Episode 137: Brazil Downtempo Hits

Today is going to be a greatest hits episode of Tropicology… from time to time I compile some of my favorite tracks in a particular genre into a two hour best of show parade for the listening audience. We will be headed to the clubby side of the Tropicology playbook today… these are tracks out of the lounge crate from those days when I used to haul LPs out to live gigs around Portland.  Today we will be hearing my favorite mellow MPB from Brazil, songs that bridge the musical gaps across jazz, funk, house, and hip hop. This is music for beaches, boomboxes, and barbeques.... as they say in Brazil, musicas para churrasco. I’ll kick off with some classic 70’s sunshine sounds of Musica Popular Brasileira, or MPB, Brazilian pop music. This is Brazil’s equivalent for our AM rock of the early 70s. The second set gets more clubby and eclectic; we’ll hear modern club sounds, AfroBrazilian lounge, and vintage urban soul. Hour two will begin with some deeper club sounds, mellowing into some modern soul and jazz funk. Then I’ll play some 80s electro funk in the final set. This is music for relaxed social events... welcome to my greatest hits of Brazil downtempo.