01. Borboleta 03:12 02. Punhal De Prata 03:13 03. Dia Branco 02:47 04. Cabelos Longos 03:27 05. Chutando Pedras 04:43 06. Molhado De Suor 03:10 07. Mensageira Dos Anjos 02:47 08. Papagaio Do Futuro 02:02 09. Dente Do Ocidente 03:38 10. Pedras De Sal 01:23
Alceu Valenca - violao e vocal Geraldo Azevedo - viola e craviola Lula Cortes - citara popular Cassio - guitarra, baixo e viola Piri - craviola e bandolim Ronaldo - flauta Joao Cortez - bateria e percussao Hermes - percussao
Sought-after Brazilian classic originally released in 1974, “Molhado De Suor” is the first solo effort by Alceu Valença, mixing traditional northeastern Brazilian music and rhythms with folk rock and psychedelia. Aided by Lula Cortes and Geraldo Azevedo, Valença's rich vocals combine with driving guitar work, moody arrangements and unusual trips.
In the early '70s Tropicalia was going strong, a challenge to both the music establishment and the state. Música Popular Brasileira (or MPB) was firmly established. Up in the northeastern corner of Brazil, centered in Recife, was another exciting strain of Brazilian culture called Udigrudi. Molhado De Suor is the first solo effort by Alceu Valença, mixing traditional northeastern Brazilian music and rhythms with folk rock and psychedelia. Aided by Lula Cortes and Geraldo Azevedo, Valença's rich vocals combine with driving guitar work, moody arrangements and unusual trips, successfully integrating the sounds of his native region, Pernambuco. Sought-after Brazilian classic Molhado De Suor was originally released in 1974 on Som Livre. Valença followed its release with many albums, each one establishing him as not only superstar.
Terra 01. Trilha De Sumé 6:30 02. Culto À Terra 2:11 03. Bailado Das Muscarias 4:32 Air 04. Harpa Dos Ares 4:01 05. Não Existe Molhado Igual Ao Pranto 7:30 06. Omm 6:01 Fogo 07. Raga Dos Raios 2:30 08. Nas Paredes Da Pedra Encantada 7:33 09. Marácas De Fogo 2:32 Água 10. Louvação A Iemanjá 1:53 11. Regato Da Montanha 3:24 12. Beira Mar 1:39 13. Pedra Templo Animal 4:15 14. Trilha De Sumé 2:04
Recorded at Rozenblit Studios between October and December 1974
Paêbirú is an album by Brazilian artists Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho. The album was originally released in 1975 on Solar Records then reissued a few years ago on Mr. Bongo Records. It is one of the most sought after by collectors but also one of the most interesting records to come out of the 70’s Psychedelic music era.
According to the legend 700 copies from 1000 made were destroyed in a huge flood leaving us only 300 ones. 40 years later, it is now considered the most expensive Brazilian record, selling for up to 4,000 British Pounds for a Mint copy. The album is a collaboration between Brazilian artists Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho, with each of its original four sides named after the legendary four elements (earth, air, fire, water). A wonderfully off-kilter record full of fantastic hooky and strange tunes that range from full-on freakouts.
Zé Ramalho doesn’t consider it as a work by him, so much that he is celebrating 35 years of career in 2012 (which marks 35 years of the release of his first solo album), and not in 2010. Since its reissue, it has been widely acknowledged as a lost gem of the Brazilian psychedelic movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
This is one of my favorite records of all time and I'll say that it took me a time to review it since It's my first review but lets see how it turned out to be.
The Legendary Paêbirú... Amazing Psychedelic Folk / Freak Folk Album by Lula Cortês, Zé Ramalho and many other musicians.
An Album that really shows Lula's and Zé's Hability.
Paêbirú is an album that was an Idea from a Mushroom Trip on Pedra do Ingá, and both were on Mushroom efects while Producing, Recording and Composing the Songs from Paêbirú.
The Idea of Paêbirú was to make a double album on which every side of the record was one of the 4 lements, the songs from on every side were supposed to sound like the elements of the side, Making this album sounds really different on each side, with songs that have anger and also peaceful songs.
Paêbirú is very inspired by other Psychedelic Folk albums, Indian Music, Tribal Music e etc, being a mix of it all.
Description of Every Side:
Earth.
Earth is ocupied by 3 continus songs, much like a Suite, Suite being type of song that is splitted in some parts, every part with it own name.
