I kind of get the impression that bonde do role are dismissed as a short term hoxton hipsters plaything nowadays. But with lasers is full of bangers and still stands up very well.
Don’t think CSS have dated quite so well (nor were they anywhere near as good)
Hey there guys, back in here! Gonna try to share more music from Brazil that is well known by most!
Jorge & Mateus - Paredes (Walls) / Sertanejo Universitário
Synopsis: Jorge & Mateus are the most popular band of “Sertanejo Universitário”, a style of music that mixed the cultural Brazilian countryside music (Sertanejo) with some rock and pop beats. Most songs are made around love feelings and relationships. In Paredes, Jorge talks about how difficult it has been for him to sleep since his beloved one left him.
Chorus: “Oh if these walls did not speak/oh if the pillow did not tell/all the love nights/ that I lived with you!/Oh if this bed did not remember/ oh if the mirror showed you here/ for me to sleep/”
Chico Rey e Paraná - Pedacinhos (Little Pieces) / Sertanejo
Synopsis: Chico Rey e Paraná is a very famous band of sertanejo. Just as in sertanejo universitário, they also sing about love and relationships, but sometimes about the hardships the men from the fields live.
Chorus: No chorus - “Love, I’m not greedy/but I want you on this very pillow/I’m done with your little pieces/I want you whole!”
Tarcísio Manuvéi - De Papo pro Ar (Chatting the Breeze) / Moda de Viola
Synopsis: Moda de Viola is the most popular kind of music in the small Brazilian countryside cities (one of which I grew up in). It is a very chill kind of music, great to listen when on a farm after having a great feast with the family!
Chorus: “When in the yard/there is a moonlight night/and ‘saudade’ comes to torment/ I avenge from her/ playing ‘viola’ chatting with breeze”
Exaltasamba - Tá Vendo Aquela Lua (Do you see that moon?) / Pagode
Synopsis: Exaltasamba might be the most popular band of the Pagode genre. Pagode is a kind of samba, that originally came from sambas played in the backyard of the houses of more humble neighborhoods.
Chorus: “Do you see that moon that shines above on the sky?/ If you ask me I’ll go fetch it to you/Even though it’s brightness doesn’t even compare to yours/Let me give you a kiss to show you the time you’ve wasted/What a crazy thing, I already knew/While I was dressing up something told me/ 'You will meet someone that will change your whole life”
Cartola - As Rosas Não Falam (The Roses Don’t Speak) / Samba
Synopsis: Cartola is a great sambista from the old generation. Most Brazilians know his songs, even though the youngest do not really get in touch with this sort of music. It is still a great classic worth listening!
Chorus: “I complain to the roses/ that’s so silly/ the roses do not speak/ they simply smell/ the perfume they steal from you/”
Nelson Gonçalves - Naquela mesa (On that table) / MPB
Synopsis: Nelson Gonçalves is the 2nd Brazilian artist on the most sold albums list. With a powerful voice and beautiful lyrics, he enchanted a whole generation of Brazilians.
Chorus: “On that table, he is missing/ and the ‘saudade’ from him hurts me (2x)”
I saw this band Bike at Primavera last year. They’re a great psych band.
I’m not going to call myself an expert on Brazilian music, but I visited Brazil in 1979-1980 and actually lived and worked in Rio for several months so it was impossible to avoid getting soaked in the local music scene (not that there was any reason to avoid it).
The song I heard everywhere I went, for the entire length of my stay, was “Mania de Voce” by Rita Lee (sorry, I can’t do the little hat accent thingy on the last ‘e’). Is was only much later that I learned about her connection with Os Mutantes.
I bought about eight records and shipped them home - my souvenir of my time in Brazil. I have recently given them all away as I don’t have a turntable any more and have managed to locate most of them on CD.
Favourites:
Gilberto Gil - Realce
Boca Livre - self-titled (I would still like to get a CD copy of this without mortgaging my home)
Maria Bethania - Mel
Milton Nascimento - Cacador de Mim
and the best discovery:
Beto Guedes - Amor de indio
Beto Guedes - Sol de Primavera
“Luz e Misterios” is one of the best songs I have ever heard by anyone, in any language.
I forgot to add that I caught Gilberto Gil in concert, performing alongside Jimmy Cliff, at the huge soccer stadium in Belo Horizonte. Unforgettable!
Now the sun’s out I’m really in the mood for some brazilian music. I heard this on Gilles Peterson a while back and love it but I don’t know what genre it is to find more. Any suggestions?
I’ve seen this Brazilian band The Autoramas three or four times over the years and they are always great.
http://autoramasrock.com.br/pt/
i have the arnoldo record on vinyl. fucking expensive thing too. really fun album to listen to.
here are some smashers…
agree with loads of stuff mentioned so far especially Elza Soares, her late career stuff is pretty amazing.
also that Brazil 70 comp, was proper obsessed with the nelson angelo e joyce track on that for ages. and Raul Seixas who appears on that a few times
old stuff that hasn’t been mentioned:
Arthur Verocai - self titled album is absolutely lovely, released it in 1972 and then mainly worked as a producer. got ‘rediscovered’ in the 00s and sampled by Madlib etc
Gal Costa - dunno how nobody’s said her, she’s great. first Astrud Gilberto album is in a similar bossa nova vein and quite pretty
Fellini are good and some other post punk stuff listed here: The 20 Best (Brazilian) Post-Punk Albums
more recent stuff:
love that Fabiano do Nascimento album from a couple of years ago, kind of guitar based jazz
from this year the Barcamundi and Tantao e os Fita albums are good.
A few Brazilian cuts from last year by artists that haven’t been posted so far that I enjoyed.
Some recent favourites for a sunny day:
Saturday BUMP
I shit you not, the end of this sounds exactly like a stereolab song:
Oh yeah this comp from last year was great!
Some personal favorites from the new generation:
tres by thiago nassif is really good
produced by arto lindsay
This record is lovely. Glidey
Was reading about this a while back
From what I remember, it was an attempt to move away from Tropicalia and create something new by mixing up hip hop with traditional Brazilian music.
Random Mark E Smith sample in this one!
Chico Science is great. The track that opens that record is so good
There’s an amazing use of it in the film Marighella (which is also worth a watch - absolutely brutal!)
