Brazuca Sounds

Latest Episodes:

Brazuca Sounds #60: Cartola (1974) Feb 15, 2024

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In this episode, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cartola's debut album released in 1974. Nearly 50 years after beginning his career, Cartola released his first album featuring 12 songs of the more than 100 he wrote during his lifetime. Recorded in February and March 1974, the album was released by the independent label Discos Marcus Pereira.

We talk about Cartola's upbringing as a musician in the 1920s, his struggles with poverty, health, and death in his family, the rediscovery of his work by bossa and samba enthusiasts in the 1960s, and finally the backstory of the album's making. We analyzed much of the Cartola's lyrics, and the music put together by a great ensemble of Dino 7 Cordas (seven-string-guitar), Meira (guitar) and Canhoto (cavaquinho).

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PREVIEW | BONUS EP. (Chico Buarque: "Acorda, Amor") Feb 06, 2024

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Salve! This is another bonus episode of Brazuca Sounds!

This is the song today: "Acorda, Amor" by Chico Buarque from Sinal Fechado (1974)

Chico Buarque was so targeted by censorship in the mid-1970s that all lyrics he submitted for government approval were denied. He then decided to release an album with songs from his songwriter friends, and a mysterious newcomer among them named Julinho de Adelaide. Later was revealed that it was a Chico's pseudonym used to avoid censorship. It worked!

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PREVIEW | BONUS EP. (Cartola: "O Sol Nascerá") Jan 25, 2024

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Salve! This is a bonus episode of Brazuca Sounds!

"O Sol Nascerá" by Cartola from Cartola (1974)

Cartola released his debut album only at the age of 65, after spending four decades writing songs credited to other singers. Then his work was rediscovered by the bossa-nova circle, followed by samba's biggest names. He co-wrote "O Sol Nascerá" with Elton Medeiros, an uplifting song that defined their career and cannot be omitted from any conversation about samba's history.

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Brazuca Sounds #59: Continental and The Brazilian Melted Records Jan 18, 2024

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In this episode, we talk about the record label Continental and their (allegedly) melted albums. After the label ran out of Secos e Molhados LPs to sell in 1973, and the lack of raw material during the global oil crisis (and the Brazilian dictatorship's terrible administration), they decided to melt their back catalog to press them into new Secos e Molhados.

Whether is factually hard to prove which albums were melted, is well documented that Arthur Verocai's debut and many of the Continental albums were taken out of circulation. So it leads us to speculate which ones, and those are five albums that we picked to talk about:

Heraton Salvanini and his debut "SP/73"; Walter Franco's "Ou Não"; O Pessoal do Ceará only record registered as a group; Terço self-titled second album; and Paulo Bagunça e a Tropa Maldita.

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PREVIEW | BONUS EP. (Arthur Verocai: "Na Boca do Sol") Jan 09, 2024

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Salve! This is a PREVIEW of our bonus episode for paid subscribers.

Access now at patreon.com/brazucasounds

This is the song today: "Na Boca do Sol" by Arthur Verocai (1972)

In this episode, we break down the lyrics, music, production, and everything about the song. "Na Boca do Sol" was released in Arthur Verocai's masterpiece debut album, only to find a big commercial failure. Then his work was rediscovered in the late 90s by Hip-Hop artists, such as MF Doom who sampled " Na Boca do Sol" to greater acclaim. It is now considered one of the best Brazilian songs ever.

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Brazuca Sounds #58: Brazilian Albums Released in 1973 Dec 26, 2023

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In episode #58, we continue our celebration of albums released 50 years ago in 1973. This year we made specials about the albums released by João Donato, Marcos Valle, Tom Jobim, Gal Costa, Secos e Molhados, and more.

Now is the time to discuss some of the most overlooked albums from 1973, from the brilliant debuts of Luiz Melodia and Gonzaguinha (pictured) to the crazy Northeast psychedelia of Satwa, the rural braziliana of Elomar, samba-rock makers Wando, and Marku, the resurgence of Tom Zé, the almost-forgotten work of Os Tincoãs, and the soul-gospel-psychedelic-funk of Cassiano's second album.

All songs are available following our playlist on Spotify "⁠Soundtrack: Brazuca Sounds"⁠.

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Brazuca Sounds #57: Brazilian Rock Revolution Dec 07, 2023

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In episode #57 we discussed three Brazilian rock artists that broke in 1973: Secos e Molhados, Raul Seixas, and Novos Baianos.

The debut album of Secos e Molhados was a phenomenon in sales like never seen before; their blend of rock, pop, baroque, and poetry made them the first Beatlemania-esque in Brazil. Raul Seixas and his debut also cemented him as a rock icon that even stands today; Novos Baianos' third record was not as popular as "Acabou Chorare", but strange as it sounds, elevated the group's trademark blend of genres to higher grounds: it's even more samba, and it's even more rock n' roll. Follow our playlist on Spotify: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Soundtrack: Brazuca Sounds⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠".

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Brazuca Sounds #56 - Elenco Records (and History of Bossa Nova) Nov 15, 2023

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In episode #56 we discuss one of the most important Brazilian record labels: Elenco. Founded in 1963 by Aloysio de Oliveira with the ambition of becoming the best bossa-nova label in the country, Elenco put together a constellation of big names and released a crazy amount of bossa-nova classics.

We'll talk about albums from superstars Vinicius de Moraes, Roberto Menescal, Sylvia Telles, Edu Lobo, Nara Leão, the brilliance of Sergio Ricardo, and some forgotten names such as Lucio Alves, Agostinho dos Santos and Aracy de Almeida.

Follow our playlist on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠Soundtrack: Brazuca Sounds⁠⁠⁠

Brazuca Sounds #55 - Gal Costa - Índia (1973) Oct 25, 2023

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In episode #55 we celebrate the album "Índia", released by Gal Costa in July 1973. The album’s controversial cover was banned by the Brazilian military regime upon its release, but that was just one of the reasons it became so iconic. Gal Costa distanced herself from the Tropicália movement in "Índia" (like all her peers before her), showcasing a more stripped-down sound, influenced by folk (and folklore), blues, baião, Clube da Esquina, and Brazilian standards from samba (Lupicínio) and bossa-nova (João Gilberto/Tom Jobim). Gal Costa even had the time to perform probably the funkiest song ever produced in Brazil with "Pontos de Luz". The album was also a big rupture to Gal Costa's fans at the time, taking her to new levels of popularity and celebrity stardom. Follow our playlist on Spotify: "⁠⁠Soundtrack: Brazuca Sounds⁠⁠".

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Brazuca Sounds #54 - History of Forró and Baião in 30 Songs Sep 13, 2023

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In episode #54, we tell the history of the most popular music genre in Brazil connected to the Northeast: forró. We also cover all its subtle variances, in genres like baião, xote, xaxado, and maracatu. We'll talk about key artists in forró such as Luiz Gonzaga, Jackson do Pandeiro, Sivuca, and Dominguinhos, the female queens Marinês and Carmélia Alves, and the megahits from names like Ary Lobo, João do Vale, Genival Lacerda, and Trio Nordestino. Then we follow with all the MPB-mainstream singers influenced by forró, such as Clara Nunes, Gilberto Gil, and Elba Ramalho. Unlike samba and its urban appeal that ultimately became a global phenomenon, forró remained attached mainly to the Brazilian roots, largely disseminated during our festivities in June (Festas Juninas) celebrating St. John Baptiste. Follow our playlist on Spotify to listen to all these songs in full: "Soundtrack: Brazuca Sounds".

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