Tom Zé

Incredibly unique concept album from the one and only, Tom Zé. As featured in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Brazilian Albums of all-time list (2007). One of Ze’s finest albums in our opinion, originally released by Continental Brazil in 1976 – a tough one to find at a good price in its original form now. ‘Estudando do Samba’ (or ‘Studying The Samba’) is a post-Tropicalia studio experimentation laiden with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects & samples that deconstructs the ‘samba’ form. Recorded during what was arguably his most creative period. David Byrne found the record in Rio in the late 90’s and included several songs on his Tom Ze collection for Luaka Bop a few years later. At that time Tom was not recording or touring much; playing low-key shows in Sao Paulo and contemplating a move back to Irará to work at a service station owned by one of his cousins. Byrne’s project helped to reignite his career and he hasn’t looked back since. Official Mr Bongo reissue. Licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd.
This is one of Tom Ze's best albums ever – and it's monsterously hard to find. The record is a fantastic blend of post-Tropicalia styles – and it features some strange arrangements that perfectly illustrated Ze's insane approach to songwriting. As with much of Ze's music, the actual sound is incredibly hard to describe – and the album bristles with imagination and creative fire. Documenting Zé’s most fertile and creative period, this album documents his kaleidoscopic experiments in the best way