Misplaced Pages

#796203

61-729: Os Mutantes ( Brazilian Portuguese: [uz muˈtɐ̃tʃis] , The Mutants ) are an influential Brazilian rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement, a dissident musical movement during the Brazilian dictatorship of the late 1960s. The band is considered to be one of the main groups of Brazilian rock . Heavily influenced by Anglo-American psychedelic pop , they bridged Brazilian sensibilities together with studio trickery, feedback , distortion , and musique concrète . They released their now-acclaimed self-titled debut album in 1968. Os Mutantes debuted their work in 1966, as

122-444: A "tropical paradise". Tropicalia was presented as a "field for reflection on social history". The movement was begun by a group of musicians from Bahia notably Caetano Veloso , Gilberto Gil , Gal Costa , Tom Zé , and the poet-lyricist Torquato Neto . Later the group moved from Salvador (the capital of Bahia) to São Paulo where they met with collaborators Os Mutantes and Rogério Duprat among others. They went on to produce

183-409: A barrage of psychedelic music, played at high volume, and Veloso further outraged the students with his overtly sexual stage movements. The crowd reacted angrily, shouting abuse at the performers and booing loudly, and their fury was only exacerbated by the surprise appearance of an American pop singer, John Dandurand , who joined Veloso on stage and grunted incoherently into the microphone. After such

244-534: A chance to speak up about their experiences. Oiticica, for example, was one who moved to New York and published a magazine article titled, “Mario Montez, Tropicamp”. The names for the titles that were used related to the risky and systematic aims during the times of tropicalia. These magazines also told the stories of others who were in the United States and home in Brazil. By tropicalia going underground, there

305-502: A furious improvised monologue, haranguing the students for their behaviour and denouncing what he saw as their cultural conservatism. He was then joined by Gilberto Gil, who came on stage to show his support for Veloso, and as the tumult reached a crescendo, Veloso announced he was withdrawing from the competition, and after deliberately finishing the song out of tune, the tropicalistas defiantly walked offstage, arm-in-arm. On December 27, 1968, Veloso and Gil were arrested and imprisoned by

366-473: A half years. Modern critic Roberto Schwarz addresses tropicália's hand in solidifying the idea of the absurd as a permanent evil of Brazil, and its issues with an ideological mentality. However, the approaches of the movement were ever-shifting and did not stick to one central idea. Throughout the 1940s until her death in 1955, the singer and actress Carmen Miranda made Hollywood musicals and performed live. Before first appearing on Broadway in 1939, she had

427-462: A hiatus from the late 1970s to the early 2000s, the band reunited in 2006, touring and recording new material. Os Mutantes were formed in São Paulo in 1966 by two brothers: Arnaldo Baptista (bass, keyboards and vocals) and Sérgio Dias Baptista (guitar and vocals), and lead singer Rita Lee . They were originally named Six Sided Rockers. The Baptistas' father was a poet and mother a pianist, and

488-407: A later tropicália concert in the same year, during a performance by Caetano Veloso, a riot erupted in the auditorium between tropicalists and supporters of nationalist-participant music. The nationalists were primarily college students, and the uproar culminated with screams and hurling garbage at Veloso. The nationalist-participant group's resistance of the movement was nothing new, but this incident

549-438: A major song prize at the previous year's festival, when he was backed by an Argentinian rock band, and although his unconventional performance caused some initial consternation, he managed to win over the crowd and was feted as a new star of Brazilian popular music. By late 1968, however, Veloso was fully immersed in the tropicalia experiment, and his performances, which were expressly intended as provocative art "happenings", caused

610-413: A near-riot. In the first round of the competition on 12 September, Veloso was initially greeted by enthusiastic applause, but the mood quickly changed when the music started. Veloso came on dressed in a bright green plastic tunic, festooned with electrical wires and necklaces strung with animal teeth, and his backing band Os Mutantes were also dressed in similarly outlandish attire. The ensemble launched into

