and the audience were throwing eggs and chairs at us so we turned round and played with our backs to them. People said this was a beautiful thing. politically. but we were just trying to cover our asses!‘
Baptista compares the era to Paris in 1968.
and it‘s not hard to see that the days of
'l‘ropicalia were a kind of Year Zero for the current crop of Brazilian artists. Mowat describes the attitudes of those involved in this year‘s 'l‘rocabrahma as very much a ‘work hard. play hard‘ affair. and says the collaborations that went on in Brazil were a great success.
There are many intriguing team—ups among
them. including noted eccentric (iruff Rhys of
Super Furry Animals alongside the possibly
even more barmy 'l‘ony da (iattora. inventor of
his own guitar/synthesiser hybrid. the gattora (l.ovefoxxx owns one. as does Franz Ferdinand's Nick McCarthy). Funk-rock friends of (‘88. Bonde Do Role — in the process of establishing their own name here '— are teamed with their long-time collaborators Radioclit and Amanda Blank. while the mellower partnership of songwriters King (‘reosote and Rumulo Froes will be turned into
an epic ten-piece line-up by the inclusion of
each artist's full hand.
It‘s an intriguing. exciting prospect. and one that Mowat intends to continue for the next year or two at least. Yet such a cross- pollination of cultures isn‘t anything new. at least according to Baptista.
"l‘here was something powerful about the era we came from.‘ he says. "l‘here was this vortex of energy in the 60s that was at work on humanity all over the world. I loved Pink Floyd and The Beatles. even though I knew nothing about them other than their music. We adopted the flower from the Flower Power movement. and we knew about Vietnam too — Brazil was like a kaleidoscope. where we got bits and pieces of information from all over the world and mixed it into our own psychedelic thing. I think that‘s why what we were doing was so unique‘.
Four Tet, Open Field Church and DJs Aidan Moffat and Chris Geddes play the Classic Grand, Glasgow, Fri 27 Jul; King Creosote, Romulo Froes, Gruff Rhys, Tony da Gatorra and DJs Nick McCarthy and Paul Thomson (Franz Ferdinand) play the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Sat 28 Jul; Ben Westbeech, Tita Lima and Gilles Peterson play the Classic Grand, Glasgow, Sat 28 Jul; Os Mutantes, JD Twitch, Bonde Do Role, Radioclit l Amanda Blank and Diplo play the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Sun 29 Jul.
It was a genre- straddling. tambourine—thumping frenzy when Romany gypsy punk outfit Gogol Bordello met disco dolly Madonna to sing 'La Isla Bonita' at the recent Live Earth Gig. What ensued was a highly entertaining. although bonkers. moment of musical madness at which lucky gig-goers were treated to an awful lot of frantic fiddles and crotch thrusting.
His compositions for the Oscar-Winning soundtrack of The Last Emperor were a far cry from David Byrne's (pictured above) pop roots.
King Creos and Romulo
Os Mutantes
The Dumbarton-born Talking Heads founder ioined forces With Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to create the soundtracks sweeping. Chinese-flavoured score.
Paul Young wanted no more pain and no sorrow. but arguany caused plenty when he collaborated With Italian rock legend Zucchero toi ‘Senza una Donna'. Moody
. Grufl Rhys ‘ I g and Tony da Gator‘r‘a
sax. Wlfl(l machines and non~ stop air grabbing only add to the appeal of this heartfelt soft rock ballad. Like they say. torture and bliss.
One. a Mexrcan guitar virtuoso With a background in Latino music. blues and rock. l‘he other. a Haitian rapper Who mixes reggae funk Willi hip hop. It shouldn't have WOiked. but when Carlos
"( o
Santana ipictured belowi :net Wyclef Jean tor Maria Maria'. their Spanish soaked single went straight to number one. (Claire Saweml
L’ Aug .‘(ltlf THE LIST 11
til .lul