Cerca:glaring

Glaring's release is a glorious feast of emotions. A journey into the deep, a fast rise above the sky, then back down again into the gloom. It's incredible how many places she can guide you to. A mesmerizing voyage through life, death, and everything in between. See the world through her eyes, let her machines obliterate you.

Strictly dancefloor biz on Terrazzo number five as Kalani, Beltrac, Macé and Iro Aka jump up and down and move it all around with a glaring selection of 303-laced tech riddims.

Coming as transparent vinyl in a screenprinted limited edition of 200 pieces. This release contains 7 tracks by grmmsk from helsinki / finland. stretched in time haunted voices from the caribbian diaspora tumbling through misty and wet streets of baltic shores. drones of wire spring reverbs meet halftimed doom dub. beside unreleased tracks there are some versions of tracks released before on grmmsk own imprint totes format on cassette. Pressed on transparent vinyl in a hand printed translucent cover, it conceptualizes the album's title 'ONE WORLD - nowhere to hide'. When the idea of UNITY has failed with the result of a world that is increasingly ruled by a hegemony of fear and control, escape into something J.G. Ballard has been calling INNER SPACE, seems imminent. But what happens there Here's what: DOOMDUB! Dystopian versions of a sound, that has been associated with glaring sunshine of the caribbean before, is now dragged through the dirty snow flanking the ring-highway circling hellsinki.

Magyar Posse’s third album Random Avenger out on vinyl for the first time ever in July via Svart Records Looking back, it was the golden age of Magyar Posse. The album Kings of Time had received a tremendous response from both critics and music lovers. The band was touring intensely in Finland and abroad. By now, the band was a well-oiled machine, ready to capture the successor to their celebrated second album. The band decided to follow a different path compared to the creation of Kings of Time: they would record their third album alongside the well-known, slightly eccentric engineer and producer Jani Viitanen. The recognizable Magyar Posse style was present in the pieces of Random Avenger, but something was slightly different. The new music was more rhythm-based, more riff-based and in places more joyous than the dynamic minor key avalanche of Kings of Time. Consciously or unconsciously, the band members saw that they had travelled the Slavic melancholy road as far as possible with the previous album. The success of Kings of Time felt like a positive push, not an extra pressure on their shoulders. It was only natural to strike again while the iron was hot. Many of the pieces had been already developed by the time Kings of Time was released, which eased the production of Random Avenger. After the meticulous but relatively swift mixing and mastering process, the band members were satisfied with the result. The only component that made some of them blush was the cover art – graphic designer Tom Backström had glaringly used photos of empty stages in forgotten community centres and the like. The beauty or the ugliness is once again in the eye of the beholder. Right after its release, Random Avenger got a very positive response, but not as overwhelming as Kings of Time – which was to be expected, as the previous Magyar Posse album had probably been the most universally praised Finnish album of the whole decade. Mikko Elo, musician / journalist, Pori, Finland, March 1st 2026

Magyar Posse’s third album Random Avenger out on vinyl for the first time ever in July via Svart Records Looking back, it was the golden age of Magyar Posse. The album Kings of Time had received a tremendous response from both critics and music lovers. The band was touring intensely in Finland and abroad. By now, the band was a well-oiled machine, ready to capture the successor to their celebrated second album. The band decided to follow a different path compared to the creation of Kings of Time: they would record their third album alongside the well-known, slightly eccentric engineer and producer Jani Viitanen. The recognizable Magyar Posse style was present in the pieces of Random Avenger, but something was slightly different. The new music was more rhythm-based, more riff-based and in places more joyous than the dynamic minor key avalanche of Kings of Time. Consciously or unconsciously, the band members saw that they had travelled the Slavic melancholy road as far as possible with the previous album. The success of Kings of Time felt like a positive push, not an extra pressure on their shoulders. It was only natural to strike again while the iron was hot. Many of the pieces had been already developed by the time Kings of Time was released, which eased the production of Random Avenger. After the meticulous but relatively swift mixing and mastering process, the band members were satisfied with the result. The only component that made some of them blush was the cover art – graphic designer Tom Backström had glaringly used photos of empty stages in forgotten community centres and the like. The beauty or the ugliness is once again in the eye of the beholder. Right after its release, Random Avenger got a very positive response, but not as overwhelming as Kings of Time – which was to be expected, as the previous Magyar Posse album had probably been the most universally praised Finnish album of the whole decade. Mikko Elo, musician / journalist, Pori, Finland, March 1st 2026

Every so often an album of such deceptive genius, of such aesthetic clarity, comes across our desk and transfixes us. Thought Leadership's III Of Pentacles is one such work of art. It's an instant classic and glides into the pantheon of timeless guitar-soul totems. Originally out on cassette only, we present the first ever vinyl issue. It's a hideously limited pressing of 300 for the world, so don't sleep on this.

