Here we have an amazing gem that was lost to time. Os Mutantes is a band from São Paulo, Brazil formed in 1966. Formed by brothers Anarldo and Sergio Baptista with Rita Lee, They were the spearheads of a musical movement in Brazil during the late 60s called Tropicália. They fused various styles of Brazilian music with highly experimental American and English psychedelia. I would describe them as The Beatles meets Pink Floyd in the tropics. They were in fact very popular during their time making them the rock band of South America during the 60s and 70s. Since then they've been totally forgotten about which deeply surprises me seeing that the music they made was incredibly ahead of it's time and even alien compared to today's music.
This is their 1969 self-titled album. I listened to this record with my friend and I borrowed the LP so I could rip it since I loved it so much. It's a very dream-like and psychedelic record making it an instant favorite of mine from now on. I never thought I'd hear sunny-beach-fun-time tropical music fused with tripped-out psychedelic rock backed by tribal beats and poppy sing-along vocals thrown together with some experimental instrumentation to top it off. Searing guitar leads, flamenco riffs and funky bass lines are a small part of the various styles of music you'll hear in between trance like dirges from your dreams. If you think the description sounds good just go ahead and take a listen, you won't be disappointed one bit.
All of the album's quick turns and quirks keep you hooked on to what's going on, the musicians shift and flow together so well that the trio performs as a single instrument. They alternate between 3 different vocalists utilizing different singing styles in every song (sometimes with songs sung by the whole band), with the female singer providing many dreamy singing parts and contrasting spicy roles. Did I mention the singing is in Portuguese?
The album plays like a flowing story cut up with some odd samples from movies and experimental breaks composed with strange sounds, but it never drops the tropical groove that brings colorful images to the mind. A definite album choice for tripping or chilling with a bowl of green and some friends. This is definitely one of my best musical discoveries ever.
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