About

Incredibly unique concept album from the one and only, Tom Zé. As featured in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Brazilian Albums of all-time list (2007). 

One of Ze’s finest albums in our opinion, originally released by Continental Brazil in 1976 – a tough one to find at a good price in its original form now.

‘Estudando do Samba’ (or ‘Studying The Samba’) is a post-Tropicalia studio experimentation laiden with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects & samples that deconstructs the ‘samba’ form. Recorded during what was arguably his most creative period.

David Byrne found the record in Rio in the late 90’s and included several songs on his Tom Ze collection for Luaka Bop a few years later. At that time Tom was not recording or touring much; playing low-key shows in Sao Paulo and contemplating a move back to Irará to work at a service station owned by one of his cousins. Byrne’s project helped to reignite his career and he hasn’t looked back since. — (via Label)

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One of the all-time great Brazilian Tropicalia albums, Estudando do Samba (or "Studying The Samba") sits in that magical zone of wildly creative music with experimental qualities that somehow manages to retain pop accessibility. Never one to sit still, Tom Zé attempted to deconstruct traditional samba forms here with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects, and samples. Even better, the simple, but unusual cover with barbed wire critiquing the military dictatorship in Brazil led to the music being found by David Byrne and the revitalization of Zé’s music career. — (via In Sheep's Clothing Hi-Fi)

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You will find a lot written of Tom Zé, calling him everything from a ‘cultural cannibal’ to a ‘revolutionary anarchist,’ or ‘mad scientist’ to ‘rebel master.’ Even ‘Brazilian madman’! Zé's contemporaries, artists such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, achieved great commercial and critical success in the 70s and 80s while Zé was a figure who was largely left over on the sidelines. Wherever you stand on his placing in Brazil's musical and social pantheon, one cannot deny the astonishing boldness of Estudando o Samba, Zé's 1976 album here reissued by Mr Bongo.

The influence of tropicália on this album is unmistakable but the key standout feature is the imbuement of Zé's spirit. He was known for experimenting, palpably felt on ‘Toc’ – which features the sound of a blender – and his unorthodox approach to the traditional forms of MPB. The hauntingly beautiful ‘A Felicidade’ is a reminder of Zé's talents. It uses Brazilian popular music to tell a story thoroughly juxtaposed, in style and substance, against the stereotypical ‘carnival paradise’ image most had come to expect.

There is so much to be enjoyed on this album. As the title suggests, this is a 12-track study of samba, featuring everything from the sparse, groove laden trio of a samba de roda (dance circle) to the exquisite deployment of dread-inducing, foreboding samples of cries and screams. Estudando o Samba is a rare breed, simultaneously of, and ahead of its time. Learning seldom sounds this good. — (via Songlines)

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- Reissue. Comes with a four page insert with lyrics and liner notes

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Label: Mr Bongo
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Reissued: 2019 / Originally Released: 1976
Genre: Latin
Style: Samba, Avantgarde, Experimental, MPB

File under: Latin-Influenced
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