671-473: A new precedent for artistic hybridization allowing for a diversity of sounds and styles in those who were inspired by the movement. In 2021, scientists named a species of Brazilian tree frog , Scinax tropicalia after this movement. Tropicalia introduced two very unusual movements to modern Brazil – antropofagia and concretism  [ pt ] . In addition to this was pop music from abroad that helped inaugurate postmodernism in Brazil. In spite of

SECTION 10

#1732801086797

732-446: A powerful negative reaction, Veloso was unsure whether to appear in the second round on 15 September, but his manager convinced him to go on, and this chaotic performance was recorded live and later released as a single. The students in the audience began hissing as soon as Veloso's name was announced, even before he had even taken the stage. Wearing the same green costume (minus the wires and necklaces), Veloso came on with Os Mutantes amid

793-400: A reunion tour from the trio in 1993, writing a letter to Arnaldo Baptista. Cobain was introduced to them by Pat Fear from White Flag (whose collaboration with Redd Kross and other friends under the name The Tater Totz was the first American band to cover or even cite Os Mutantes on their 1988 LP Alien Sleestaks from Brazil ). Beck paid tribute to the group with his single "Tropicália" from

854-500: A slightly different lineup than Haih , with Ani Cordero replacing Dinho Leme on drums and Amy Crawford replacing Henrique Peters on keyboards. The band toured North America in support of the album. In 2022–2023, Os Mutantes, fronted by Sérgio Dias, went on a North American tour. When Os Mutantes was formed, it combined influences from rock acts from the English-speaking world like The Beatles , Jimi Hendrix , Sly &

915-473: A solo career due to differences with other band members and problems with the abuse of LSD , followed by Dinho and, a year later, Liminha. Arnaldo subsequently was institutionalized and jumped from the building's window, causing a six-week coma. Sérgio Dias, the only remaining original member, led the band until its dissolution in 1978. During this time, they released one more studio album, a live album and an EP. Two unreleased albums were released many years later,

976-411: A solo career. Rita Lee's 1972 album Hoje É o Primeiro Dia do Resto da Sua Vida was actually recorded with Os Mutantes but credited to Rita Lee due to record company disagreements. Subsequently, the band moved in a progressive rock direction with the album O A e o Z , recorded in 1973 but released only in 1992 due to disagreement with the record company. Arnaldo left the band in that year to pursue

1037-409: A storm of catcalls, and the group launched into a provocative new song Veloso had written for the occasion, "É Proibido Proibir" (" It is Forbidden to Forbid "), the title of which he had taken from a photo of a Parisian protest poster, which he had seen reproduced in a local magazine. The booing and jeering was soon so loud that Veloso struggled to be heard over the din, and he again deliberately taunted

1098-427: A successful career in Brazil throughout the 1930s and was known as the "Queen of Samba". Yet after she gained international success in the United States, many Brazilians regarded her elaborate costume and performance as a caricature of Brazilian culture. In Caetano Veloso's 1968 song "Tropicália", the musician references Carmen Miranda whose vulgar iconography were an inspiration. Caetano Veloso has said Carmen Miranda

1159-576: A trio, when they presented themselves in the program O Pequeno Mundo de Ronnie Von of TV Record . The group was christened Mutantes by Ronnie Von himself, right before their first TV appearance. The group until then called themselves Os Bruxos (meaning The Witches , in Portuguese) and the suggestion came from the book Emperor of the Mutants , by Stefan Wul (the book's original title in French

1220-403: Is La Mort Vivante ). The group quickly became one of the main figures of the "new MPB" (popular Brazilian music), influenced by Tropicália , until their breakup in 1978, only with Sérgio Dias as an original member. Throughout these twelve years, nine albums were recorded, although two of them – O A e o Z and Tecnicolor – were only released in the 1990s. It was during this later decade that

1281-764: Is an introduction to the style. Other compilations include The Tropicalia Style (1996), Tropicália 30 Anos (1997), Tropicalia: Millennium (1999), Tropicalia: Gold (2002), and Novo Millennium: Tropicalia (2005). Yet another compilation, Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound , was released to acclaim in 2006. A 2012 documentary film, Tropicália , was made on the subject and artists in general; directed by Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Machado, where Fernando Meirelles served as one of its executive producers. Gilberto Gil (1968 album) Gilberto Gil (also commonly referred to as Gilberto Gil (Frevo Rasgado) to differentiate it from Gil's other self-titled releases)

SECTION 20

#1732801086797

1342-450: Is the second studio album by Gilberto Gil , originally released in early 1968. The album features a blending of traditional Brazilian styles such as samba and bossa nova with American rock and roll. It also mixes Rogério Duprat 's orchestral arrangements with the electric guitars of Brazilian rock group Os Mutantes . The album is number 78 on Rolling Stone Brasil's List of 100 greatest Brazilian albums of all time. The magazine also voted

1403-457: The military government of Brazil in early 1969. During this period, Os Mutantes were also threatened by the military government of Brazil of that time. In 1967, Os Mutantes backed Gilberto Gil when he competed in the third annual Festival of Brazilian Popular Music, making Brazilian music history by being one of the first two rock groups to participate, and Gil won second prize in the song competition with his song "Domingo no Parque" ("Sunday in

1464-494: The 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis , which served as the movement's manifesto. Tropicália was not only an expression in analyzing and manipulating culture but also a mode of political expression. The tropicália movement came to fruition at a time when Brazil's military dictatorship and left-wing ideas held distinct but prominent amounts of power simultaneously. The tropicalists' rejection of both sides' version of nationalism (the military's conservative patriotism and

1525-600: The Family Stone , the Ventures , and Duane Eddy with bossa nova , tropicália , samba and the cultural legacy of the Brazilian art vanguards from the modernist movement. Os Mutantes is one of the most well-known and influential rock bands in Brazil. In addition, many contemporary underground or independent bands in the United States and Europe cite Os Mutantes as a major influence. Kurt Cobain publicly requested

1586-456: The Park"). Gil's friend Caetano Veloso also performed with a rock group, São Paulo band Beat Boys, and although his unorthodox performance met with some initial resistance, he eventually won over the crowd with his song "Alegria, Alegria", which was awarded fourth place in the competition. The next year Os Mutantes collaborated with Gilberto Gil on his second solo album , and they also contributed to

1647-468: The Tropicalists' musical experiments, and who were further infuriated by Veloso's outlandish costume, and his provocatively sexual stage movements. In the second round of the competition on 15 September, Veloso and Os Mutantes performed a wild new psychedelic piece that Veloso had written for the occasion, called "É proibido proibir" (" It Is Forbidden to Forbid "); this was recorded live and an excerpt

1708-471: The aforementioned O A e o Z and Tecnicolor recorded in 1970 and released in 2000. Os Mutantes (Arnaldo, Sérgio and Dinho, sans Rita Lee and Liminha—Lee was replaced with Zélia Duncan on vocals) played live for the first time since 1978 at the Tropicalia exhibition at London's Barbican Arts Centre on 22 May 2006. This performance, which was first by drummer Dinho Leme since the end of Os Mutantes,

1769-962: The album Mutations . The Bees covered "A Minha Menina" on their first album, Sunshine Hit Me . Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea has stated on his Twitter account that "Os Mutantes the Brazilian band is so great". Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal cites Os Mutantes as an important influence. Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has worked to publish and promote the group's music through his Luaka Bop label. Their song Ave Lucifer has been sampled on Captain Murphy's song "The Killing Joke" (produced by Flying Lotus ). The discography of Os Mutantes consists of ten studio albums, two live albums, ten compilation albums , four extended plays , ten singles and one video album Tropicalismo The term tropicália (tropicalismo) has multiple connotations in that it played on images of Brazil being that of

1830-403: The attention and suspicion of the military, who feared tropicália's influence of protest in the cultural realm. Near the end of 1968, tropicália experienced a shift to a more overt association with international countercultures and movements, most notably that of African-American Black Power in the United States. The movement was becoming increasingly leftist, and pushed for artistic output. At

