Arrigo Barnabe – Clara Crocodilo (Nosso Estudio) 1980. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this crazy-assed 1980 release from Brazil makes the Patife Band sound like Mr Mister. Essentially it’s a jazz concept album which I know sounds absolutely awful. However, it is seriously influenced by no-wave and reminds me of Flaming Demonics-era James Chance fronting mid-70s Magma. C’mon, you know with a description like that, it’s at least worth a listen! The songs kind of break into these weird funk grooves and then fall apart while the female singers chant and make weird vocal noises. It’s a weird skronky mess and definitely not for everybody but I dig it. Arrigo seems to be infuriated by something on this album but I don’t know what because I don’t speak Portuguese. Arrigo’s brother was in the aforementioned Patife Band and that is where I first got wind of him. I don’t know much about the man other than he studied composition at the University of Sao Paulo and then debuted on the local music scene with this album which my friend Daphne shared with me a while back. I was floored.
Hardcore Podcasts
September of 2010 I put together eight Hardcore Podcasts. You can check them out here if you are interested. For more insight into how I came up with the years 78-90 for the First Wave you can read about The Hardcore Superiorty Myth.
arrigo is a fucking master, one of the few originals on brazilian popular song of the 80s. his second record, tubarões voadores (flying sharks) is even more wild and criative than clara. i’ll see where’s my cd-r with it and send you a link if you want. i saw him live in the city i used to live, são caetano do sul, in 96. just the man and a keyboard, and, good lord, HE DELIVERS. he did an great event called virada cultural here in sp in february, but i had to choose between him or patife band, which i never saw, so…just to discover pedro had came directly from arrigo’s gig. weird…
well, thank you for talking about one of my prefer records.
all of good,
julio
Yes! I love this album!
oh my god, that description sounds appealing all right.