Valentín Clastrier

Laboratorio is a Brazilian micro‑scene within contemporary hip hop that coalesced around artist‑run collectives and label ecosystems (most visibly Laboratório Fantasma). It blends boom‑bap and modern trap sensibilities with MPB, samba, and neo‑soul harmony, placing lyricism and social commentary at the core. The sound is defined by sample‑friendly, groove‑rich beats, live percussion drawn from Afro‑Brazilian traditions, and melodic hooks that often nod to MPB and samba‑soul. Artists use Portuguese lyricism to address race, class, identity, and everyday life, pairing incisive bars with warm, humanized production and frequent collaborations across rap, R&B, and pop.

Hurdy-gurdy is a drone‑based musical style centered on the hurdy-gurdy (vielle à roue), a string instrument sounded by a rosined wheel turned with a crank. Melodies are played on keyed chanterelle strings while one or more bourdon (drone) strings provide a continuous tonal bed. A distinctive "buzzing" bridge (the trompette or chien) can be engaged rhythmically by subtle wrist accents on the crank, turning the instrument into its own rhythm section. The genre draws on medieval, Renaissance, and rural European folk dance traditions (especially from central France, Iberia, and Central/Eastern Europe), but it also thrives in contemporary folk revival and experimental settings. Typical repertoire includes bourrées, waltzes, marches, and modal airs in Dorian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian modes, performed solo or with companions such as bagpipes, diatonic accordion, fiddle, and frame drums.