Thought Leadership has already garnered big support from such tastemakers as Ruf Dug, Jason Boardman, Nathan Gregory Wilkins, J Walk, Evan Woodward, Justin Robertson and Heavenly's Jeff Barrett. The first time we heard III Of Pentacles, we nearly wept at the thought that something so beautiful, so bursting with real hope, could even exist in this brutal world. To quote the Quietus, "imagine if Stockport was situated somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway rather than the M60, and you’ll have some idea of the coordinates to the post-industrial, sunburnt dream space opened up here."

So, who is Thought Leadership? What do we know about them? They reside in Stockport and are obsessed with ethereal guitar records. That’s about it. That and these X ideas shared with you, the listener.

Captured on a multitrack recorder in a terraced house in Stockport, this is as DIY as it gets. Glaringly obvious is a love for classic Factory and early 4AD. Perhaps it is the proximity to the River Mersey where the ideas arrived, and there being but three miles between where this and the Durutti Column’s classic “LC” was recorded, as the two operate across a familiar aural plain. Be it geographic or otherwise, limited by a true economy of means, namely guitar, pedals and drum machine, the fruit borne from these humble tools has been indelibly shaped by the perma-gloom that hangs low over the Manchester and Stockport environs.

Ushered in on 808 kicks, “I” opens the record as a beautiful Sketch for Stockport; a chiming maj7 chord dripping in chorus and delay sets us on our way. The Vini Reilly comparisons are unavoidable. “II” is all John McGeoch, with its trippy goth-psyche arpeggiated pattern cascading across the stereo image. Do those drums swing? But goths don’t swing?! They do here. We’re treated to a bit of crunch on the lead guitar part and some really lush reverb. We even step forth into shoegaze territory, albeit briefly, for the middle eight. “III”, a firm Be With favourite, continues the dreamy psyche leanings of the previous track, with an even bigger melody this time. We’re hearing The Teardrop Explodes on quaaludes here. A proto-dream pop cut soaked in melancholy. But watch out! The coda finds Johnny Marr has gotten into the ‘ludes and gatecrashed the final bars with some incredibly ignorant B minor pentatonic noodling.

“IV” ditches the drum machine for the first in a suite of three beatless electric guitar duets. The first of these semi-improvised rubato ideas is a striking departure from the earlier playful pieces, coming over emo and moody. Greyscale sulking for Stratocaster. Sign us up. “V” contains some really lyrical phrasing; a gorgeous conversation between two guitars. Real Stopfordian Primitive; meditative, crude, rain-soaked. We cycle through the same feels, then end on an alluring chord that breaks the pattern. Sometimes thoughts are like this. “VI” creeps in all plaintive, then a huge reverberating descending guitar line comes tumbling in like something off those classic Dif Juz 12”s. There’s some Maurice Deebank in there too, for sure, and the coda nods to early Meat Puppets.

“VII” rounds out the A Side, and succinctly presents a summary of all ideas explored thus far on our journey. The drum machine is back, this time with some wispy delay, before both guitars enter together playing interlocking lines. As we start, we end, with the delayed 808 guiding us out.

Opening Side B, “VIII” sees us embark on the other side of our journey as we slow down and space out. The drum machine is here, but the guitars are different now. Think Sensations Fix or Göttsching at his most peeled out. Drones, ambient drifts of broken chords and distorted lead lines all swirl round the mix. Side B is one for headphones for sure. “IX” is almost too exquisite for words. A New Age Mixolydian voyage through the cosmos. If you’re unmoved by the end you’ve probably got no pulse. We were left blunted ineffable by this one, such is the smudged elegance radiating from this idea. All hail the Thought Leader.

“X” is a full circle moment, and a fitting end. If you’ve not already elsewhere across the platter, you will be getting heavy Robin Guthrie vibes from this piece. Like the rest of Side B, this improvised jam sticks within a framework of related chords but the celestial energies channelled might invite us to wander “outside”, especially when the Tubescreamer is engaged.

RIYL Durutti Coulmn, Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz, Sensations Fix, Spike and adjacent guitar musicks – but, ultimately, this is just its own thing; such is the strength of ideas presented. "It’s good music to chill out to." (??)

