Brazuca Sounds

Bonus episodes are exclusively for paid subscribers. Unlock now at patreon.com/brazucasounds Released in Tom Zé's sophomore album in 1970, the song is an avalanche of Tropicalia elements, blending together psychedelia, rock, and orchestral arrangements that are seemingly weird. The lyrics are a mixture of invented English and Portuguese, with the citation of counter-culture figures like Caetano, G...

Salve! This is a previous of our latest episode. All episodes now are only available for a week before becoming exclusively for ⁠⁠subscribers at Patreon⁠⁠ . Unlock to have access to future episodes. In episode #76, we talked about the soundtrack of the movie "I'm Still Here", Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film. From Tom Zé electrifying guitar-driver Tropicalia to the sa...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Segura Nêga" by Bebeto Bebeto is considered the 'King of Swing', a music genre/dance style combining elements from funk, samba, and rock, which emerged from the dance parties of São Paulo (and today is also known as samba-rock). "Segura Nêga" i...

In episode #75 we talked about some of the greatest Brazilian drummers of all time, and how they shaped the style of playing worldwide. Among the names featured are Edison Machado, Dom Um Romão, Airto Moreira, Helcio Milito, Milton Banana, Rubens Bassotti, Chico Batera, João Palma, Ronnie Mesquita, and more. We discussed how they innovated with rim clicks, cymbal sambas (samba de prato), exquisite...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Mais Kriola" by Hélio Matheus This song was the lead single off Matheus's first and only album released in the 1970s. A combination of samba, brass, keyboards, and guitar "rockin'" beats, "Mais Kriola" is the ultimate reference to wha...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for paid subscribers! Unlock now by subscribing at at Patreon . Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Kabaluerê" by Antônio Carlos e Jocafi A samba-oriented duo from Bahia, "Kabaluerê" became one the funkier Brazilian songs from the 1970s. How did that happen? That is what we tried to uncover on this episode, telling the backstory behind the son...

In episode #74, we discussed some of the best Brazilian albums released in 2024. From the spiritual jazz of Amaro Freitas and its world recognition, the return of magnificent Céu, the Afrobeat ensemble Nomade Orquestra, and the beautiful meditations-like songs from singer/multi-instrumentalist Luiza Brina. We also talked about brother Alvaro Lancelotti, Domenico Lancelotti, the latest from Moreno...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Mentira" by Marcos Valle  (M. Valle / Paulo Sergio Valle) Influenced by Stevie Wonder, and blending Brazilian popular music and American black music, Valle released "Mentira" in his  groundbreaking 1973 album "Previsão do Tempo".   It is a song with many grooves, Fender R...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Tudo o Que Você Podia Ser" by Quarteto Em Cy (Lo Borges/Marcio Borges) Written for the "Clube da Esquina" album by Lô and Marcio Borges, the song marked the return of Quarteto em Cy in 1972, following a two-year hiatus. Their first album for Odeon, which was Milton Nascimento's label, a...

Salve! This is an extra bonus episode open to everybody. Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Então É Natal" by Simone (Cláudio Rabello/ John Lennon) There has been no Christmas in Brazil in the last 30 years without Simone's version of John Lennon's "Merry Xmas (War is Over)". Released in 1995, the song became the quintessential "Brazilian" Christmas song that we listen to...

In episode #73, we will finish our celebration of albums released 50 years ago. During this year we made specials about ' A Tábua de Esmeralda ', ' Elis & Tom ', Cartola's debut album , Arnaldo Baptita's  solo album , and more recently Gal Costa's 'Cantar'. In this episode, we will discuss some other great albums from 1973, from the brilliant samba makers Clara Nunes and Martinho da Vila to th...

Salve! This is a preview for the latest bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "San Vicente" by Milton Nascimento Written before "Clube da Esquina," Nascimento wrote the music for a play about an imaginary city (which was ultimately censored). Fernando Brand wrote the lyrics, resuming the idea that San Vicente was a city in Lat...

