Description
Incredibly unique concept album from the one and only, Tom Z. As featured in Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Brazilian Albums of all-time list (2007).
One of Zes finest albums in our opinion, originally released by Continental Brazil in 1976 a tough one to find at a good price in its original form now.
Estudando do Samba (or Studying The Samba) is a post-Tropicalia studio experimentation laiden with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects & samples that deconstructs the samba form. Recorded during what was arguably his most creative period.
David Byrne found the record in Rio in the late 90s and included several songs on his Tom Ze collection for Luaka Bop a few years later. At that time Tom was not recording or touring much; playing low-key shows in Sao Paulo and contemplating a move back to Irar to work at a service station owned by one of his cousins. Byrnes project helped to reignite his career and he hasnt looked back since. (via Label)
One of the all-time great Brazilian Tropicalia albums, Estudando do Samba (or “Studying The Samba”) sits in that magical zone of wildly creative music with experimental qualities that somehow manages to retain pop accessibility. Never one to sit still, Tom Z attempted to deconstruct traditional samba forms here with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects, and samples. Even better, the simple, but unusual cover with barbed wire critiquing the military dictatorship in Brazil led to the music being found by David Byrne and the revitalization of Zs music career. (viaIn Sheep’s Clothing Hi-Fi)
You will find a lot written of Tom Z, calling him everything from a cultural cannibal to a revolutionary anarchist, or mad scientist to rebel master. Even Brazilian madman! Z’s contemporaries, artists such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, achieved great commercial and critical success in the 70s and 80s while Z was a figure who was largely left over on the sidelines. Wherever you stand on his placing in Brazil’s musical and social pantheon, one cannot deny the astonishing boldness of Estudando o Samba, Z’s 1976 album here reissued by Mr Bongo.
The influence of tropiclia on this album is unmistakable but the key standout feature is the imbuement of Z’s spirit. He was known for experimenting, palpably felt on Toc which features the sound of a blender and his unorthodox approach to the traditional forms of MPB. The hauntingly beautiful A Felicidade is a reminder of Z’s talents. It uses Brazilian popular music to tell a story thoroughly juxtaposed, in style and substance, against the stereotypical carnival paradise image most had come to expect.
There is so much to be enjoyed on this album. As the title suggests, this is a 12-track study of samba, featuring everything from the sparse, groove laden trio of a samba de roda (dance circle) to the exquisite deployment of dread-inducing, foreboding samples of cries and screams. Estudando o Samba is a rare breed, simultaneously of, and ahead of its time. Learning seldom sounds this good. (via Songlines)
– Reissue. Comes with a four page insert with lyrics and liner notes
Label: Mr Bongo
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Reissued: 2019 / Originally Released: 1976
Genre: Latin
Style: Samba, Avantgarde, Experimental, MPB
File under: Latin-Influenced
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