Lula Côrtes / Zé Ramalho - Paêbirú (1975)

Of all the 1970s Brazilian albums I've heard so far, this double concept album collaboration between Lula Côrtes & Zé Ramalho is one of the most experimental and psychedelic.  Containing numerous moments that could almost be Amon Düül, Agitation Free, Between or a less refined Popol Vuh, it's like Brazilian krautrock.  Needless to say, Paêbirú has become a cult classic, both as a great acid-folk brain-melter, and as a once-ultra-rare obscurity: before various reissues brought it back into availability, most of the small original pressing was lost in a warehouse accident.  Fittingly for the 'four elements' concept, this was either by fire or flood, depending on which story is correct.

So as above, to structure their double-LP about Brazilian mythology, Côrtes & Ramalho titled the four album sides elementally: Earth, Air, Fire & Water, or in Portuguese: Terra, Ar, Fogo, Água.  Vocals are minimal and often basic chants, so the language barrier is a non-issue in getting immersed in the incredible sound.  The Terra side starts as it means to go on, with acoustic guitars, flute and tribal percussion.  After a minute of this comes the first of many moments of wow, that bassline is incredible - seriously, crank the bass up for this whole album as high as you can.  After a short track of incredible percussion and acid-drenched fuzz guitar, the Terra side ends on a calm flute, piano and acoustic guitar piece.

Ar begins in much the same territory, against a backdrop of melodic acoustic guitar scales, before this album side delves into darker, more ritualistic jams with a sax adding a jazzier element.  The brief Fogo side has appropriately firey guitars and sitar, skull-splitting garage-psych Farfisa and scorching grooves.  For the final stretch, Água commences by invoking the sea-goddess Iemanja (see also here), then takes in more guitar duelling and great percussion, two lovely short tracks evocative of Jorma Kaukonen/Hot Tuna, and one more great acoustic/percussion jam.  Hugely recommended masterpiece.

Original 2-LP gatefold with Ramalho (L) and Côrtes (R)

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