Thiago Franca is an astonishing Sao Paolo horn player, part Roland Kirk, part Sun Ra, who mixes the traditional rhythms of his Brazilian birthplace with big band flair and experimental insouciance.

His carnival collective-come-bloco A Espetacular Charanga Do Franca is a retro-tastic juggernaut formed in 2013 to push back against the country’s clampdown on human rights and culture, and a self-proclaimed anti-fascist zone in which energy is at a premium, partying is a given and the sonic surprises just keep on coming. Having reclaimed the streets in Sao Paolo – where authorities had previously pushed the working classes into a designated carnival arena – and sent a good proportion of 2019’s 14 million carnivalistas into sweaty realms of delight, Franca and his tumultuous crew represent in spirit and might across this cherry-picked ‘Best Of’ selection.

This isn’t Cuban charanga, of course, but a clever combo of 1950s/60s gafieira-style samba orchestra with touches of Andean, Colombian, Cuban and even New Orleans Mardi Gras marching band flavours. Inventive arrangements and a host of guest vocalists and instrumentalists keep things wide-ranging: a fervent Tulipa Ruiz sings on the stirring ‘Caro do Apetite’ alongside her guitarist father, Veloso-collaborator Luiz Chagas. The Balkan-inspired ‘Shabab’La’ plays with tempo and cross rhythms in ways heady and accessible; ‘Nåo Para’ takes MJ’s ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’, wraps it in vibrant cumbia and goes stratospheric. Add the bloco’s tireless community work and fascist-fighting aesthetic, and this one’s pretty much essential.