Vandal’s new album, “Vanguardah,” brings together rap, electronic production and the religious traditions of Bahia in a sound the Salvador artist describes as “Afro-erudite.” The record draws on Dorival Caymmi’s guitar in “É Doce Morrer no Mar,” while mixing electronic beats with pagodão and samples of Racionais MCs over a samba-reggae rhythm supplied by DJ KL Jay.

Faith is central to the album. Vandal says the work carries a strong sense of belief and reflects what he has overcome. It includes a sample of a speech by Santa Dulce dos Pobres, whom he came to revere after his grandmother received care from the saint’s social works. The cover also features sacred figures, including a handmade, painted likeness of Vandal produced at a family workshop in Salvador’s Valéria neighborhood.

On “Avemariah,” opera singer Liz Reis asks for blessings for Black mothers grieving children lost to violence, accompanied by percussion evoking candomblé. The track connects to the poverty and threat of crime that Vandal describes in “Supereh.” Strings from the Afrosinfônica Orchestra, led by Ubiratan Marques, add to the album’s baroque character. Marques contributed throughout the project, as did BaianaSystem vocalist Russo Passapusso, who served as musical director and is a longtime friend of Vandal.

The record also incorporates sounds from everyday life in Salvador, including birds Vandal recorded outside his window and church bells. He says his musical ideas often emerge from walking around the city, listening to conversations and gathering stories and sounds from the streets, markets, buses and his neighborhood.

“Vanguardah” expands an approach Vandal has developed for more than a decade: building a hip-hop language from Bahia’s music and street culture. He traces that foundation to the city’s popular street festivals, Pelourinho, Terça da Bênção, samba-reggae and Carnival. Vandal is also associated with MiniStereo Público, described as Bahia’s first sound system, and regularly performs with the group on Iemanjá Day, February 2.

His influences include British grime artist Dizzee Rascal, particularly the 2003 album “Boy in da Corner.” Vandal’s first mixtape, “Tipolazvegazh,” arrived in 2015, combining grime with trap and using Auto-Tune as an aesthetic tool. He says he initially intended it as a tribute to the mixtape format, but believes its scale and significance merit its being regarded as an album.

Vandal followed it with “Phodismo,” a collection of guest verses, previously unused instrumentals and remixes. He has also connected elements of drill with pagodão, arguing that some of the rhythms developed in Bahia already shared qualities with the style.

On “Vanguardah,” his forceful lyrics remain, but electronic experimentation now shares space with instruments and a more handcrafted sound. Vandal says this shift was not designed to make the music more accessible or to present a calculated crossover into MPB. Instead, he describes the album’s sound and content as visceral and urgent.

The record is intended as the first part of a trilogy. Vandal has named the next projects “Feztah deh Largoh,” focused on popular art in Salvador’s squares, and “Eauh deh Parfumh,” which he describes as more refined. He says the plan is to release one album each year. “Vanguardah” is available on streaming and is also being released on vinyl through Noize Record Club. The rapper says the second album will retain his identity while potentially featuring artists from arrocha or axé.

Sources: Folha Ilustrada.