Salve! This is a preview bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Eu Também Quero Mocotó" by Erlon Chaves (written by Jorge Ben) Erlon Chaves was a maestro responsible for orchestrating Wilson Simonal's biggest hits and served as Elis Regina's lead pianist on tours. "Eu Também Quero Mocotó" was written by Jorge Ben and introduce...

In this episode, we discussed manguebeat  by celebrating 30 years from the release of Chico Science & Nação Zumbi and Mundo Livre S/A's debut albums in 1994. A movement from the city of Recife, in Brazil's Northeast, manguebeat claimed to blend maracatu, which is the folklore music and dance from the region with elements of rock, dub, hip-hop, and bossa. The movement was extracted from a...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Maracatu Atômico" by Jorge Mautner (written by Mautner/Nelson Jacobina) Gilberto Gil released this song as a single (compact), then produced Jorge Mautner's sophomore album, released in 1974 via Polydor. Before making music, Mautner was a controversial writer, with his Trilogy of Kaos b...

This episode is exclusive for paid subscribers . Subscribe now and also get bonus episodes! In episode #71, we celebrate the 50-year release of "Cantar" by Gal Costa. Unlike her two previous works, this is a more soft, calm, reaffirming Gal Costa's and her early bossa nova style - before she turned into Tropicalia sex symbol. Produced by Caetano Veloso and several tracks arranged by...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "A Rã" by Gal Costa (written by João Donato/Caetano Veloso) João Donato composed this music as "The Frog", which was recorded by his friend João Gilberto as "O Sapo" and finally has its definitive title after Caetano Veloso wrote the lyrics. Gal Costa recorded for her Caet...

In this episode, we celebrate the 50-year release of "Lóki?", the solo debut album of Arnaldo Baptista. After departing from Os Mutantes, and dealing with depression, drug abuse, and the break up with Rita Lee, Arnaldo put together one of the most melancholy Brazilian albums ever produced. A psychedelic rock n' roll with no electric guitar on it, the album is an adventure of organ, piano, and mode...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Bananeira " by Emílio Santiago (written by João Donato/Gilberto Gil) João Donato composed this music as "Villa Grazia" while touring in Italy supporting Joao Gilberto on piano. Like almost every instrumental song he wrote, the title names were changed upon having lyrics,...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Amigo Branco " by Márcia Maria (written by Leci Brandão) This bonus episode is dedicated to samba legend Leci Brandão, who turned 80 years old on September 12th. Released in 1978 on Márcia Maria's debut album, and produced by boogie-Midas Lincoln Olivetti, 'Amigo Branco"...

In this episode, we celebrate the music career of the great Sergio Mendes. As hard as it is to summarise such a long discography, we hopefully brought the essential of Sergio Mendes in 15 songs (Portuguese language-only, nothing personal). We talked about the origins of "Mas Que Nada" and its meaning, personal favourites from Brasil 65 released as Sergio Mendes Trio featuring Wanda Sá and Rosinha...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Inútil Paisagem " by Wanda Sá Released in 1964, Wandá Sá's debut album, "Vagamente" is a bosa nova masterpiece showcasing her incredible voice, surrounded by the soft, charming, and cool arrangements of Roberto Menescal. "Inútil Paisagem", written by Tom Jobim (also known...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for paid subscribers ! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Na Rua, Na Chuva, Na Fazenda " by Hyldon Hyldon released his debut album in 1975, but a year before he achieved mainstream success with the soul ballad "Na Rua, Na Chuva, Na Fazenda". It is a love song based on Hyldon's long-distance relationship with a girl tha...

In this episode, we celebrate samba once again by listing 10 different songs whose subject is the samba itself. A metalinguistic samba so to speak, where the music genre is the character - one would be impressed by how many songs are out there! Among the highlights are Dorival Caymmi's "O Samba da Minha Terra", Zé Keti's "A Voz do Morro", and Novos Baianos' "Na Cadência do Samba" (written by Ataul...

Salve! This is a bonus episode for paid subscribers ! Every episode is a different song. This is the song today: "Alegria, Alegria " by Caetano Veloso "Alegria, Alegria" is off Caetano Veloso's debut album, a song about freedom and "walking against the wind, without carrying an ID", a clear reference to the Brazilian military regime and its constant vigilance. The...