Genre research project 5/1357: Pimba

Quim Barreiros - Comer Comer

Pimba is a musical genre characterized by its humorous lyrics. The main objective of the genre's artists is to entertain and they don't care too much about being musically complex. In fact, pimba has an extremely basic harmonic structure in most cases. Some of the instruments used in this genre are accordion, cheap rhythm boxes and synthesizers as well as electric guitars (although the guitar work in most of the songs is very simple). This genre is very popular in Portugal. Many pimba artists regularly give concerts on TV shows as well as in local festivals. Pimba is always present in the festivals of the Portuguese rural areas.

Pimba music is a cheap and mass-produced affair - extremely basic harmonic structures and catchy, short melodies, sometimes lifted from existing Portuguese folk songs, other times thinly veiled adaptations (or even outright plagiarism) from mainstream pop music. It draws superficially from Portuguese folk music (particularly with the use of the accordion and certain popular rhythmic structures), but mixes it with instrumentation and basic arrangements from Anglo-American pop music. The lyrics are also simplistic and rough, based on clichéd dramatic love stories, partying, repetitive use of expletives and straightforward overt sexual innuendo.