Be With is honoured to present the first ever vinyl release of III Of Pentacles, carefully remastered by Be With's engineer Simon Francisco to ensure it sounds better than ever after its initial tape release. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry, in Holland. The original tape cover artwork, so crucial to Thought Leadership's striking visual aesthetic, has been rejigged for vinyl issue here at Be With. Its stark presentation befits the music contained within. They inform us that they shuffled their tarot deck to ask what the album should be called and the card you see on the cover popped out. The III Of Pentacles tarot card represents teamwork, shared vision and the ability to achieve goals through collaboration. We like to think Thought Leadership and Be With have nailed this one.

It is the year 1995 and it’s summer, the second extremely hot summer after 1994, and the asphalt on Gladbacher Straße in Cologne is glowing. Ravers in much too wide and much too colorful clothes doze off in the glaring midday heat. These are the last days of the legendary Delirium record store, a socio-cultural biotope that would later become KOMPAKT. In June 1995, the store moved deeper into the Belgian Quarter, to Brabanter Straße 42 near Friesenplatz.

Wolfgang Voigt liked to wear too-big sunglasses even back then, just as he already had the master plan for the next few years, the new store, the renaming to KOMPAKT, and the upcoming takeover of the musical world order by minimal techno in his head. On less sunny days, the musician Wolfgang Voigt was tinkering with his very own label Profan, a new sound, new pseudonyms and masquerades. His alter ego Mike Ink had grown tired, another self, one of many, was now pushing forward to become the next torch in the storm.

By early 1995, the first Grungerman EP, "Hout," had been released on Profan. A nucleus of ambient loops that already announced the sonic aesthetics of GAS, stoic rhythmic structures that would shape the coming decade of minimal house and techno, and an all-encompassing gloom and heaviness that didn't want to fit at all with the gaudy reality of the nineties between Loveparade, Mayday and VIVA House TV. This probably most hedonistic decade of the 20th century had celebrated, besides techno, above all a rough guitar music called Grunge, coined and immortalized by a depressive, hyperactive and narcoleptic young man with matted blond hair who had taken his own life a year before. In no other track has Wolfgang Voigt packed these inner and outer contradictions of his art as well as of the mid-nineties more ingeniously than in "In Tyrannis". From wall to wall there are four steps.

"Klang" by Wolfgang Voigt originally comes from the first and only GAS EP on Profan, "Modern", from the spring of 1995 and is one of the most beautiful exhibits of Voigt's sound of those years, which relentlessly runs its course somewhere between glistening sunrises on Ecstasy and bad drugs in the dark Liquid Sky Cologne. With "Hocker DJ 1" and "Hocker DJ 2" there are two more musical references to this myth-enshrouded place in Kyffhäuserstraße, where for a few years the entire, so-called Sound Of Cologne had literally settled down.


Wir schreiben das Jahr 1995. Es ist Sommer, der zweite extrem heiße Sommer nach 1994, und der Asphalt auf der Gladbacher Straße in Köln glüht. Raver in viel zu weiten und viel zu bunten Klamotten dösen ihren Rausch aus in der grellen Mittagshitze. Es sind die letzten Tage des legendären Delirium Plattenladens, eines soziokulturellen Biotops, aus dem später die Firma Kompakt hervorgehen sollte. Im Juni 1995 erfolgte der Umzug tiefer hinein ins Belgische Viertel, in die Brabanter Straße 42 in der Nähe des Friesenplatz.

Wolfgang Voigt trug schon damals gerne zu große Sonnenbrillen, so wie er bereits den Masterplan für die nächsten Jahre, den neuen Laden, die Umbenennung in KOMPAKT sowie die anstehende Übernahme der musikalischen Weltordnung durch Minimal Techno im Kopf hatte. An weniger sonnigen Tagen tüftelte der Musiker Wolfgang Voigt an seinem ureigenen Label Profan, an einem neuen Sound, neuen Pseudonymen und Maskeraden. Sein Alter Ego Mike Ink war müde geworden, ein anderes Ich, eines von vielen, drängte nun nach vorne, um die nächste Fackel im Sturm zu werden.

