Vinyl Land’s Top 15 New Brazilian Vinyl Records of 2011

2011 was a great year for Brazilian music, specially on vinyl.

Even though there were still alot of good records that weren’t released in the format (we are working on it, don’t worry!), it’s definitely clear that the artists, labels (independent or not), Djs, collectors and music shoppers in Brazil are more and more aware of the importance and value of having their favorite music pressed to acetate.

The simple fact the we can now do a list of top 15 brazilian vinyl records already says alot (we had to do a top 15 instead of 10, that way it wouldn’t look so bad having all our releases in the list of course…). Just last year this would’ve been impossible probably.

Recent figures from the US show an increase in music sales for the first time since 2004, with vinyl contributing with 3,9 million copies sold (an increase from the 2,8 million in 2010). Unfortunatelly Brazil is still taking its first baby steps in that direction, but things are looking up, thats for sure.

Criolo managed to sell out their first pressing of 1.000 copies of the acclaimed “Nó na Orelha” LP + 300 copies of their 12″, and are already selling their second press, white vinyl this time (This may sound as nothing to some international readers, but its our reality so far…).

Bixiga 70 also came out with a great record, released on LP and on 7″, and their 500 copies are selling fast. Some bands like The Cigarettes and Duplexx looked towards Crowdfunding to get resources to press their first vinyl, while major artists like Maria Rita demanded that Warner pressed her latest record “Elo” on LP. Even the Dj Collective Vinil é Arte became a label to repress the classic and much sought-after “Di Melo” LP on a beautful gatefold sleeve…

In the middle of all of this, Vinyl Land Records completed 3 years and kept our usual business, putting 5 new releases out in 2011, including records from Tulipa, Bnegão, Karina Buhr, Lê Almeida and Fusile, all available worldwide through our webshop. Not bad at all!

Having that in mind, we also decided to do a “Best of” list, using only new brazilian music that came out on vinyl on 2011, in Brazil and the rest of the world. It wasnt easy, but we actually wished it could’ve been much harder, if more bands and labels had gotten their acts together and pressed their s**t on vinyl!

 

Vinyl Land’s Top 15 New Brazilian Vinyl Records of 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 – Bnegão e os Seletores de Frequência – 7″ (Vinyl Land Records)

This is only on 15th place because the songs are 8 years old… If this was 2003, this killer 7″ would be on the top of our list for sure! 2012 brings the much anticipated new record from the band, stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 – Tonho Crocco – O Lado Brilhante da Lua (Momo King Records)

Overall an average record, this LP squeezed into our list because of the killer track “Abre Alas (O Carro Destemido)”, keeping to the new found “craze” on current brazilian music of having afrobeat influences. Not that we don’t like it, we love it! And its nothing new to brazilian music anyways…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 – Lucas Santtana – 7″(Mais Um Discos)

The lead single chosen for the UK release of Lucas Santtana’s “Sem Nostalgia” album was “Super Violão Mashup”, a song also included in the “Collector’s Choice” LP  that came out in 2010 on Vinyl Land Records. The instrumental track proved to be a very wise choice by the folks from “Mais um Discos”, getting radio play from the likes of Gilles Peterson and The Huey Show on BBC Radio, good reviews on The Gardian Newspaper and Songlines Magazine and introducing Lucas to a wider audience without having the language barrier…

Finishing his 5th record in 2012 and with more than 10 years under his belt, Lucas Santtana is certanly ready to take on the world stage. For us the great think about this 7″ was the beautful B side “Recado Pra Pio Lobato”, released for the first time on vinyl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 – Nação Zumbi – 7″ (Deck Disc)

“Fome de Tudo” is not even our favorite Nação Zumbi record, and the tracks used for this 7″ are the two songs left out of LP release due to time contrictions on a 12″. Even so, it is still the mighty Nação Zumbi, and a limited edition single from them still makes our list anytime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 -  Bruno Morais – No Estudio A.2 – 7″ (Água Forte/YB Music)

Bruno Morais decided that in 2011 he would put out not 1, not 2, but 3 vinyl records at the same time! If only every good brazilian act was like that… From the 3 releases, the 7″ “No Estudio A.2″ is definitely our favorite, with his own composition “Ela e os Raios” on the A side (accompanied by the likes of Marcelo Callado and Guizado) and the beautiful “Sorriso Dela” on the flip, a Erasmo and Roberto Carlos track, with Bixiga 70 as his backing band! More on them down on the list…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 – Fusile – Coconut Revolution Vol.1 – 7″ (Vinyl Land Records)

“Coconut Revolution Vol. 1″ came out in 2010 as a home-made CD, with its great artwork been done one by one with rubber stamps and recyclable paper. Since then, the band from Belo Horizonte / Minas Gerais has built up a reputation with their blend of ska, punk and samba and incredible live show, and is currently one of the most important acts from the exciting new music scene from “Beagá” (that includes two other bands on Vinyl Land Records – Graveola and The Dead Lover’s Twisted Heart).

