The Pop Corporation

Brazil has a rich heritage of musical inventiveness, giving the world the languid sophistication of Bossa Nova and the erupting joy of Samba. Of course, through the ‘60s and ‘70s, in the face of a brutal, military dictatorship, Brazilian intellectuals and the youth forged an artistic path through Cinema Novo and now famous Tropicalia music movement – in turn, their take on French New Wave Cinema and progressive, psychedelic music which mixed traditional music with rock and the Avant Garde.

A loose collective of fashion designers, writers, poets, filmmakers, and musicians, the Tropicalistas flew directly in the face of a grim regime, and over time, European listeners would learn the names of Gal Costa, Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé and sympathetic artists like Jorge Ben and Chico Buarque.

The catalyst for the surge in creative sprung from the Manifesto Antropófago – cultural cannibalism – from poet and agitator Oswald de Andrade – where artists looked to modernity and allowing themselves to be influenced by anything and everything. It was subversive, radical and joyful, and would give birth to a host of acid and tropical rock which would continue throughout the 1970s and beyond, with artists like Novos Baianos. However, slowly, Brazilians would turn their attentions toward Baile funk, disco and synthesized Samba – still utterly vital, worthwhile, playful, and inventive – but many of the psychedelic sounds would drift away.

However, since the reappraisal of Tropicalia, with Kurt Cobain offering a million dollars to Os Mutantes to reform, from the famous Soul Jazz Records compilation and a stint at the Barbican from leading Tropicalistas, Brazil was perhaps reminded of it’s psychedelic past, and set about making for a psychedelic future once more.

Thrillingly, in all corners of Brazil, there’s a New Wave of psychedelic, political rock and pop, again indulging in that glorious cannibalism from decades past, and utilising the sounds of the MPB past with forward-thinking Modernism and the Avant Garde.

Artists like Ava Rocha are making music that holds up to the legends of the ‘70s, twisting bossa out of shape and fusing it with experimental electronics, baroque orchestrations, and elastic pop. For some kind of symmetry, the torch being passed from one generation to another, her father being Cinema Novo legend Glauber, her mother, Paula Gaitán, a visual artist. Her LPs ‘Patrya Yndia Yracema’ and ‘Nektar’ are the natural heirs to the likes of Gal Costa’s ‘India’ and Caetano’s eponymous 1969 ‘white’ album, and Rocha isn’t the only one carrying the flame.

With his mixture of fado acid-ballads and Tropicalismo rock, Tim Bernardes has been making some of the most beautiful music to come from Brazilian shores, and with his O Terno group, bug-eyed psychedelic beat music. Bernardes finding success Stateside and making ripples in the collections of European record collectors, collaborating with David Byrne, Shintaro Sakamoto, Gal, Zé, Devendra Banhart and more.

More experimental still, Sao Paulo’s incredible BIKE who are releasing cosmic music that feels like a cousin of Kikagaku Moyo and GOAT. New release ‘O Torto Santo’ is a fuzz leaning, melodic piece of experimental rock, taken from the fabulous and aptly titled ‘Arte Bruta’ LP. Negro Leo is the moniker of Leonardo Campelo Gonçalves, is one of the most unique artists in Brazil, channelling Tropicalia, funk carioca, bebop, prog and soul, with politically charged, acid-rock for the people.

File next to the Syd-era Floyd dreamscapes of Guaxe, and the indie-psych of Catavento, and you’re set for a real good time.

Elsewhere, there’s the equally political and wonderful Maria Beraldo, who can go from dreamlike lo-fi to electronic psych with all the circuits bent out of shape, all bursting with joy and agitating and in open opposition of right-wing populists with fierce wit and standing up for her and other gay people’s rights against all-comers.

For fans of Joyce, Maria Bethania and the like, there’s the gorgeous music of Dora Morelenbaum, Rubel, Juliana Perdigão, Jadsa, and Zé Ibarra, complimenting the more complicated, jazz-psychedelia of groups like Metá Metá who combine freeform wig-outs with samba rock.

Of course, Brazil’s musical heritage is rich and incredibly diverse, and the current scene is reflective of that – but for those looking for the kind of music that will be the stars of future compilations and Discogs watchlists, the regions of modern Brazil are currently bursting with some seriously incredible music. They’ve tackled the bad characters in Brazilian politics, thwarting the advancing fascist party and nutmegging the terrible footballers who saw the right wing politicians as an opportunity for a tax dodge, or in some cases, a way out of serious legal troubles, and through music and ideas, wanted to make Brazil accountable again, just like their predecessors.

That’s why the timing is so welcome – we’ve lost titans of the scene in Gal Costa and Rita Lee, but instead of grieving, we find in their place artists with the same spirit, inspired and forging new paths. From space rock to DIY post-rock, from sensitive acid-ballads, to garage fuzz, it feels like musically, Brazil has never been in better health.

Now, here’s a playlist showcasing some of the best music in Brazil, from the modern masters.