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What's Wrong With Groovin'

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Telling The Truth

Right On For The Darkness

Azimüth

Manhã

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Far Out Recordings proudly presents two albums of previously unheard Azymuth demo recordings from 1973-75

Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock ‘n’ roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature ‘Samba Doido’ (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.
But before they became Azymuth, Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil.

Bertrami was also contracted as an arranger and songwriter at some the biggest labels of the era: Polydor, Philips, Som Livre, and EMI being just a few. Azymuth’s name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music - from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropicália on home turf - the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward.Any spare moment in which they weren’t in sessions and writing music for other artists, they would be carving out their own sound.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’.

One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.
When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was “blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.” Beginning a long and fruitful relationship, ‘Prefacio’ would be the first track Azymuth recorded for Far Out Recordings and was released on the Carnival album (1996).

Along with ‘Manhã’ and ‘Prefacio’, only a handful of these demos were ever professionally recorded and released, making this the first opportunity to hear many of these early Azymuth compositions in their raw, original form.

On every track the frenetic energy in the studio is palpable, giving the recordings a beautifully personal feel and a sense of the phenomenally creative vision Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti were realising at the time. Fifty years on, Azymuth’s earliest recorded music retains an ineffable, futuristic quality, standing amongst their most captivating and moving work.

Vinyl / CD / Digi

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Far Out Recordings was founded in 1994 by London DJ and record producer Joe Davis. His longstanding and insatiable passion for Brazilian music, fuelled by his initial love of the jazz, funk and soul ubiquitous on the Rare Groove scene in 1980s London, took him to Brazil first as a teenager. It was there that his enthusiasm for record-collecting led him to some of his musical heroes and the eventual formation of musical bonds and close friendships. Joe’s early discoveries led to him becoming the UK’s foremost authority on Brazilian music, much of it little-known here before his enthusiastic endorsements began to ring out across the music scene. This led to the inevitable, and the keen young music fan and DJ with an entrepreneurial flair founded Far Out Recordings.

The label’s aim from the start has been to bring the sound of Brazil to the world – to showcase the history and culture of a land bursting with creativity and energy – from the classic to the cutting edge. There have been numerous releases from both new and established Brazilian artists including legends such as Azymuth, Joyce, Marcos Valle, Arthur Verocai, The Ipanemas, Sabrina Malheiros, Clara Moreno and Binario, to name a few. 

Far Out also releases music from musicians and producers around the world who share the label’s appreciation for Brazilian music and culture. Alongside Brazilian music, the label is also well known for its longstanding association with underground dance music, having collaborated with some of the most acclaimed and accomplished electronic producers of our times. This had led to a rich plethora of pioneering and innovative dance and beats music, forging a future for the oft-neglected role of Brazil and its rhythms in the complex dance music diaspora of the UK and US, with 12" remixes and original productions from the likes of Theo Parrish, Mark Pritchard, 4hero, Dego, Andres, Marcellus Pittman, Kirk Degiorgio, Nicola Conte, A.D. Bourke, Henry Wu and Rick Willhite among many others.

Joe's crate-digging mentality has also been the driving force behind another crucial aspect of Far Out's work - unearthing forgotten masterpieces and once impossible to find records. This has led to reissues from the likes of Milton Nascimento and Roberto Quartin’s catalogue of lost gems, resulting in some of the finest Brazilian reissues you’re likely to find. While this remains a relatively small percentage of the label's output, every release is brought to you with the utmost love and care, ensuring painstaking perfection in the realms of sound, aesthetic and physicality.

Many of the artists on the Far Out roster regularly tour worldwide, playing across Europe, the USA and the Far East. Look out for them in your town, spreading the joy, the warmth and the restless creativity of Brazilian music and all that Far Out seeks to represent. “After more than twenty years of Far Out, we are only just beginning to realise our ambitions” surmises Joe. “We are still learning about production, recording and music, always.. and we are fortunate to be surrounded by the most exciting group of musicians and producers who are making consistently brilliant music. We are still intent on finding new stars, but we are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far and our formidable artist roster.”

"Brilliant British-Brazilian label" Daily Telegraph
"15 years of the excellent Far Out" Word
"The original and the best, Far Out has never faltered" Gilles Peterson
"Excellent London-based Brazilian label" The Independent
"UK's leading Brazilian label" The Observer
"UK's foremost Brazilian record label" Clash

Azymuth - Castelo (Version 1)

Far Out Recordings

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