1891-434: The band was able to meet Gilberto Gil , an influential musician in the Tropicália movement, who brought them into the movement's circle. Os Mutantes released two albums heavily influenced by Tropicália, which blended psychedelic rock with other forms of art. They performed and recorded with many artists of this period, including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, before Veloso and Gil were arrested and subsequently exiled by

Os Mutantes - Misplaced Pages Continue

1952-479: The corrupting influences of Western capitalist popular culture. The politico-artistic tensions between leftist students and the tropicalistas reached a climax in September 1968, with Caetano Veloso's watershed performances at the third International Song Festival, held in the auditorium of Rio's Catholic University, where the audience not surprisingly included a large contingent of left-wing students. Veloso had won

2013-524: The falling-outs and violence, there is a permanence of tradition in Oswald's antropofagia, who at one point of time conflicted with the idea of Romantic Indianism of the nineteenth century. These ideas were and still are seen in theaters and people's notions that involved a relationship that tied back to a longer history of poetic creations. Moreover, members of tropicalia who were not arrested or tortured, voluntarily escaped into exile in order to get away from

2074-511: The globe. Tom Zé, a tropicalista who had largely faded into obscurity at the end of the movement, saw a resurgence of critical and commercial interest in the 1990s. Tropicalismo has been cited as an influence by rock musicians such as David Byrne , Beck , the Bird and the Bee , Arto Lindsay , Devendra Banhart , El Guincho , Of Montreal , and Nelly Furtado . In 1998, Beck released Mutations ,

2135-455: The group famously met with intense hostility when they backed Caetano Veloso for his two now-legendary performances at the third International Song Festival in Rio, which caused a near-riot. In the first round of the festival's song competition on 12 September 1968, Veloso and Os Mutantes were loudly jeered, booed and insulted by a large group of students in the audience, who were vehemently opposed to

2196-430: The importance of Os Mutantes was recognized, by both national and international rock, as one of the most creative dynamic, radical and talented groups of the psychedelic era. Although the original line-up ( Rita Lee , Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias ; and later with Liminha and Dinho Leme) made the most notable breakthrough for the group, it has gone through numerous personnel changes throughout its existence. After

2257-437: The ineffectual bourgeois anti-imperialism) was met with criticism and harassment. The dissolution of the movement by the early 1970s gave rise to a new wave of soloists and groups identifying as “post-tropicalist”. The movement has inspired many artists nationally and internationally. Additionally, tropicalia continues to be a main feature in the original Bahian group and their fellows’ work. A dominant principle of tropicália

2318-412: The jeering continued unabated, so Veloso angrily declared that he would no longer participate in the competition; he then finished the song deliberately out of tune, and he, Gilberto and Os Mutantes left the stage arm-in-arm. In 1971, bassist Arnolpho Lima Filho ("Liminha") and drummer Ronaldo Leme ("Dinho") officially joined the band. They released five albums together before Lee departed in 1972 to start

2379-432: The leftists with his sexualised stage actions. Within a short time the performers were being pelted with fruit, vegetables, eggs and a rain of paper balls, and a section of the audience expressed their disapproval by standing up and turning their backs to the performers, prompting Os Mutantes to respond in kind by turning their backs on the audience. Infuriated by the students' reaction, Veloso stopped singing and launched into

2440-518: The manifesto work of the Tropicália movement, the landmark 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis ( Tropicália: or Bread and Circuses ) a collaborative album recorded by all the major figures in the movement, including Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gll, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa , and Tom Zé , with orchestrations by Rogerio Duprat and lyrical contributions from Torquato Neto . In sharp contrast to their well-received festival appearance in 1967,

2501-507: The military government over the political content of their work. After two months, the two were released and subsequently forced to seek exile in London , where they lived and resumed their musical careers until they were able to return to Brazil in 1972. In 1993, Veloso and Gil released the album Tropicália 2 , celebrating 25 years of the movement and commemorating their earlier musical experiments. Tropicália's controversy can be traced to

