Recorded at Marini in Rio de Janeiro under the production auspices of three times Latin Grammy winner Mario Caldato plus singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Kassin, vocalist Mario Biondi’s homage to the music and culture of Brazil kicks off with Seu Jorge’s ‘Felicidade’, one of several DJ-friendly cuts which also include the discofied grooves of ‘Devotion’, ‘On The Moon’ and ‘Take Me To The Stars’. The latter is one of three tracks to feature the lustrous strings of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded in Prague and conducted by Richard Hein. The cavernous reverb on a couple of tracks can occasionally verge on the excessive, notably a cover of Sade’s ‘Smooth Operator’ featuring Till Brönner on flugelhorn, which sounds like Biondi and the musicians have been transported to the bottom of a mineshaft. As well as the gentle bossa of ‘Upside Down’, Ivan Lins and Cláudya sprinkle their magic on the mesmeric ‘Deixa Eu Dizer’. Reprised as a bonus track featuring vocalist, songwriter and musician Ana Carolina and pianist Daniel Jobim (grandson of Brazilian icon Antônio Carlos Jobim), ‘Rivederti’ finds Biondi at his most touchingly romantic.