4/5 Mojo Magazine
4/5 Legendary Out There Brazilian Classic Uncut Magazine
5/6 Classic Time Out, London

Paêbirú is an obscure Brazilian psych concept album about the 'four elements' (earth, air, fire, water) that was lost to time in a warehouse fire in 1974, causing it to become a massively sought-after lost classic, fetching up to $4000 for original vinyl copies.

This recording of the collaboration between Brazilian artists Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho is a wonderfully off-kilter record, full of fantastic hooky and strange tunes that range from full-on freakouts to quiet pastoral numbers, displaying the entire range of 1970s hippie Brazilian musician culture.

Côrtes, who composes and plays on many of the tracks, seemingly appears only when talking about obscure Brazilian psych reissues, Ramalho, on the other hand, has built a solid career as a Brazilian pop singer and takes on most vocal duties.

It's a very atmospheric blend - sung and chanted vocals are no more or less important than any of the other elements, which include classical acoustic and fuzzy electric guitar, piano, organ, flute, sax and a range of percussion. It's free and psychedelic, but just reigned in enough to keep it tense and exciting.

In Brazil from the late 1960’s onward, Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, Tom Zé, and many others blended elements of psychedelic rock, jazz, indigenous folk, with more 'classic' urban styles (bossa nova, samba etc) and instrumentation. As much a political identity movement as a cultural, 'Tropicalia' artists as a whole were interested in using artistic expression as removing barriers and as a means of enabling other societal freedoms.

This is a limited edition gatefold, double vinyl LP repress and contains sleeve notes by Lula Cortez (in August 2008) and much of the original artwork and text

1. Trilha De Sumé
2. Culto À Terra
3. Bailado Das Muscarias
4. Harpa Dos Ares
5. Não Existe Molhado Igual Ao Pranto
6. Omm
7. Raga Dos Raios
8. Nas Paredes Da Pedra Encantada
9. Marácas De Fogo
10. Louvação A Iemanjá
11. Regato Da Montanha
12. Beira Mar
13. Pedra Templo Animal
14. Trilha De Sumé