This Side starts with "Trilha de Sumé", a Psychedelic Rock Song mixed with various tribal elements. It tells the story of a legend that was told by the Indians of the Cariri Tribe in Ingá, the story is about a mythical creature called Sumé, a creature that supposedly got down from the sky, taught teachings to the Cariri Tribe, Told them his name, drew symbols on a big rock that is today known as Pedra do Ingá, the symbols' meaning is still unknown to this date and were a big inspiration to the creation of this album.
This Part ends with a Saxophone Solo that is the Transition to the other part of the Continuous song, this one being named "Culto à Terra", a very tribal rhythm driven part (kind of ritualistic) that is paired with a very psychedelic guitar improvisation on the background of the song. After some time, the guitar stops and then comes a brass instrument later followed by a piano that becomes the transition to the next part of the song.
This part is sort of a little break of what we had since the first track, its a much more peaceful track and is called "Bailado das Muscarias".
In this part, the voice is given to a flute while on the background, a piano and a guitar make a guitar accompany the beautiful flute work. Later on comes another instrument to the background an Electric bass, and Lula's Tricórdio that becomes the voice of the song, an instrument that has a bit of an Indian sound to it.
After this 3 part continuous track end, it's time to another side of the album.
Air.
Air side is also a very peaceful, much like the last part of the Earth Side, Bailado das Muscarias, but can be considered the most calm side of this album, serving as a break from all that is still to come. It is a side on which most on most of the songs, there will be more focus on the Air instruments and String Instruments.
It starts with a Track named "Harpa dos Ares" on which there will be a Guitar doing a progression for the most part of the song on the background, the voice on this song goes to the Tricórdio, Flute and also another Guitar following Lula's Tricórdio. Through the song there will be some reproductions of sounds of some animals, most being Birds and a Monkey.
Second song is named "Não Existem Molhado Igual ao Pranto" and is probably my favorite song of this album, a choice that was very hard to do and I'm still not sure of it. There is lots of Various instruments here that make a beatiful sound together with a the voices of Zé, Lula and their friends that also were part of the project, a beatiful sound that I can not even explain, it can only be understanded when listened to. The Instruments Consists of:
The Third and Last Song of the Air Side is "Omm" that is a song that Lula said to be inspired by the sounds of frogs. The Song was improvised by Lula, who did Tricórdio and Harp, And Zé, that did Ukulele, Piano and the Vocal effect that sometimes appear on the song. Aside from that Instruments, a 10 String Guitar and a Baritone Sax also play on the track, from around 3:40 the song changes to a a par have the focus on the Harp and Piano, from there, the song stays on a improvisation with that instruments till the end of the song and of the side.
Fire.
As you already can Imagine this is the most aggressive and fast side of the album, this side makes a lot of use of distortion on the Guitar, it's a very fast side on which you can almost feel the fire on the songs with the crazy psychedelic guitar solos and electric organ.
The First song is "Raga dos Raios", on this song, that was also improvised, there will be a very fast and Psychedelic Eletric Guitar with Distortion making Crazy Solos during the whole song while and Ukulele and a Tricórdio play some chords.
The Second Song is "Nas Paredes da Pedra Encantada" and it is another song that talks about the Myth of Sumé. It is the First song on which a Drum Set is used. It's a Crazy song that got the vocal melody from a very old folk song by an Unknown author. It's the heaviest song from the album and can be headbanged to even not being a metal song. On this song is used an Electric Organ, Drums as previously stated, Soprano Sax, Electric Bass, and Vocals by Zé Ramalho.
At last but not least Important there is "Maracás de Fogo" a song on which the focus is on the almost ritualistic Vocals of many of the members of this project, a guitar that switches trought the music between clean and distorted, and there is also a great tribal inspired percussion on the song that ends the Fire side to take us to the last side of this Record.
Water.
Entering on the last side of this record we have another two part continuous song, Starting with a praise song to an African-Brazilian Religion Saint, called Iemanjá which on that religion is a Saint that haves relation with Water. The name of the Song is "Louvação a Iemanjá" and it consists of a group of people singing this Praise song sung on a language that was used by Brazil Native Indians called Nagô, and tribal percussion, simple as that. The Second part of this Track is also another improvisation and is Called "Regato da Montanha", on which is a mostly done with acoustic instruments only with a fuzzy electric guitar on the background contribuiting to the ambient of the song and also doing some solos. During the song there will be some recordings water falling.
Here is a short totally acoustic track that is also a more happy song than the previous ones, here is "Beira Mar". It was also improvised and oh man, this guys really know how to do great improvisations, damn. It Starts with the sound of water falling that fades away and at the end comes back to finish the song.
