Outro Tempo: Electronic & Contemporary Music From Brazil 1978-92

Recorded
1978-1992
Released

A good compilation sorts and arranges music in a satisfying trajectory, while a great compilation is a paradigm-shifting force and time-warping trick, altering the future with its glance towards the past. Music from Memory’s Outro Tempo: Electronic & Contemporary Music From Brazil 1978-92 belongs in the latter category, a set of obscure Brazilian music from the 1980s that suggested how creation can continue in the face of great oppression. As compiled by DJ/selector John Gomez, the comp surveys the cultural landscape in the wake of two decades of brutal military regime repression, what many referred to as a vazio cultural (cultural void). Even the most intrepid explorer of world music might find it hard to know what occurred in Brazil after tropicália and Outro Tempo colors in that space with great vividness. Any of the selections here can kindle wonder: its mix of acoustic and electronic technology, how abstraction and pop structure intermingles, how Brazilian 20th century musical tradition can fuse with its ancient indigenous culture. The set grows more lovely, mysterious, and profound with each passing year. 

Andy Beta