived and worked in Mozambique for 9 years where he collaborated with rapper Simba on “The Heroes – A Tribute To A Tribe”, a Mozambican tribute to A Tribe Called Quest for the great UK label BBE Music, while helping to produce Azagaia’s “Cubaliwa” for Milton’s own label – Kongoloti Records. In the capital, Maputo, Milton also produced albums for Deltino Guerreiro, Ras Skunk, Spirits Indigenous and co-produced Granmah’s debut album whilst playing with Azagaia, Simba, DRP, TP50 and many others. Amongst many TV and film jobs, Milton also composed the original soundtrack for the Mozambican film “Resgate” (Redemption in the UK), which is available on Netflix! This is just a snapshot of the prolific creative journey that Milton has been on and when you listen to ‘Quotidiano’, you will hear the well developed mastery of his music.

The thrilling opening track ‘Lobo’ is a beautiful string laden instrumental reminiscent of the best of Kruder & Dorfmeister: epic, emotional and a surefire beach anthem in the making, Milton’s guitar sings as the groove propels forwards and upwards. ‘Cacimbo’ begins with raw percussion before dropping into a lovely mid tempo dancehall rhythm, with warm chords and Milton’s bright and confident vocals leading to a chorus to die for. Milton’s voice is a wonderful thing in itself, well-travelled but still bursting with certainty and positivity. The Portuguese language is beautifully suited to song as any lovers of Brazilian music will attest to and the unique mixture of the language and the many musical influences on show, means the casual listener may believe this is a Brazilian record but it’s not. This is the sound of the Lisbon underground, of contemporary Mozambique, of Milton Gulli.

‘Jogador’ is a definite radio hit, a danceable song about racism in football, perceived by an African kid who plays in Europe (with gorgeous video to match). Despite the hard social commentary, the song pops with bouncing drums and bass, bright flutes and keys paving the way to another huge chorus.

‘Puto’ is a Maputo kid’s story of life and dreams on the street hidden within a deliciously relaxed arrangement. Acoustic guitars, deep funky bass and a simple loose rhythm allow Milton’s storytelling to soar.

‘This Is Only Sweet’ is a superb and authentic sounding reggae love song. Sang in English and rocking that early 80s Lovers / Roots vibe, this is a shoe-in for any open-minded reggae DJs. ‘Algoritmo’ hits that hip hop spot but with a difference. A lovely, lilting electro-acoustic backing with syncopated claps, guitars and moody samples, with a sharp rap from Milton and a standout guest spot from Mozambican poet Tchaka Waka Bantu. This track sounds like all of Milton’s influences in one place and it is a killer tune with a guaranteed appeal beyond the lusophone countries.

‘Marrabenta (Pés Pretos)’ is a percussion and acoustic guitar led groover that builds and builds the tension as the added flute and strings swirl and reach over Milton’s voice. The Latin titled ballad ‘Errare Humanum Est’ (translated as ‘to err is human’), closes the album. Melancholic and melodramatic, this is the song that probably resembles the Portuguese spirit the most which is a tad ironic, as it is a cover of an original from the legendary Brazilian singer and songwriter Jorge Ben! Big hooks and Milton’s vocals full of pain and longing, the Brazilians would say it was full of ‘saudade’, Milton Gulli calls it ‘everyday living’.

A charming and captivating album that offers more on each listen, ‘Quotidiano’ is a masterful record that deserves your time.