A Viagem Das Horas

This is a reissue of music from a reclusive Brazilian musician who was long assumed dead or ‘disappeared’ by the military junta in the 70s. He had previously played with the likes of Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti and Baden Powell among others, many of whom went on to become some of Brazil’s most prolific and renowned players. Despite rumours of his death, Mauro was living a quiet life on the outskirts of Rio, and like many other musicians of his era, his songs are an emotive reaction to the times – with inflections of Candomblé and samba, paying tribute to repressed aspects of Brazilian culture, music created in the struggle for liberty.

Almost cinematic string and horn orchestration maintains a dark tone that spans the entire album. This is well represented in the title-track, which includes vocals from fellow songwriter Ana Maria Bahiana. It is reminiscent of the compositions of Chico Buarque, whose books and music also concern the dictatorship era, and often have a similar tick-tocking, ‘impending-doom’ percussion arrangement to the one heard here. The album has an edge resulting from the inclusion of psychedelic folk that one might call ‘post-tropical’ retrospectively, with previously unreleased tracks coming to light for the first time. Fans of the great Brazilian songwriters, be it bossa nova, MPB or samba de raiz, will find this album an interesting diversion.