This 7″ will join two more Coconut Revolution EPs coming out in 2012 on Vinyl Land Records, forming the band’s first “album”, packed in a limited editon boxset. From the first listen in the studio that we had the pleasure to hear this week, its going to be make your head spin… Look out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 – Anelis Assumpção – Sou Suspeita Estou Sujeita Não sou Santa LP (Scubidu Records)

We didn’t know much about Anelis until this year, except from her guest vocals on other people records, like Tulipa‘s “Efêmera” and Céu’s “Vagarosa” (who also makes a guest appearance here along with Thalma de Freitas, Karina Buhr, Lurdez da Luz and others) and her famous father reference of course.

So we were pleasantly surprised to listen to this LP and know about its vinyl release. Not exactly a dancefloor album, but its top notch production, vinyl mastering, Anelis’ beatiful voice and its dub, trip-hop, MPB and Afro influences, more than caught our ears. Only 300 copies were made by Scubidu Records, most of them been sold on the release gig, so make sure you get yours if you see one laying around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 - Tono – Self-titled LP (Oi Música)

Funny how Tono has released their debut album and have stayed just below the blogsphere bubble and not managed to break through to the other side yet… We haven’t seen them live so far, but from this LP release alone, we became big fans and suporters of they music, playing this record in every chance we got. They have a beatiful and talented singer on vocals, a son of a famous tropicalista hero as the guitarrist, an excellent drummer and lyricist on Rafael Rocha, guest apperances in their gigs from people like Ney Matogrosso, Otto and Gil of course and even had Caetano mentioning great things about them in his O Globo newspaper column. Not to mention their own smart phone app to go along the song “Samba do Blackberry”…

Sure they are “famous” in Rio, where they are from, but we think they deserve more… Since this is just their first record, we are sure there is enought time to get there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 – Lê Almeida – Mono Maçã LP (Transfusão Noise / Midsummer Madness / Vinyl Land Records)

Its hard to keep up with Lê Almeida’s pace of production… Releasing at least one album or Ep a year without compromising an inch on “quality” and inventiveness (not to mention his presence on other bands and his CEO position in Transfusão Noise Records), Mono Maça is his first full lenght album and is for sure another lo-fi indie-pop gem from Baixada Fluminence.

We had already released his REVI EP on a 7″ on 2010 and in order to get Mono Maçã released on vinyl, we teamed up with Transfusão Noise and also seminal label Midsummer Madness. If only we could do the same to the rest of his catalog… It’s definitely worth the effort!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 – BID apresenta: Bambas 2 – Brazil / Jamaica 7″ (Soul City)

After 5 years since releasing his acclaimed debut “solo” album “Bambas e Biritas Vol. 1″, the former “Funk Como Le Gusta” frontman decided to do something totally diferent: a whole album bringing together an all star cast of Jamaican vocalists, producers and bands with some fresh and classic brazilian flavor and artists.

The result is an superb reggae record, with guest apperances from the likes of Luiz Melodia, U-Roy, Anelis Assumpção, Tony Rebel, Siba, The Heptones and Chico Cesar, just to mention a few. While we hope for a full LP release, this 7″ brings us two tasty tracks on white vinyl: Only Jah Love (Raggatu) feat. Sizzla Kalonji and Bi Ribeiro on the A Side and All Faya feat. Jesse Royal and Karina Buhr. Not to be missed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 – Projeto Nave feat Flora Matos – LUZ 7″ (Independente)

This 7″ is another great surprise in 2011. We already knew Projeto Nave from their residency at Sarajevo Club in São Paulo alongside our great friends from Vinil é Arte, and were very happy to hear they were going to put out a 7″. They definitely pulled out all the stops, making their debut on vinyl on a very tasty transparent red 45 with gourgeous artwork by Zansky and featuring the excellent Flora Matos on vocals and Buguinha Dub on production (and also doing his thing on the B Side – Celebrai!).

And this is only the begining, they already have material for 10 more fortyfives at least, which will be released one by one and then compiled to make a very special limited edition boxset. Sounds great to us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 – Karina Buhr – Eu Menti pra Você LP (Vinyl Land Records)

We’ve been chasing Karina Buhr’s managers, band and friends ever since we saw her show at Itaú Cultural in 2010 and fell in love with her lyrics, stage presence, more than tight band and performace. To get this record commited to vinyl wan’st easy, sometimes its so hard to get through to people, since there is no money on releases like this really…

Producers and managers usually are not really worried about this kind of thing and unless the artist sees the vinyl release as a priority amongst the busy tour schedule, interviews, etc, things not always come true.