Third song is called "Pedra Templo Animal" and it's a song on which the focus and on the voice and lyrics sung by Zé Ramalho. There will be a bass riff that will repeat a lot during the song but don't worry, it doesn't get tiring. On the background, there will be Percussion and a Guitar and Tricórdio that will be doing chords.
The Last song of this album is a very calm song and a great way to finish the album. This song that was improvised just haves 2 Instruments, Guitar that remembers me a bit of the playing style of Nick Drake and Lula's Tricórdio. The Song also haves a bit of a melancholic sound to it, very nice to end an album like that.
Thanks to cult-creating stories about how nearly all original copies of this Brazilian double-album effort from 1975 were lost in a fire, Paebiru is one of those records that has to overcome a reputation -- it has to actually be good because it's good, not because it's rare. The 2005 re-release on Shadoks gave a chance for that concern to be addressed, and it must be said: Paebiru really is a fantastic album. With each of its original four sides named after the legendary four elements (earth, air, fire, water), Paebiru looks to aim high and does so pretty well, but the more telling thing about the album is how well Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho's work fits in the present day. Thanks to the continually reviving psych/freak/acid folk/jam scene, one could play most of this album next to the Sunburned Hand of the Man and Animal Collective discs with nobody blinking -- but the key difference is probably that Cortes and Ramalho, plus their many collaborators, are really sharp musicians and arrangers. There's a talented, easy fluidity about Ramalho's singing that, if rougher, isn't far removed from classic Brazilian pop singers of his time, while the most intense moments, such as the building multi-percussive/feedback freakout of "Culto a Terra," stand up readily now as they did then. Elsewhere, the beautiful, almost serene compositions interspersed throughout ("Bailado das Muscarias," which definitely is a dance tune regardless of lack of percussion; the blending of harp, flute, sax, and more on "Omm") create something pastoral and with a romantic late-night lounge feeling. The resultant blend of approaches and the variety throughout the album become more apparent even while each song is simply captivating on its own, and when they decide to conventionally rock out on "Nas Paredes da Pedra Encantada," the result is almost Can-like.
01. Desmantelado 1:40 02. Áh Vida Ávida 3:50 03. Fidelidade 3:15 04. Maracatú 0:50 05. Made In PB 2:33 06. Antropológica N°1 2:40 07. Antropológica N°2 4:45 08. Sinfonia Em Ré 5:40 09. Não Tenho Imaginação Pra Mudar De Mulher 2:35 10. Ode A Satwa 4:55
Lula Côrtes: tricordio, Sitar, French horn, effects Marconi Notaro: vocals, ganzá, acoustic guitar, cabasa, effects Robertinho de Recife: ukelele, viola, tambor alegre, guitar Icinho: percussion, drums Geraldo: bass, rattle, percussion Zé Ramalho: coustic guitar, viola, whistle, effects Kátia: Bells, effects Escola de Samba do Xié: surdo, percussion
With all of those who started shouting “private press only” after Shadow named an album after those American self-starters who took their recorded destiny into their own hands, consider this: as hard as it might have been to record, press and distribute your very own wax capsule in America in the early ’70s (and as rare, and good, many of them are), doing the same under Brasil’s military dictatorship was markedly more difficult. And releasing a psychedelic, fuzz and effects drenched opus with revolutionary musings disguised within double entendres? Next to impossible.
You’d want this one in your collection if it contained just one good track within its beautifully packaged gatefold cover. That this album screams perfection from start to finish just adds to its legendary status. The brainchild of poet Márconi Notaro, alongside his friends and compatriots Lula Cortes and Ze Ramalho (the men behind perhaps the most legendary of Brasil’s private-pressed albums, 1975’s awesome Paebiru), this album contains what can only be described as Brasilian ragas played with the Portuguese guitar and Lula’s own invention, the Tricordio; improvised passages so fluid you’d swear they were scored; psychedelic-funk jams about staying true to one’s origins; and, throughout, Notaro’s complex yet approachable poetry, sung by the poet himself.
The highlight of the album, if there is just one: Notaro’s improvised “Nao Tenho Imaginacao Pra Mudar De Mulher (I Don’t Have The Imagination to Change Wives),” a gorgeously melancholic piece that, when one sees it transcribed (gotta thank my lovely girlfriend for that), is nearly impossible to imagine as having flowed directly from the mind of one of the most underrated Brasilian poet/composers.
