ECM recording artist Fred Thomas stops by Aquarium Drunkard for a detailed examination of the artistry, process, and editing of Brazilian guitarist and singer João Gilberto, not a source of delightful kitsch but actually, a countercultural aesthetic monk.
Category: Brazil
Sonhos Secretos: Brazilian Private Press & Independent MPB On 7″ (1980-1985)
Sonhos Secretos, or Secret Dreams in English, alludes to the quiet aspirations of those that made these independent and privately released recordings as well as to the fact that many of these tracks have long remained essentially a secret. It’s also, to some extent, a reference to a certain dream-like quality that permeates this collection.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Chico Bernardes
The past 18 months have found our ears trained on Brazil’s burgeoning contemporary music scene. To name a handful, Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Sessa, Kiko Dinucci, Catavento, and O Terno’s records have all soundtracked our Los Angeles HQ.
São Paulo singer-songwriter Chico Bernardes is the latest to join this loose cadre, whose debut lp remains ripe and in steady rotation. For his Lagniappe Session the 20-year-old multi-instrumentalist reflects on early inspiration (Grizzly Bear), and local sonic compatriots (Sophia Chablau and Téo Serson).
Kiko Dinucci :: Rastilho
With Rastilho, Kiko Dinucci set out to make an album in the vein of Brazilian compatriot João Gilberto … as scanned through the lens of São Paulo’s avant-garde scene, African polyphonic rhythms and percussive post-punk. Sacrosanct this is not.
Chico Bernardes :: Espelho
São Paulo’s Chico Bernardes has been busy. Over the past 12 months the Brazilian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has recorded and released two singles, and a self-titled full length.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Sessa
Atenção! An outsize portion of our 2019 listening was dominated by Grandeza, the debut album from São Paulo–born artist Sessa. As such, the follow lagniappe session is something akin to the sound of the inevitably. This, the first installment of a two-part session, begins with Sessa’s delicate rendering of Helene Smith’s soulful “I’m Controlled By Your Love”, a cover deftly employed to audiences while in LA earlier this year. Next, the artist pays tribute to fellow countryman, and Tropicália pioneer, Jorge Mautner — taking on 1976’s “Samba Jambo”, before closing out with Haitian composer and guitarist Frantz Casseus’s “Yanvalloux”.
A Home Away From Home, Vol. 1 :: Brazilian Covers of International Pop & Rock Hits
There’s something really comforting about a cover song…familiar while still feeling fresh, soothing and confounding at the same time. …
Catavento :: Ansiedade na Cidade
Provenance: Caxias Do Sul, Brazil. Catavento’s Ansiedade na Cidade . Ansiedade na Cidade by Catavento
Ana Frango Elétrico :: Promessa e previsões
Ana Frango Elétrico hails from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Released last week, her new record, Little Electric Chicken Heart, marks the artist’s third album in just 18 months. Biographical information online may be scant, but, no matter — the music speaks for itself.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Boogarins
Brazil’s Boogarins recently released their third album, Sombrou Dúvida, a set which finds the group refining their Tropicália influenced, mutant psych-rock into a concentrated, glowing sheen. For this installment of the Lagniappe Sessions, the group lay their influences bare with covers from My Bloody Valentine, the Velvets, and the Kinks.
Tim Maia’s Seroma Years (1972-1977)
… I started to see these two-plus albums (and a posthumous Vol. 3) as the centerpieces of Tim’s most prolific, creative and influential phase, what I’d like to call his “Seroma” phase, named after the rehearsal space and production company of the same name. […]
Viajante da Fronteira (A Mixtape)
An imaginary journey back to the lagoon where Hermeto Pascoal, O Grupo, and some butterflies made music in the river. 17 otherworldly tracks from Brazil.
Azambuja & Cia :: Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos
As Mychal Denzel Smith recently wrote of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly, “The worst political music sounds political.” Similarly, the worst comic music sounds comic. All due respect to Weird Al, the exception to […]
Seu Jorge And Almaz :: Everybody Loves The Sunshine
In 2010 LA’s Now Again Records dropped a 12″ of Brazilian singer-songwriter Seu Jorge backed by the group Almaz, comprised of drummer Pupillo, guitarist Lucio Maia and rounded out by bassist and composer […]
Luiz Melodia :: Maravilhas Contemporî¢neas
“We weren’t people that simply obeyed. You could say that we sidestepped all the house rules, the recording studio; we simply broke away from situations that weren’t convenient. I have […]