Fortunately we got through, the record came out and we are very delighted it did, even thougth the timing wans’t the best of all, with her second album just around the corner (a great one too by the way – hopefully it will come out on vinyl also!). Top 5 on Rolling Stone Magazine 2010 and now top 5 again in 2011! 500 copies worldwide, gourgeous gatefold sleeve and soon on heavy weight vinyl… Nice one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 – Bixiga 70 – Self-titled LP (Água Forte)

Apart from having released a truly exceptional record as a debut, Bixiga 70 was certainly the right band for the right time. They’ve been around for a while now, putting on amazing shows around São Paulo and more specifically in the “Bixiga” neighbourhood, where they are one of the cournerstones of the cultural revitalization movement in progress in the area and also where the Traquitana studio is located, where the band was formed and the album was recorded.

Clearly influenced in name and sound by Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 band, this lazy reference is expected to be pointed at the first listen. But search deeper and youll see bigger things, like the malinké of Famadou Konate, Mestre Cupijo’s Siriá and the guitarrada from Belém do Pará, the afoxé from Bahia and afrosambas of Baden. Even Chico Science and blaxsploitation / kung fu soundtracks are brought to the table… Not forgetting more “current” and close references like Letieres Leite and the Orquestra Rumpilez.

Just as the whole “afrobeat influence craze” came alive in current brazilian music, they where here, with the perfect record to go along with it. But don’t be discouraged by this, this is truly an amazing record, which will go down in brazilian music history. Produced by Victor Rice (who also did extraordinary live Dub mixes for a few tracks), with artwork from the master MZK. Also limited release of 500 copies, so get yours before they start selling on ebay for £100 (not to mention their 7″ release of “Tema de Malaika”).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 – Tulipa Ruiz – Efemera LP (Vinyl Land Records)

Just as we had a hard time getting to Karina Burh’s people, this is also true for Tulipa.

Released independently in the begining of 2010 (and maybe a little bit earlier than that on handmade CDrs!), this underdog album took the whole year to pick-up speed, and when it did, it “exploded” thanks to the sold out gigs, great reviews, Tulipa’s one of a kind charisma and flat-out good songs. It finished the year as Best Album and Song in Rolling Stone Magazine and on many other lists and awards.

We tought this was the end! This sharming album would remain, as so many other in brazlian music, with just an independent CD release in Brasil and another in Europe by french label Totolo Records… But after a few things fell into place, and thanks to her guitarrist brother and music producer for the album Gustavo Ruiz, we got the word and rushed to get it done in 2011.

Once again we were very proud to get this jewel comited to vinyl. Same as all the others, just 500 copies worldwide, with gatefold sleeve and soon on heavy weight vinyl also for all the vinyl junkies out there…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 – Criolo – Nó na Orelha LP (Independente/Matilha Cultural)

What more can be said about Criolo on 2011?

The paulistano rapper is on top of every list, magazine cover, newspaper article, bar conversation… Even Chico Buarque gave props to the guy! We didn’t want to put him on top of our list also, just to look cooler! But we are not like that, this it THE album of 2011 and it deserves to be on top of our list for sure, specially when we are talking about brazilian vinyl releases only.

It sold out the first pressing of 1000 copies very quickly, plus 300 copies of their 12″, and are already selling their second press of another 1000. This may sound as nothing to some international readers and if you think about Brazil’s sheer size, it sounds even smaller… But this is the state we are at the moment, 1500 copies of vinyl is a huge achievement and only Criolo could’ve done it in 2011.

The album is a true master piece that came out with perfect timing. And for those who know him from his 20+ years in the hip hop scene as Criolo Doido, also know that this is not an overnight thing. Its a result of very hard work and perseverance, which is clear on his lyrics.

Produced superbly by Instituto’s Ganjaman with Marcelo Cabral (with vinyl mastering and candy perfect pressing on a gatefold by GZ), the album goes straight to the jugular of the “typical” brazilian vinyl junkie that is into contemporary music, specially djs. But it’s not a rap album per se, so it can crossover to a wider audience. And so it did…

It opens with the killer afrofunk of Bogotá, it has the ghetto story-telling of Subirusdoistiozin (with an epic music video to go along with it), the “ballad” Não existe amor em SP, the “brega” (another music genre in vogue nowardays) Freguês da Meia Noite, the straigh up MPC-based hip-hop of Grajauex, the “reggae” Samba Sambei, the “samba” of Linha de Frente and much more…

An instant classic, from start to finish! Make no mistake, if you don’t have this by know, be sure to get it. Its easy now (but not cheap), but soon they will all be gone and you don’t what to be left at the mercy of “Mercado Livre” to get yours, do you?

 

So this is it, Top 15 records of 2011 by your friends from Vinyl Land Records.

If you are still reading this, I assume you are a vinyl junky too! Some of you probably have all this records already… If not, have a listen to the stuff you don’t have yet, Im sure there will be something to get you going.

For all our releases, go to our webshop to get your fix! If you are in Brazil, and in Belo Horizonte this weekend as it happens, come party with us on the friday 13th at the Vinyl Land clubnight @ Studio Bar. Our vinyl goodies stall will be there also.

For the releases from other labels and friends you saw on the list, contact us on Vinyl Land Distribution and we’ll might be able to sort you out!

 

All the best in 2012,

Luiz Valente