Far Out!

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’. One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.

The original Banda Black Rio were one of the great Brazilian bands of the 1970s and 80s. Formed by saxophonist Oberdan Magalhães, they were pioneers of the country’s soul, samba and funk movement, and played a key role in Rio’s black music scene in the days of the military dictatorship. The band stopped playing after Oberdan’s death in 1984, but have now been revived by his son William, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who wrote or co-wrote every track on a set that’s remarkable mostly for the number of celebrities who agreed to join in. Left to themselves, as on the title track, the band play cool, tight and rhythmic jazz-funk with a Brazilian edge, mixing brass with keyboards and guitar.

Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra returns with Black Sun, its second full-length album of 100% original, unadulterated disco sophistication, featuring members of the pioneering Brazilian jazz-funk trio Azymuth; a full orchestra with arrangements split between Arthur Verocai and Azymuth’s late maestro Jose Roberto Bertrami; plus members of the legendary Rio funk group Banda Black Rio.

Azymuth are back! With Fênix, their first album in five years, the Brazilian mavericks have recreated the energy of those spellbinding seventies’ sessions which would launch them into international recognition and confirm their status as one of Brazil’s most successful bands. It's a ten-track journey through the full spectrum of Azymuth’s brilliantly coloured expressionist fusion, with all the cosmic energy and masterful musicianship you’d expect from the world's greatest three-man orchestra… Azymuth rise from the ashes!