2005 was quite the year for Norway's Madrugada. Their 4th record, "The deep end", outsold their others and swept every Norwegian award there was to be won. Proving that they know how to make hay while the sun shines, they've released not one, but two, follow-ups in less than a year's time. "Live at Tralfamadore" is a live record based primarily on their December, 2005 concert at the Oslo Spektrum, and "Live at Oslo Spektrum" is a DVD of that show. Both are more like top notch souvenirs than new additions to their catalogue (they themselves referred to the live record as #4.5 rather than #5), but both feature excellent songs performed with stellar musicianship and passion.
So inspired by this special time of day, MJ Cole presents Madrugada marks a personal interlude for MJ Cole that transitions him from his better known electronic/dance music past, drawing from his classical roots and into a new world of piano based ambience that is led almost entirely by his tender and intimate piano playing, accented by subtle electronics and luxurious string arrangements. “I've made hundreds of records and had albums out before, but this record has always been brewing in the background. It’s been gestating my whole life. This isn’t just me sitting down at the piano and writing something nice and ambient, I’m coming at it as a hardcore manipulator of sounds. You can hear my breath, you can hear the pedal, you can hear the piano as a living instrument. It’s all about expression. When I play the piano I go into a meditative state, other thoughts don't come into my head.”
“O samba carioca como ele é todo lindo, cheio de graça e simplicidade”. Assim termina o texto de Herminio Bello de Carvalho sobre o disco “Samba na Madrugada” (1968), impresso no encarte do LP. O álbum, que foi lançado em 1966 com o nome “Na Madrugada”, une dois mestres do samba, Paulinho da Viola e Elton Medeiros. Esse importante registro da música nacional volta às lojas esse ano pela coleção “Clássicos em Vinil”, da Polysom, em vinil de 180 gramas. O disco traz 11 faixas, assinadas uma parte por Paulinho da Viola e outra por Elton Medeiros. Ambos contaram com grandes nomes nas composições, entre eles Candeia, Casquinha, Zé Keti e Cartola. Entre os sucessos, ora interpretado por um, ora por outro, estão “Minhas Madrugadas”, “O Sol Nascerá”, “Mascarada” e “Arvoredo”.