Anfang 1995 war die erste Grungerman EP “Hout” auf Profan erschienen. Ein Nukleus aus ambienten Loops, die bereits die klangliche Ästhetik von GAS ankündigten, stoischen rhythmischen Strukturen, die das kommende Jahrzehnt Minimal House und Techno prägen sollten, sowie einer allumfassenden Düsternis und Schwere, die so gar nicht zur knallbunten Realität der Neunziger Jahre zwischen Loveparade, Mayday und VIVA House TV passen wollte. Dieses wohl hedonistischste Jahrzehnt des 20. Jahrhunderts hatte neben Techno vor allem eine raue Gitarrenmusik namens Grunge gefeiert, geprägt und unsterblich gemacht von einem depressiven, hyperaktiven und an Narkolepsie leidenden jungen Mann mit verfilzten blonden Haaren, der sich ein Jahr zuvor das Leben genommen hatte. In keinem anderen Track hat Wolfgang Voigt diese inneren und äußeren Widersprüche seiner Kunst wie auch dieser Zeit Mitte der Neunziger genialistischer verpackt als in “In Tyrannis”. Von Wand zu Wand sind es vier Schritte.

“Klang” von Wolfgang Voigt stammt ursprünglich von der ersten und einzigen GAS EP auf Profan, “Modern”, aus dem Frühling 1995 und ist eines der schönsten Exponate des Voigtschen Sounds dieser Jahre; ein Track, der irgendwo zwischen gleisenden Sonnenaufgängen auf Ecstasy und schlechten Drogen im dunklen Liquid Sky Cologne unerbittlich seine Bahnen zieht. Mit “Hocker DJ 1” und “Hocker DJ 2” finden sich zwei weitere musikalische Referenzen an diesen mythenumrankten Ort in der Kyffhäuserstraße, an dem sich für einige Jahre der gesamte sogenannte Sound Of Cologne im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes niedergelassen hatte.

2024 Repress

Finders Keepers invite you to witness the incredible first ever Buchla synthesiser concerts/demonstrations providing a distinctive feminine alternative to The Silver Apples Of The Moon if they had ever been presented in phonographic form. This is history in the remaking.

This spring Finders Keepers Records are proud to release an archival project that not only redefines musical history but boasts genuine claim to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental, groundbreaking and esoteric, while questioning social politics and the evolution of music technology as we've come to understand it. To describe this records as a game-changer is an understatement. This record represents a musical revolution, a scientific benchmark and a trophy in the cabinet of counter culture creativity. This record is a triumphant yardstick in the synthesiser space race and the untold story of the first woman on the proverbial moon. While pondering the early accolades of this record it's daunting to learn that this record was in fact not a record at all... It was a manifesto and a gateway to a new world, that somehow never quite opened. If the unfamiliar, modernistic, melodic, pulses, tones and harmonics found on this 1975 live presentation/grant application/educational demonstration had been placed in a phonographic context alongside the promoted work of Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos or Tomita then the name Suzanne Ciani and her influence would have already radically changed the shape, sound and gender of our record collections. Hopefully there is still chance.

In short, Suzanne was a self-imposed twenty-year-old employee of the Buchla modular synthesiser company, San Francisco's neck and neck contender to New York's Moog. Buchla was run by a community of festival freaks and academic acid eaters whose roots in new age lifestyles and the reinvention of art and music replaced the business acumen enjoyed by its likeminded East Coasters. In the eyes of the consumer the creative refusal to adopt rudimentary facets like a piano keyboard controller rendered the Buchla synthesiser the more obscure stubborn sister of the synth marathon, steering these incredible units away from the mainstream into the homes and studios of free music aficionados, art house composers and die-hard revolutionaries. Championed and semi-showcased by composer Morton Subotnick on his albums The Bull and Silver Apples Of The Moon, Buchla's versatility began to open the minds of a new generation, but the high-end design features and no-compromise modus operandi was often confused with incompatibility and, in the pulsating shadow of Moog's marketing, the revolution would not be televised nor patronised. Suzanne Ciani, as one of the very few female composers on the frontline (and also providing the back line) did not lose faith.

These concerts' are the epitome of rare music technology historic documents, performed by a real musician whose skills and academic education in classical composition already outweighed her male synthesiser contemporaries of twice her age. At the very start of her fragile career these recordings are nothing short of sacrificial ode to her mentor and machine, sonic pickets of the revolution and love letters to an absolutely genuine vision of and 'alternative' musical future. In denouncing her own precocious polymathmatic past in a bid to persuade the world to sing from a new hymn sheet, Suzanne Ciani created a bi-product of never before heard music that would render the pigeon holes ambient' and futuristic' utterly inadequate. Providing nothing short of an entirely different feminine take on the experimental records' of Morton Subotnick and proving to a small, judgmental audience and jury the true versatility of one of the most radical and idiosyncratic musical instruments of the 20th century. These recordings have not been heard since then.

