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The year was 1974. On the heels of the biggest hits of his career to that point, "Réu Confesso" and "Gostava Tanto de Você," Brazilian soul singer Tim Maia broke with his label, Polydor, lured by the offer of a double-album deal with RCA Victor. The 32-year-old Maia and his band retired to a house in a secluded section of Rio de Janeiro and spent their days smoking marijuana and experimenting with hallucinogens while working on new material. By the end of July, they had a few dozen songs worked out -- instrumental grooves that followed Tim's tried and true samba-soul formula -- but few lyrics. Pleased with the rough recordings, RCA dared to hope that their investment in the unpredictable singer would pay off in spades, but Tim managed to turn everything on its head. In the midst of a mescaline trip, he discovered a book entitled Universo em Desencanto (literally "Universe in Disenchantment"), the manifesto of an obscure religious cult known as Cultura Racional. Within weeks, Maia had dedicated his life to the cult, coerced his entire band to join and live by its strict precepts (no drugs, no alcohol, no red meat, and no sex except for the purpose of procreation), and was bent on a new direction for his double album. Gone was the accessible pop music he'd been known for, his usual romantic and party-oriented lyrics replaced by devotional verses.