National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Each week Nat Geo Music scours the far reaches of the internet to bring you the coolest new videos from around the globe.

This week we turn to Bahia, Brazil's inexhaustible font of funky new music for a peek at one of the coolest new bands we've heard in a long time: Baiana System.

We'd known about the group for a little while, thanks to a few tracks on some compilation CDs. But we finally got to see Baiana System play live just last week at this year's WOMEX event in Copenhagen, Denmark - and we were knocked out by the energy and originality of their live set.

This unique group, led by guitarist Robertinho Barreto, seeks to re-imagine the unique sound of the Guitarra Baiana - a hybrid of the short scale Portuguese-derived cavaquinho and the mandolin - in a contemporary urban setting. Long a staple of the urban carnival trios, the guitarra baiana's treble-y, metallic, pitch makes it perfect for cutting through the aural chaos of a Brazilian street party, and in Barreto's hands, that sound is amplified and channeled through a host of electronic effects until it becomes a whole arsenal of new sounds.

But that's just the starting point for Baiana System. Inspired by old school Jamaican sound systems, the band also works with a live DJ who samples and remixes the music live, adding more layers of electronic effects to achieve a spontaneous, improvisational dub vibe. While rappers lay down an intense lyrical crossfire over this simmering sonic feijoada.

But don't just take our word for it, check out this video for the single "Jah Jah Revolta" - it's a revelation!