Monocled Alchemist

Psychedelic Trippers from 1970s Turkey

Love, Peace & Poetry | Brazilian Psychedelic Music | In 1964 a US-backed military coup brought to power anti-communist general, Humberto Castelo. It was in the wake of this that making music in Brazil became a political act. From the maelstrom of Brazilian politics, musical traditions and culture, the Tropicalia movement would assault the repressive policies of the country’s military dictatorship throughout the 1960s in a way that would put the very lives of the leading musicians and artists in the gravest possible danger.

While the leading Tropicalia proponents, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Tom Ze, Gal Costa and Os Mutantes would create the music with the widest appeal, a more obscure and explicitly psychedelic movement was also taking shape in and around the Sao Paulo region. Here bands like The Beatniks produced excellent covers of songs by Them (“Gloria”), Jimi Hendrix (“Fire”) and The Turtles (“Outside Chance”).

The Baobas issued now rare singles and an LP on which influences of The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Zombies were very evident. The Galaxies, a mix of Sao Paulo natives, Americans and Brits leave one classic and quite rare album from 1968 on which solid originals blend with covers of Love, Donovan and other flower-power figures.

Love, Peace & Poetry | Brazilian Psychedelic Music

As the musical movement spread through the rest of the country other bands like O Bando, Os Brazoes and Liverpool produced other amazing recordings that have survived. Our opening track “Thus Said Mephistopheles” by O Bando (The Flock) sounds like a cross between James Brown, Quicksilver, Arthur Brown and classic Tropicalia and works really well to drive home the point that nothing else sounds like Brazilian Psychedelic Music.

Os Brazoes “Tao Longe De Mim” (“So Far Of Me”) is taken from their 1969 self-titled LP and has a sound that is reminiscent of the brilliant Som Imaginario LP released the following year. The rhythms, percussion and vocals suggest Tropicalia, flavoured like Os Mutantes, with tasty fuzz and wah-wah guitars.

In contrast, A Bolha (The Bubble) moves away from Tropicalia and calls upon more of a mid-Sixties Beatles’ pop structure with their track “Reason To Exist” from their 1973 LP “A Step Up Front.”

In an explicit demonstration of psychedelia, multi-layered fuzz and backward guitars lift “Voando” (“Flying”), a 1969 track by the band Liverpool nicely up into the clouds.

Love, Peace & Poetry | Brazilian Psychedelic Music

An impressive dual between strong vocals and a fuzz guitar lead with harpsichord underpinnings distinguish the track “Hell In The World” by Bango. No date is known for their self-titled debut LP but “circa 1968” seems a reasonable guess.

“Birds In My Tree” by The Buttons, with its whistled intro, tremolo vocals, guitar and flute duets and very pretty minor-key pop sound is representative of their 1970 self-titled LP on RCA.

Treated vocals also distinguish the later (1974) sounding “Lunatica” by Assim Assado, whose name translates roughly (and appropriately) as “Thus Baked.”

O Terco have had a long career, but it is their earlier work like “I Need You” from their self-titled 1970 LP that is of particular interest here.

Spectrum‘s soundtrack to the film Geracao Bendita is among the rarest and most valuable of all Brazilian psychedelic albums and its impressive and powerful guitar leads that dominate “Trilha Antiga” will give you a brief glimpse of the album’s various treasures (reissued in its entirety on LP and CD by Shadoks).

One of the first major psychedelic rarities to be unearthed by collectors now some 15 years ago was the sole LP by Modulo 1000 (literally “1000 Modulations”) whose title “Nao Fale Com Paredes” translates roughly as “It Does Not Speak With Walls.” From the name and title to the amazing trio of backwards and forwards fuzz distorted guitars glimpsed within this cover, this is a masterpiece of psychedelic music (reissued in its entirety on LP by World In Sound).

Love, Peace & Poetry | Brazilian Psychedelic Music

The title track of their 1971 album, “Mirage”, by Os Lobos (The Wolves) sounds like a vintage Byrds track complete with jangly guitars and perfect harmonies, which contrasts nicely with the almost bluesy sound of “Quero Companheira” (“I Want a Friend”) from the wonderfully titled LP “Perfectly, Exactly When I Arrived” by Rubinho and Mauro Assumpcao.

Everything presented thus far can stand in contrast to the utterly wasted and frenetic sound of Sound Factory‘s “Let’s Go” from their impossibly rare and self-titled LP (reissued on Shadoks LP earlier this year).

I am still somewhat unclear regarding the relationship between 1970’s O Terco and 1973’s Terco but the 1973 recording is a masterpiece of heavy progressive rock. Given that the track’s title appears to translate to “Lagoa Of The Otters” this really makes me wish that I spoke Portuguese and could understand the lyrics.

“Messenger” by Paulo Bagunca marks a return to Tropicalia flavours from their rare 1973 album, Paulo Bagunca e A Tropa Maldita.”

Among the 2 or 3 greatest psychedelic records from Brazil is the double LP “Paebird” by Lula Cortes e Ze Ramalho originally released in 1975 and in a small pile of the world’s rarest LPs. The track “Maracas de Fogo” is included here.

Returning again to Tropicalia flavours is the track “Organic Revolution” from the album “South Wind” by Marcos Valle from 1972 that concludes with a very pretty flute and guitar duet.

Love, Peace & Poetry | Brazilian Psychedelic Music

Harder to characterize is the song “I Want You, You” by Hugo Filho from his “Paraiba” album released in 1978 making it most likely the most recent track in this collection.

We end this collection on an appropriately unique blend of traditional and modern sounds from the album with the wonderful title, “In the Sub Kingdom of the Metazoarios” by Marconi Notaro; the song is “Allegiance.”

Music, and the arts in general, in the 1960s provided first hand experience with freedom and creativity of thought and ideas that stretched far beyond the confines and borders set by oppressive regimes and repressive political leadership in general.

In Brazil the musical artists of the 1960s and 1970s blended rock, tropicalia, classical, jazz, eastern music and regional music with everything available to create an amazing music universe that we have just skimmed the surface of in this collection. As the music in this collection will attest to, even in the most oppressive contexts, love, peace and poetry will find expression. (Stan Denski Indianapolis 2002)