The importance of these genuinely lost pieces of electronic musics puzzle almost eclipses the glaring detail of Suzanne's gender as a distinct minority in an almost exclusively male dominated, faceless, coldly scientific landscape. Those familiar with Suzanne's work, a vast vault of previously unpublished non-records', will already know how the creative politics in her art of being' simultaneously reshaped the worlds of synth design, advertising and film composition before anyone had even dropped a stylus in her groove. Needless to say this record, finally commanding the archival format of choice, courtesy of the Ciani and Finders Keepers longstanding unison, was not the last first' with which this hugely important composer would gift society, and the future of a wide range of exciting evolving creative disciplines.

You have found a holy grail of electronic music and a female musical pioneer who was too proactive to take the trophies. With the light of Buchla and Ciani's initial flame Finders Keepers continues to take a torch through the vaults of this lesser-celebrated music legacy shining a beam on these non-records' that evaded the limelight for almost half a century. You can't write history when you are too busy making it. With fresh ink in the bottomless well, let's start at the beginning. Again. You, are invited!

Lime green (yellowish?) vinyl LP Finnish noise rock duo NYOS deliver a clairvoyant Celebration of the present, written at a time when that present was shimmering just like the feathers of the cover art courtesy of animal photographer Zac Herr. Combining the danceable grooves of Battles with Sonic Youth - infused noise bursts and the yearning electric melodies of And So I Watch You From Afar, Celebration is a defiantly joyful, loud, and festive affair. A promising cure for the drudgery of the times we live in. Recorded by Brooke in his own Tonehaven Recording Studio, Celebration is the latest testament to the undeniable synergy these musicians have built over the past seven years. With the material largely written before the advent of corona, Celebration is a reflection of life before lockdown, filled to the brim with infectious grooves and glaring melodies. "We tried for something upbeat this time to contrast the times," explains Tom Brooke about the recording process, which in turn did take place during pandemic life. "We always love it when people can move to our music, so a big focus for the record was to embrace the dance vibe and go for it." This collection of eight colourful, jarring tracks is rife with small nods to dance music throughout the world. Take a song like "Light" with its complex syncopated drum pattern that recalls the Amen Break so typical for drum and bass music, but listen closely and the song reveals an off-beat skank that flips over into experimental reggae territory. Similarly, a track like "Tucano" recalls the experimental IDM of Bristol-based producer Vessel, while "Gold Vulcan" offsets a gnarly gyrating guitar riff with Latin- American and oriental melodies. The attention to detail on Celebration is phenomenal. The album contains some of the band's most layered compositions to date, but it is also the first NYOS record to feature improvised live recordings, the aptly named "First Take" as well as the celestial "Cloudberry". These musical sketches show two musicians at the apex of their connectedness. Every time that one of them appears to be taking a somewhat questionable turn, you'll find yourself carefully and respectfully readjusting your own interpretation of the song's intention - and what NYOS are all about.

This time two years ago, Pupil Slicer were preparing for the release of their debut album, Mirrors, with zero expectations of where it could take them. The breakneck speed with which Pupil Slicer were not only accepted but celebrated by the metal scene - both at home and abroad - took the band by surprise. As 2023 starts to unfold, it is a more mature, more considered version of Pupil Slicer that stands before us brandishing their sophomore album: Blossom. Blossom is a hard science fiction/cosmic horror concept album with central themes of abject despair, reincarnation and a fascination of hell. An intense month in the studio with producer Lewis Johns has led to a cohesive and confident sounding album that embraces ethereal singing, electronic breakdowns, and bold experimentation - without ever losing sight of their core tenets. Drawing from influences as diverse as Nine Inch Nails, Deafheaven, Radiohead, and Deftones, Pupil Slicer have moulded an album that is effervescent with passion but doesn’t shy away from a good hook and a catchy chorus. Through darkness and despair, there is always - at the very least - a glimmer of light in all that they do. Blossom is an album that benefits from being digested as a whole, but within this body of work there are gems that stand out, demonstrating that the future is extremely bright for Pupil Slicer. They’re only just getting started.

On their Dualtone Records debut 'Sticking With It', Seattle-based sevenpiece The Dip deliver the kind of unbridled soul/R&B that hits on every
emotional level, inciting everything from raw catharsis to heavy-hearted
reckoning to wildly exuberant joy
In a major breakthrough for the band, the self-produced album fully channels the
vitality of the freewheeling live show that's earned them an ardent following over
the last decade, expertly matching their sophisticated musicianship with a
fantastically loose energy. When met with The Dip's lyrical reflection on matters
both timely (the crush of late capitalism, the glaring need for true community)
and undeniably timeless (the vast complexities of love and loss), the resulting
body of work captures the mood of the current moment while offering immediate
escape into a more elevated state of mind.

