There is a new movement coming from de Rio de Janeiro, in a new style called Rasterinha. Some producers call it raggafunk or axé funk. Renato Martins from the Baile Funk-channel Funk na Caixa was lucky to be the first to introduce it to the blog world via Noisey in Decemember last year. Now he's presenting the new sounds from Brazil to the readers of Norient.

Rasterinha is a new trend of Baile Funk, coming from funkeiros, in a slow BPM with a different beat from tamborzão or voltmix, even different from the beatbox (usual know as tamoborzinho). This beat is new, using a little of atabaque, a little of pandero and a little of beatbox from funk. It also has the influence of ragga and axé music, but it sounds different from both, because it is more focused on dancing. Another great thing about this new movement is the use of instrumental elements, such as the cavaquinho.

Why this movement is so interesting?

It’s a new movement that changes the usual beat of Baile Funk. Since the creation of the Baile Funk, fukeiros have used the same beat, with little adaptation. If you listen to tamborzão or voltmix, the classic beat of Baile Funk, and you listen today, you will note the similarity of sounds. There isn’t a big change. But with Rasterinha, there is.

Another main distinguishing feature is the speed, this new beat is slower. Baile Funk is usually 130 BPM but Rasterinha is around 96 BPM. Another major departure is that Rasterinha has come from funkeiros. Diplo and Haaksman, came to Brazil in 2005 to understand Baile Funk and subsequently they released a lot of material. However, they didn’t influence the funkeiros.

The favela doesn’t care about the gringos or the underground scene, they live their own routine, their own culture and don’t take much influence from other movements. And now this new movement is from them! They created this beat, they wanted to slow it down. This new influence is home grown.

Will Rasterinha replace Baile Funk?

Damn man, no. Baile Funk is a very strong movement, it has it’s own life, it’s own economy, trends, artists, hits. We will continue to listen to Baile Funk for years to come but we also now have something new that comes from it to listen to too.

Why Rasterinha?

When I was writing the first article about Rasterinha in Noisey, I spoke with Dj BamBam, the producer of Novinha Sensacional and he told me this history: «In 90s, there is a sound we called ‹Rasteiro›. It’s slower than baile funk and the crowd dance to it with ‹passinho›. Now in 10's, this new beat is slow too, so we call it Rasterinha.»

The first track from Rasterinha came from Mc Nandinho. He was in a studio with friends and dropping beats on a motorcycle helmet and singing. Playing with friends. In that moment he liked a beat and so they decided to record it as a joke and stuck it on a video of a guy in a spiderman costume.

When you listen to the beat, you can hear that it is very simple. It was recorded in the moment with hardly any production and bascially as a joke. Then, came Quero Bunda from Mc Tipocki and the beat was used in a new way with more production.

Last summer Rasterinha started growing and the track Novinha Sensacional was the big hit. You always know which is the track of the moment from what is blasting out of car stereos on the street. 8 out of 10 cars were blasting out Novinha all summer. That was the catalyst that inspired more and more producers to make and release new tracks.

The two big names in the Rasterinha scene are: Mc Romântico and Mc Tipocki. However both mc’s have only released just one track each. Whereas other producers such as Victor Falcão, Dj BamBam and Dj Lula, are releasing tracks on a weekly basis.

From the underground scene, more and more producers are getting interested in Rasterinha. Omulu was one of the first to release a track:

And soon, will release this one with Comrade:

Even more names from the bass underground from all over the world are now interested in releasing Rasterinha material. Everybody from Gorky from Bonde do Rolê through to Comrade and even Munchi have all expressed an interest in releasing music in this scene. Munchi is in love with Rasterinha and he sent a message to Comrade saying the following: «I’ve been locked in my room growing a beard hooked on Rasterinha»

He says that he has already created an EP with 8 tracks ready for a release and that’s believable because Munchi has always been in love with Baile Funk for a long time. Branko from Buraka Som Sistema also played this Rastarinha track on his BBC Radio 1 show.

For now I think we can expect more tracks from funkeiro, more tracks from the underground scene in this new Rasterinha style. Listen to some more Rasterinha stuff: