Os Mutantes

It's hard to think of a better showcase for alternative Brazilian music than this. Os Mutantes, tied to the Tropicalia movement that revolutionised Brazil in the 1960s, are perhaps, along with Tom Zé, the only artists from that era that have managed to maintain the spirit of experimentation and of regurgatating pop music, as well, even better, fresher pop than it was in the first place. Tom Zé was originally on the bill for this evening but never made it out of Brazil, and while that was a huge loss, it did open the door for Porcas Borboletas to support. A young band from Minas Gerais in Brazil they mix pop and post-punk with Brazilian percussion and an Andy Kaufman-esque sense of humour. With their clipped rhythms and oft-kilter showmanship it would be really no surprise to see them on the British indie/post-punk scene playing with bands like Zun Zun Egui, Spin Spin the Dogs or Joeyfat.

Anyone familiar with the story of Os Mutantes will know that they started off as three; brothers Sergio Dias and Arnaldo Baptista, and singer Rita Lee. When they originally reformed in 2006 after a period of 33 years apart they were only two; Sergio and Arnaldo. Now, only Sergio remains, but he did manage to record an album last year, Haih or Amortecer with help from Tom Zé and another Brazilian legend, Jorge Ben, that marked something of a return to former glories. This tour is to celebrate that album, as well as the incredible music they made in the 60s which took interest from people like Beck and David Byrne before people outside of Brazil started to take notice.

Their performance starts off slow with two songs from their recent album which sound respectively like Jethro Tull and then Chuck Berry, reflecting the fact that possibly it's harder to write music quite so effervescent after so many years in the game. In a band that was typified by having three stand-out performers on stage it's also very strange for there now to be just one. Bia Mendes is trying her best in the Rita Lee role but unfortunately lacks the charisma and voice to really shine, as evinced in the ballad 'Baby', where she adds a jazz interpretation to what should be a simple pop song. It's after this track though that the place explodes. It takes the mostly-Brazilian audience a moment to realise what the band are playing but once they realise it's 'A Minha Menina' everyone is on their feet dancing. Rarely has a song, written under a dictatorship, managed to sound as joyously pop as this.

Between 1968 and 1973 Os Mutantes recorded at least seven classic albums and the hits from these slowly fall; 'Top Top,' an over-excited Sly and the Family Stone style number and 'Ando Meio Desligado', a slow-burning ballad which eventually freaks out in a barrage of guitar riffs and solos from Sergio, both keep the audience's spirits high, but it's the encore which really does the damage. They begin with 'Bat Macumba' which really is the ultimate sing-along in any language. The lyrics start “bat macumba yeah yeah, bat macumba oba” and lose one syllable each line until leaving just “bat”, at which point they build up again until returning to the original refrain. 'Ou Panis Et Circenses' rounds out the encore. As a song it represents everything that Tropicalia represented; inventive lyrics, use of samples, baroque orchestral arrangements and most importantly a sense that the song could go off in any direction it chooses. In this rendition it comes off defiantly prog-rock, constantly threatening to finish but never quite achieving it. Without Rita Lee and Arnaldo Baptista in the band, and with Sergio Dias always too tempted into this kind of excess this should come as no surprise. It makes for a concert that is unlike anything you will hear, although you just wish there wasn't such a strong link with early Genesis and King Crimson, it is supposed to be a 'revolution' after all.

Main photo by Frederico Pellachin