Brazuca Sounds #69: The Music Adventure of Sergio Mendes

This episode is exclusive for paid subscribers. We celebrate the 50-year release of "Cantar" by Gal Costa. Unlike her two previous works, the live album Fa-Tal, and the masterpiece album "India", 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 João Donato, it was a massive commercial failure in the 1970s but regained a cult status over the years. It is the only Gal Costa album to make the "100 Greatest Brazilian Music Records" list chosen by Rolling Stone Brasil. All songs from Brazuca Sounds are available on our Spotify playlist: Brazuca Sounds Soundtracks. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Caetano's produced album "Cantar", from 1974, featuring Donato on the Fender Rhodes, what we consider the ultimate version of "A Rã". Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 modern synthesizers. We analyzed the music's context, the lyrics' ideas, his obsessions with spaceships, and all the struggles that Arnaldo went through after the recording process. All songs from Brazuca Sounds are available on our Spotify playlist: Brazuca Sounds Soundtracks. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, written by Gilberto Gil. In 1975 Emílio Santiago gave an entirely new life to the song by recording it to his debut album (featuring Donato on the Fender Rhodes), becoming the ultimate version of "Bananeira" over time. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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" became one of the best Brazilian disco songs. Originally recorded by the singer Djalma Dias as "Nada Sei de Preconceito" (1974), it was the first song ever recorded written by Leci Brandão. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 de Valença, and his later stardom in the USA under the moniker Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66. We spoke about his partnerships with Halp Albert, Edu Lobo, Tom Jobim, Stevie Wonder, and more. All the songs from this episode are available on our continuous playlist on Spotify: Brazuca Sounds Soundtracks. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 SáReleased 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 as "Uselles Landscape") was introduced by Wanda Sá on this album and became one of the staples of bossa worldwide. Born on July 1, 1944, this bonus episode celebrates Wanda Sá's 80th birthday and 60 years of the album's release.  Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds paid subscribers!Every episode is a different song. This is the song today:"Na Rua, Na Chuva, Na Fazenda " by HyldonHyldon 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 that eventually would no longer exist. Hyldon was 24, and having played before with Cassiano and Tim Maia, Hyldon pioneered a more soft-guitar-driven type of soul music in Brazil. "Na Rua, Na Chuva, Na Fazenda" is a Brazilian national hit even today, a strong contender for every karaoke. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Ataulfo Alves). We also talked about Noel Rosa, Vinícius de Moraes, Nelson Sargento, Paulinho da Viola, Elza Soares, Jair Rodrigues, Alcione, and the mainstream samba ballads. Access our playlist with all these songs on Spotify: Brazuca Sounds Soundtracks.And hey!, you may be interested in two previous episodes, History of Samba in 10 Albums, and History of Samba in 25 Songs. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Salve! This is a bonus episode for Brazuca Sounds 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 arrangements full of distorted electric guitars were unheard of in Brazil and became the first step of what would become the Tropicalia movement. In this bonus episode, we analyzed the context behind the song, its lyrics written by Caetano, his Argentine backup band, and its production.  Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.