Os Mutantes - Misplaced Pages Continue

2562-420: The movement. The movement also utilized Carmen Miranda , a Brazilian/Portuguese international star, who in Brazil had come to be viewed as inauthentic. The use of Carmen Miranda's image and motifs became synonymous with the movement. Veloso in particular would imitate the icons gestures and mannerisms during performances. This usage was intentionally done as a means to address the concept of "authenticity". Miranda

2623-507: The musical manifesto of the tropicália movement. Although it was a collaborative project, the main creative forces behind the album were Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil . The album experimented with unusual time signatures and unorthodox song structures, and also mixed tradition with innovation. Politically, the album expressed criticism of the coup d'état of 1964 . Key artists of the movement include Os Mutantes , Gilberto Gil , Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso . According to Maya Jaggi , "Gil

2684-469: The new wave of American and British psychedelic music of the period - most notably the work of the Beatles - also put them at odds with Marxist-influenced students on Brazil's left, whose aesthetic agenda was strongly nationalistic, and oriented towards 'traditional' Brazilian musical forms. This leftist faction vigorously rejected anything - especially tropicalismo - which they perceived as being tainted by

2745-418: The performers, to which Os Mutantes responded by turning their backs to the audience. Os Mutantes continued playing, but Veloso stopped singing and spontaneously launched into an impassioned diatribe, denouncing the student faction for their conservatism, which provoked even louder howls of disapproval from the audience. Although the ensemble was joined on stage by Gilberto Gil , who came out to show his support,

2806-655: The reformed band alive, not wanting to let "the giant sleep again", as he put it. In November, it was reported that Liminha would return to the fold, while Karina Zeviani was said to replace Duncan as the band's female vocalist. Neither is part of the new band lineup. Sérgio Dias announced in late 2007 the recording of a new studio album, with some collaboration by Tom Zé and Devendra Banhart . In April 2008, Os Mutantes released their first song in more than 30 years, called "Mutantes Depois", with new female vocalist Bia Mendes and male vocalist Fabio Recco, available for digital download and online stream. In June 2008, "A Minha Menina"

2867-552: The song "Bat Macumba" for the Red Hot Organization 's most recent charitable album " Red Hot+Rio 2 ." The album is a follow-up to the 1996 " Red Hot + Rio ," with proceeds from the sales donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. On 30 April 2013, Fool Metal Jack was released. Unlike Haih Or Amortecedor , the album's lyrics are mostly in English. The album features

2928-481: The strict and repressing authorities. Many continuously went back and forth between different countries and cities. Some were never able to settle down. People like Caetano, Gil, and Torquato Neto, spent time in places like London, New York, or Paris. Some, but not all, were allowed to return to Brazil after years had passed. Others, still could only stay for short periods of time. At the same time, underground magazines were expanding and this gave those who were overseas

2989-512: The title of which is a tribute to Os Mutantes. Its hit single, " Tropicalia ", reached number 21 on the Billboard Modern Rock singles chart. Tropicália has morphed not only the Brazilian music scene itself but, the way Brazilian music is viewed. Tropicália expanded what Brazilians view as properly “authentic” and since the '90s broadened the way international audiences experienced and understood Brazilian music. Tropicália created

3050-526: The two had previously had an all-male band called The Wooden Faces, while Lee was in an all-female band called The Teenage Singers. Sérgio Dias's guitar, the Golden Guitar (Guitarra de Ouro), was created by Arnaldo and Sérgio's brother, Cláudio César Dias Baptista, who built many of their instruments and electronic effects. Their current name was settled upon immediately before a performance on a Brazilian television program. Through other TV performances,

3111-607: The uncertain and unfriendly relationship the members of the movement had with the mass media. The movement's emphasis on art clashed with the media's need for mass appeal and marketability. Tropicália additionally had an image of sensuality and flamboyance. This was a protest to the reinstated oppression of Brazil's military rule in the 1960s, and an additional cause for media pushback. In 1968, tropicália events at clubs, music festivals, and television shows attracted media attention and aroused tension between Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil and their critics. This widespread attention attracted

