The new record is, in a way, a continuation of the path that Mitches chose when creating their previous album. As Krzysztof 'Mitch' Bałach said in an interview conducted for the Polish Radio, 'Kassin sort of is Brazil’s Zbigniew Wodecki'. The Brazilian multi-instrumentalist is also one of the most active producers in his homeland and an experimenter conjoining bossa-nova with ethnic instruments.
The title of the album, which could be roughly translated as 'visitors from the north-east', refers to a Brazilian fixed expression which, as Kassin claims, denotes visitors who drop by without announcing themselves. 'Mitch' Bałach also says that Visitantes Nordestinos is a record aimed at restoring the listeners’ energy, fairly frayed by winter. The second track on the album is called Quando chega o Verão – which means ‘when summer comes’. What else do these unannounced guests bring with them?
As Tomek Doksa wrote in his review:
… Visitantes Nordestinos not only brings with it a load of Brazilian sunny energy to Polish listeners, but also encourages to delve into South American music. … Mitches’ compositions will infect you with tropical sounds, I am certain of that. One would have to be really unhappy and closed to sounds different from what may be heard on a commercial radio in order to disapprove of the heart and musical warmth put into Visitantes Nordestinos.
The album premiered on March 24th 2017. The Brazilian audience was able to hear the compositions already in November 2016 during Antimatéria Festival in Rio de Janeiro and Musica Estranha festival in São Paulo. Both of the events were co-organised by Culture.pl.
- Visitantes Nordestinos
Mitch & Mitch & Kassin
Lado ABC, Agora
Warsaw, March 2017
Members of the live band:
- Kassin – guitar, bass
Mitch – guitar, bass, synthesizer
Mitch – drums
Half-Ape Half-Mitch a.k.a. Luigi – organs, synthesizer, bass
The (ðə) Mitch – vibraphone, percussion instruments
Spiral Mitch – trombone, synthesizer, percussion instruments
Source: press materials, originally edited by NS in Polish, translated by NS, April 2017.