No Sub Reino dos Metazoários is the first and only record by musician and poet Marconi Notaro, out of Pernambuco, Brazil. For years it was known that the master tape of No Sub Reino dos Metazoários had been lost during two floods that wrecked the Rozenblit Studios. Lots of equipment were damaged and plenty of material gone. However, what no one expected was that the tapes were kept on the highest shelves in the studio where the water did not reach with the thought of "equipment can be replaced, master tapes are unique." Notaro's daughters inherited and rescued the tape and made it available so that Fatiado Discos could release the first and remastered version from the original tapes since 1973. The lysergic highest moments come with nature elements textures as water and wind mixing together with the unmistaken sound of the Tricórdio Acústico -- which is a very unique instrument that Lula Côrtes brought himself from India and then adapted it with the help of a local luthier to the regional sound of the Brazilian northeast. The gatefold designed by Lula Côrtes is portrayed in this release and it also has its inner side designed by Cátia Mezel, apart from an extra insert with unpublished photos of Marconi provided by the musician's family. The album features Lula Côrtes, Zé Ramalho, and Robertinho de Recife is part of the holy trilogy of Psicodelia Nordestina amongst the equally mind-blowing Paebiru (1975) and Satwa (1973).
01. Satwa (7:15) 02. Can I Be Satwa (2:58) 03. Alegro Piradíssimo (2:59) 04. Lia A Rainha Da Noite (3:48) 05. Apacidonata (4:11) 06. Amigo (3:30) 07. Atom (3:48) 08. Blue Do Cachorro Muito Louco (5:12) 09. Valsa Dos Cogumelos (5:10) 10. Alegria Do Povo (3:36)
Brazilian 70's dreamlike, acid-folk guitar project. It's largely an acoustic guitar orientated "trip". Their eponymous album (a private press LP originally released in 1973) provides emotional, luminous Latin psych vibes with omnipresent "raga" harmonies. The duet is composed by Lula Cortes (on guitar and popular Morocco sitar) and Lailson de Holanda Cavalcanti (12 strings guitar, voice). One composition feature Robertinho Do Recife on electric guitar. Constantly imaginative with dense buzzing ragas, this one is definitely essential for fans of progressive folk, eastern sonorites and peaceful ambiences. Another highway to Heaven!
Written, recorded and released just as Brazil's military dictatorship reached the climax of its long black arc, the one and only album by Satwa is a divinely subtle protest. Now issued for the first time in America through the venerable Time-Lag Records in Maine and the stewardship of freeform fixture Erika Elder, Satwa, often cited as Brazil's first independent record, is a mellow starburst of acoustic jangle.
Formed after the return of Lula Côrtes and Lailson from their respective foreign excursions – the former a beardo home after the requisite Moroccan sojourn, the latter a young long-hair back from the States – Satwa lasted only a year, perhaps due to their differing stripes. Lailson was from the verdant former Dutch colony of Pernanbuco, while Côrtes hailed from the wild badlands of Paraiba. But for 11 days in January 1973 the pair jammed cross-legged and produced the folk trance gems that adorn this self-titled debut.
At a time when censors caused newspapers to run cake recipes on their front pages in place of rejected news stories, Lailson only lets the occasional throat drone slip through his lips. Largely void of voice and word, the songs – Côrtes plucking steely leads from his sitar while Lailson's 12-string thrums crystalline chords – are loose and lovely. The sole interference in these glistening arabesques is the hoary electric fretwork of one Robertinho on "Blues do Cachorro Muito Louco," the most explicitly fried track. Otherwise, Côrtes and Lailson are left to experiment in musty silence. Seemingly taped live, each track is a dry documentation of the duo's gently rambling improvisations. Far from the recombinant psychedelia of tropicalismo that reigned over the pre-hippie underground in Brazil's bustling metropolises five years earlier, Satwa play bed peace bards. In double-mono, or fake stereo, Satwa is raw, untreated mentalism translated into pure songflow. At times exhausted and dusty – "Atom" – or archaically splendorous – "Valse Dos Cogumelos" – the duo's spiraling scrolls etched in rustic timbres unfurl gracefully.
Côrtes, now a graying painter, would go on to record the more explicitly weird Paêbirú (also recently reissued) with Zé Ramalho. A concept album about extraterrestrials in Paraiba's arid backwoods, it had long been anointed a masterpiece of the era. After dabbling in rock outfits, Lailson broke into the mainstream as a newspaper cartoonist, a job he has kept to this day. Neither were or will probably ever be Satwa again, but during those few days and from now on, Satwa is a quiet triumph.
