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Hey there friends in Sorry State Land, how’s it going? Hopefully wherever you live, it’s amongst a populace that believes in democracy and human rights ahead of money and greed, unlike here in North Carolina where despite the best efforts of some, the state remained embarrassingly red. Unfortunately, I am not able to vote, but applaud those that did and boo hiss at those that didn’t bother. It was a close race, and those extra votes would have made the difference. Okay, politics aside for now… let’s talk music.
I was wondering what to write about this week (as I do every week), but on hearing the news of the passing of Brazilian singer Gal Costa yesterday my choice was made. She died aged 77 in Sao Paolo and Brazil, along with her world of fans, mourns her passing. An artist held in high regard and one who maintained a fifty plus year career in music. May she rest in power.
In the year 2022, it might be safe to assume that most of you reading have heard of her and a good bet that many of you have some of her records in your collection. For many that became interested in the music of Brazil, we came to know Gal through her involvement with the hugely influential Tropicalia movement of the 1960s. A time of great political upheaval across the world, but particularly in countries like Brazil where an authoritarian government was in place. It’s ironic that now, as Brazil has rejected their fascist leadership, we here in America are leaning in towards the type of government that they had back then and had to fight against. Perhaps we’ll see a musical movement rejecting the right wing here in contemporary America along the lines of Tropicalia. Although the punk and hip-hop community certainly have something to say, it would be great to hear more from the Country and Pop music worlds also. And I said we we’re setting politics aside. Ha. It’s almost impossible, though, when talking about an artist such as Gal Costa, who from the very beginning was a non-conformist, and whilst her pals Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were in exile, kept their music alive in Brazil by covering many of their songs.
My introduction to her and this period of music came during the late 1990s when, finally, the music could be heard. Kurt Cobain famously helped to hip people to Tropicalia, and soon after you began seeing reissues of Os Mutantes and other Tropicalia records appear in record shops. Mr. Bongo in the UK provided many of us with our first vinyl copies of some of these records when he/they started out. The album called Tropicalia Ou Panis Et Circencis, released in 1968, was the album that launched the sound out unto the world. It’s great, and features Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, and Tom Ze with arrangements by another legend Rogerio Duprat. If you haven’t heard it, you should click here and fall down the rabbit hole that will open up for you.
When I moved to New York City in 1998, I soon ran into several Brazilians living there, and a small scene playing Brazilian and Latin music, and my mind and record collection expanded. It was obvious right away that seeking original copies of records from this period from Brazil was almost impossible, and if you did, they were either beat to death or, for a nice copy, very expensive. Similar to the reggae music world. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, more and more represses of key records were getting put on the market, along with great compilations from labels such as Mr. Bongo and Soul Jazz, among others. I was able to find reissues of a couple of Gal Costa’s records, and they have been among my favorite records from that scene. I love the cover artwork for starters, one with a psychedelic jungle tropical painting and the other with a portrait shot of Gal sporting a feather boa. You can often judge a record based on its cover art, and on these two you get what you might expect and so much more. Both from 1969, titled simply Gal and Gal Costa, respectively. Technically, not her first records, as she debuted a couple of years earlier on one called Domingo with Caetano Veloso. Gal’s distinctive vocals mix wonderfully with the incredible music underneath. You get the full Tropicalia experience on these two albums. Kitchen sink production throwing everything from wild psych guitar fuzz, sweet strings, funky bass lines and beats in your face. On the song Tuareg from Gal, you get a middle eastern, Arabic sound to fit the song title. That tune has become one of my favorites and would often be played at DJ gigs. It’s a groove.
There are so many great songs across these two records. The cut Baby is universally loved and was beautifully interpreted by Rita Lee and Os Mutantes as well. The musicianship, songwriting, arrangements, production, and Gal’s voice all combine to create masterpieces that transcend their time and have reverberated through the decades and will continue to amaze new listeners for years to come.
In the wake of her passing there will be lots of good pieces written by actual writers and you should read them, as I will be doing, and you should also research the whole Tropicalia scene and Brazilian music in general because it’s brilliant. Just like the football, in a league of its own.
Thank you Gal, and thank you Brazil for gifting the world with your wonderful music.
-Dom