João De Bruçó, R.H. Jackson – Caracol

First time reissue of Caracol. Brazilian underground music in the 1980s produced fascinating and mysterious records, where organic and regional percussion finally gained electronic and synthetic nuances. Songs were processed electronically and acted in harmony with drumming and dissonant guitar interventions. This was a too bold recipe to be understood in Brazil at that time, dominated by pop music and the first signs of lambada fever and country music. The music contained in Caracol was so anti-commercial that things seemed to happen in a parallel universe for the duo João de Bruçó and R.H. Jackson. João de Bruçó started out as a drummer, playing from jazz to forró. Then he studied Brazilian folklore, worked in circuses and wrote tracks for theater, dance performances and TV. Studying percussion and the relationship between dance and music, he discovered new instruments and possibilities. R.H. Jackson also started out as a drummer and percussionist. He studied cinema, video and electronic composition. He also created soundtracks and researched Brazilian folk dances and candomblé. Jack was already an avid user of several technological innovations and was one of the few in Brazil in the 1980s who dominated computer programming, samplers and sequencers. Caracol was recorded between 1988 and 1989. João was responsible for the percussion, accordion and a series of objects, such as a copper vase with water, seeds, animal hooves, snorers, springs, bells, marbles and a metal mug, plus piano and a toy clarinet. Jack took care of electronic programming, samplers, sound treatments, synthesizers, subtractions and guitars. Both were in charge of vocals. “What draws most attention in Caracol is the choice of intuition as a creative and compositional process. Despite the sound and timbristic result being marked by a lot of simplicity, at the same time it oozes multiplicity. The voices, processed electronically, merge with a drumming of surdos, repiniques and the dissonant interventions of a guitar. The vocals are onomatopoeic and modal, like a kind of indigenous tribal ritual. Whoever wants to classify the album will have difficulties. In many moments, the choices and sounds are so primitive, that one could hardly think of it as avant-garde. But those who put pre-concepts aside – and use only their ears and musical sensitivity – will be delighted.” Contains two extra and unreleased tracks, recorded during the original recording sessions. Remastered from the original tapes. The track “Terra Batida” was included in Outro Tempo (Electronic and Contemporary Music from Brazil 1978-1992) (Music From Memory, 2017).