Magda Drozd is deeply concerned with listening in her artistic practice. Her second album, 18 Floors, Drozd focused on the apartment building she called home for several years, compiling a corpus of field recordings in and of the building, which she approached as a living organism rather than static material. The result challenges current assumptions about living together in urban settings. The field recordings were woven into eleven speculative tracks consisting of sounds including violins, guitars, synthesizers, drum machines, and Drozd’s voice. The music moves between sound art, ambient, indie rock, and R&B.
18 Floors presciently emphasizes the importance of the home, which has become glaringly obvious in the age of Corona. Her foresight constitutes her avant-gardism as much as her preference for documenting what might be over what actually is. The result is an album that creates a space for what is transient, uncertain, and unstable. And it creates a space for opportunities, which we need now more than ever.

At the heart of Christian Stadsgaard's solo project Vanity Productions is a voracious emotive charge that's forever tempered by an austere and self-disciplined approach to composition. His new album for Posh Isolation, the label and project that he authors with Loke Rahbek, is the most thoroughgoing realisation of the tendencies and processes captured in the guise of Vanity Productions to date. Entitled 'But All Spiked,' the album presents a suite of five pieces that veer surely yet subtly through a complimentary range of acousmatic environments. Of his recent works its perhaps 'Only The Stars Come Out At Night' that most resembles a preliminary route in to the arena of his new album. Sometimes overtly, though often with a cryptic veneer, he modulates a central refrain across each piece that comes to engulf the stereo field with different intentions. Citing the influence of American minimalist composers, Stadsgaard has refigured some of the compositional practices towards his particular context and oeuvre. A medley of strings and electronics waver in and out of place on the opening piece, 'White Ribbons On The Ceiling,' introducing the careful preparation and treatment of sound as a means of articulating a profound though compassionate melancholy. The album is drenched in sorrow and seeks its expression with great economy. And it's around this detail that there's perhaps some slight indication of the album's turbulent personal context and the major life changes that underpin it. Stadsgaard's restraint proposes a wealth of wistful invocations. This control, once combined with the subdued presence of his penchant for glaring noise, is what organises 'But All Spiked' into the meditative and dynamic work that it is.

Caetano Veloso's seminal first '68 Tropicalia monster in MONO, must have or what...

First Authorized North American Vinyl Issue of Caetano Veloso Courtesy of Third Man Records!

IN VERY RARE MONO VERSION

Caetano Veloso's self-titled debut solo album is one of the most important and influential Brazilian (and, dare we say, South American) albums of all time. With the release of this seminal album, Veloso would become the leading voice of Tropicália. The songs on this album immediately connected with people. "Alegria, Algeria" was his breakout hit that gained traction as a hymn for liberty advocates, juxtaposing images of Coca Cola, guerrilla groups, bombs and Brigitte Bardot as part of the everyday experience. The album's first song "Tropicália" was an anthem for the whole movement; it's a fragmented allegory, a structure borrowed from friends in the concrete poetry scene, touching on divergent cultural symbols, events, allusions and idioms, nimbly representing and critiquing the many contradictions in the new Brazilian dictatorship.

"Superbacana" (translated as "Supergroovy") follows a hyperbolic superhero's use of technology to fight a gang of cowboys led by the money-hungry Uncle Scrooge, serving as allusions to American imperialism and greed felt in their country, all in the rapid-fire structure of a comic book. The subtext in all these songs, which the dictatorship would not immediately catch, were that these repressed but glaring contradictions, not the bountiful sunny paradise that the military regime was pushing, were the true national identity. Unfortunately, these cleverly veiled jabs in Veloso and his contemporaries' bodies of work gained greater and greater exposure as the movement became more and more popular, leading to the arrest, imprisonment and forced exile of Veloso and many of his cohort. Despite these difficulties, the Tropicalists continued creating in exile, strongly influencing artists both at home and abroad.

This is the first authorized North American vinyl issue of Caetano Veloso. Whether you're a longtime fan or first-time listener, Third Man Records could not be more proud to spread the compelling story of this album, this artist and the Tropicália movement.

Three cover versions glaring with love and respect to Justin Vernon, Prince Rogers Nelson, and Terence Trent Howard.