SECTION 50

#1732801086797

3172-500: Was antropofagia , a type of cultural "cannibalism" that encouraged the consumption of disparate influences, both temporal and geographic, as well as categorical, out of which could be created something uniquely Brazilian. It was a blurring of lines and preexisting conceptions of high and low art forms, as well as prestigious and marginalized artistic and political expressions. The idea was originally put forth by poet Oswald de Andrade in his Manifesto Antropófago , published in 1928, and

3233-405: Was a "culturally repulsive object" for his generation. Scholar Christopher Dunn says that by embracing Carmen, Veloso treats her as "an allegory of Brazilian culture and its reception abroad". Many tropicalistas have maintained a presence in Brazilian popular culture, specifically through MPB (Brazilian pop music). Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso are both respectively popular nationally and around

3294-425: Was a unity of the members within the group because people like Oiticica sent these writing to Brazil so that the articles could circulate locally. In 2002, Caetano Veloso published an account of the tropicália movement, Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil . The 1999 compilation Tropicália Essentials , featuring songs by Gilberto Gil , Caetano Veloso , Gal Costa , Tom Zé , and Os Mutantes ,

3355-533: Was developed further by the tropicalistas in the 1960s. While concrete poets were not an initial influence upon the group's works, the two groups, particularly Veloso, Gil, and Augusto de Campos, would go on to share an intellectual partnership in São Paulo. This partnership would help the tropicalistas to form connections with other artists around the city, most notably Rogério Duprat. Helio Oiticica ’s 1967 work “Tropicalia” shares its name and aesthetic with

3416-562: Was followed by shows in New York City, Los Angeles (with the Flaming Lips ), San Francisco, Seattle , Denver , Chicago, and Miami. They have also collaborated with British DJ JD Twitch, in a Britain/Brazil culture project in 2007, called Trocabrahma . In September 2007, both Arnaldo Baptista and Zélia Duncan left the band. Both expressed wishes to continue with their respective solo projects. Sérgio Dias, however, vowed to keep

3477-418: Was later released as the b-side of the studio recording of the single. The students began heckling even before the ensemble took the stage, and throughout the song, the anti-Tropicalist faction in the audience jeered and booed so loudly that the performers could barely be heard. The students also began throwing eggs, fruit, vegetables and paper balls and a section of the audience stood up and turned their backs on

3538-537: Was partly inspired by Jorge Ben Jor , a Rio musician on the fringes of the movement, who mixed urban samba and bossa nova with rhythm and blues, soul and funk." The anarchistic, anti-authoritarian musical and lyrical expressions of the tropicalistas soon made them a target of censorship and repression by the military junta that ruled Brazil in this period, as did the fact some of the collective, including Veloso and Gil, also actively participated in anti-government demonstrations. The tropicalistas' passionate interest in

3599-399: Was seen as presenting a caricature of what true Brazilian-ness was by Brazilians while international audiences saw her as a representative of Brazil and its culture. This dichotomy provided the means by which the tropicalistas could address the concept of authenticity in such a fashion that it was striking to their audiences. The 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis is regarded as

3660-643: Was the featured audio track for the McDonald's commercial "Victory." In 2009, the band announced their first new release in 35 years, Haih Or Amortecedor , which was released on 8 September, by ANTI- Records. They did an extensive North American tour in support of the album in the fall of 2009 and played at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2010. The band also toured North America in the fall of 2010. In 2011, they collaborated with Of Montreal on

3721-413: Was the tipping point of their opposition. At the nightclub Sucata, tropicália shows became increasingly resistant to Brazil's military-run society. Due to Veloso's refusal to censor the shows to government wishes, the military began to monitor tropicália events. On December 27, 1968, at the peak of government repression, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were arrested, detained, and exiled to London for two and

SECTION 60

#1732801086797
#796203