Índia

Neither the infamous cover of this 1973 masterpiece (banned by Brazil's military government) nor the baroque pop contained within fit very comfortably within the oft-cosy confines of world music. Thank God for Gal Costa! Chances are you’ve heard the compiled-to-death ‘Relance’, a fantastically off-kilter wobble of a song conceived by Caetano Veloso and refracted through the spasmodic jerks of forró player Dominguinhos’ accordion. Chances are you’ve also heard ‘Pontos de Luz’, an iconic piece of Brazilian jazz-fusion, courtesy of Jards Macalé and the late, great poet Waly Salomão. You most likely won’t have heard the epic title-track, a sybaritic orchestral flourish that might be announcing a stage musical, which has more in common with Joni Mitchell circa Don Juan's Reckless Daughter than much contemporary Brazilian music. ‘Milho Verde’ is an ecstatically reworked Portuguese folk song (originally excavated by Zeca Afonso) with a blurred fervour that is equal parts secular and spiritual, echoing the musical syncretisms of Brazil's Minas Gerais region. Costa sings like an avenging angel throughout, and the likes of ‘Presente Cotidiano’ and ‘Da Maior Importãncia’ are among the most subtle and sophisticated pieces in her oeuvre. Add a credits list that reads like a tropicália/MPB hall of fame and you have an essential, uncategorisable document of early 70s Brazil.