The first release of this new collaboration will be Os Mutantes Live at The Barbican Theatre, London. The epic DVD and CD recording from legendary rockers Os Mutantes, recorded LIVE during their first concert in more than 30 years. Due in November.What’s Luaka Bop?
Luaka Bop is a label that started with a cassette. David Byrne went to Brazil in the late 80’s, he came back and made cassette mix tapes for friends with the music he found. When Warner Bros. offered him a solo record deal, he also got the right to start putting out whatever he wanted (called “puts”), as long as he did that no more then 5 times a year. Warner’s was expecting either rock bands that sounded like the Talking Heads or one of those artist labels that makes albums of the main guy’s band mates and peters out after a year or two.
The aptly named Luaka Bop, of course, did neither.
Instead, the label worked to create a barrier free musical genre without a name or record section in a store. Over the years, Luaka Bop has introduced such artists as Los Amigos Invisibles, King Changó, Jim White, Shoukichi Kina, A R Kane, Tom Zé, Os Mutantes, Zap Mama, and Cornershop, among others. Luaka Bop has also been responsible for putting together several renowned series of compilations representing eclectic sounds from around the world. Brazil Classics kicked-off the label with a groundbreaking set of seven albums surveying eras and artists ranging from Samba to Tropicalia. Ventures into Afro-Peruvian and AfroPean music’s unearthed the talents of Susana Baca and Zap Mama, respectively. Another
popular series from the label is World Psychedelic Classics, which consists of four albums, so far, and includes artists such as Shuggie Otis, Os Mutantes, West African artists of the late 60’s and soon to be, Tim Maia.
Luaka Bop first found a home at Warner Bros. Records, then Virgin, then V2 and now Redeye. Each partner has been better than the last, so the same is expected from Red Eye. During this age of independent distribution, as the large reptile-like animals die off, the smaller, nimbler, more intelligent beings take over the Earth.
What’s Next?
Os Mutantes Live- Recorded at the Barbican 2006- CD/ DVD:
How did 60s Brazil produce the wildest, most psychedelic rock’n’roll group of them all? And why, three decades on, has the rest of the world gone crazy over them? As the Daily Telegraph put it ‘people talk about cult bands, but there should be a separate category for Os Mutantes, who have had a fanatical following among music lovers for years.’ Against all odds, in May 2006 the band reunited for the first time in over 30 years for a euphoric show at the Barbican’s Tropicalia Festival. This is the recording (2 CD’s) of this historic concert, with special guests Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson.