ALBUM DESCRIPTION

In July of 2005, Christafari toured the beautiful country of Brazil and visited a church unlike any other that they had ever seen before. The church is called "Bola De Neve," which is Portuguese for "Snowball". For those who haven't heard, there is a massive revival going on right now in Brazil and Bola De Neve is right in the center of it. It is popularly known as the "Surf" church by everyone in Brazil, as the pastor uses a surfboard as the top of his pulpit and many in the youthful congregation are into extreme sports. You won't see depictions of saints in colorful stained glass inside this building. In their place you will find images of barreling waves. The dress code is extremely casual and the music is unbelievable.

I thought that I would have to wait until heaven before I heard such sweet reggae performed in a worship service. During the service I got great pleasure out of watching the rest of the members of Christafari grin from ear to ear as they danced alongside the other dreads in the congregation to some of the tightest reggae worship that we have ever heard in a house of God.

Bola De Neve's headquarters is in Sao Paulo, where each of their 6 weekly services is packed with almost 3,000 youths hungry for a relevant message from the Word of God. This organization is growing in leaps and bounds as they have now planted 12 other churches throughout Brazil. Their congregants know all the words to the worship team's heartfelt reggae songs and they sing the lyrics with extreme enthusiasm. This music is the soundtrack to their soul--and it has become mine also. This CD is a perfect example of what you would here if you attended one of their unique services.

The lead vocalist for the worship team is Denise G. De Seixas Pereira and unlike so many other female worship leaders, her unconventional style is a lot more like Gwen Stefani than Darlene Zschech (Hillsong). This studio recording contains all live instruments performed by crack-shot musicians. Standout tracks like the moving one-drop to steppers combo, "Caia Babilonia" (Babylon Fall) and the "Fonte De Agua Viva" (fountain of living water) will satisfy any reggae aficionado. The roots styled "Manha De Sol" boasts a bassline reminiscent of Marley's Natural mystic yet leaps into a musical bridge that will inspire anyone with a musical ear. All but four of the 13 songs on this inspiring recording are authentic roots reggae (or "hoots hegge" as they call it in Brazil). The grooves are solid, the bassist is a musical giant who knows the fret board of his 4-string intimately, the percussion is plentiful and the special guest vocals are a significant highlight. If you love reggae, this is one of those rare foreign recordings that transcends all language barriers.

Review by: Mark Mohr