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2LP
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NEWNOAJ 002LP
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$34.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 5/24/2024
Vinícius Mendes is a saxophonist, flautist, composer, improviser and researcher from the inland state of Minas Gerais in Brasil, known not only for its wealth of minerals and mining activities, but for its deep musical traditions founded by such pioneers as Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges. Having graduated from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, one of the most important centers of excellence in Brasil, with a BA in Popular Music and an MA in Music, Mendes continued to research improvisation in free jazz and in Brasilian popular instrumental music at the university. In 2014, Vinícius released his first instrumental work at the Savassi Jazz Festival, and one year later he recorded the album NAU -- a heady mix of free jazz and traditional Brasilian music, and something of a prelude to Macunaísmo Tardio, the album he recorded Volume One of in 2021 with Volume Two following in 2022 and one that is finally available in full. Macunaísmo Tardio is a perfect release for the label, masterminded by Jazzanova's Jürgen von Knoblauch, which concerns itself with shedding light on criminally overlooked masterpieces. This album is, without a doubt, one of these. The LP features original compositions by Mendes himself, as well as fresh arrangements of Brasilian classics from Lucca Noacco, Toninho Horta, and a stunning version of the evergreen dance floor classic "Aldeia de Ogum" by Joyce Moreno.
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7"
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NOAJ7 004EP
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Although perhaps not a household name like Sergio Mendes, Marcos Valle, or Flora Purim, Bororó is considered to be one of the most important and talented Brazilian musicians of his time. Taking his moniker from the indigenous people of his country, who live in the state of Mato Grosso, Bororó steadily built his career for well over a quarter of a century, along the way performing live and in the studio with such legends as Gal Costa, Milton Nascimento, and Caetano Veloso. Born Dimerval Felipe da Silva in 1953 in the central Brazilian city of Goiânia, the capital of Goiás, this composer, singer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist first took an interest in his father's guitar at the tender age of twelve. This was closely followed by his second love, the drums, as Bororó found himself on the sticks with a local dance combo called The Mad. Much of his early professional life was spent deeply involved and inspired by the burgeoning music scene of Rio de Janeiro and the emerging Clubs Da Esquina movement, and his abilities on a plethora of stringed instruments, as well as his natural talent as a drummer, would later make him a popular figure among artists as diverse as superstar musician and producer Peter Gabriel and Brazilian samba queen Beth Carvalho, both of whom he worked with extensively during the late 1980s and early 1990s. One of his most significant moments came in 1979 though, when Bororó made his debut with the Orquestra Sinfônica De Goiânia, conducted by Maestro Braz Pompeu de Pina, and made plans to use members of the orchestra on his first four-song release that same year. The resulting EP was written by four collaborators -- Carlos Ribeiro, Gustavo, Nasr Fayad Chaul, and Lilian. Despite a lack of budget, and using Bororó's connections with the owner of the legendary Araguaia Studio, the collective managed to record the EP on four tracks, using limited resources and a budget cobbled together from their work making commercial jingles in the very same studio. The EP's opener is the sublime and evocative title track, "A Tempo e a Gosto." Written by Fernando Perillo, it was one of the young musician's first recordings and features him dueting vocally with Bororo who also provides acoustic guitar and bass, with Gringo on drums and Napa on keys.
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LP
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NOAJ 008LP
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Notes On A Jouney present a reissue of Brunno's 3, originally released in 1992. After years of collaboration n 1991, musician/producer Geo Benjamin and Bruno reconvened. Bruno grabbed a guitar and demonstrated a song entitled "Ó Paí Ó" in the studio and Geo began laughing uncontrollably. The way Bruno imprinted his Bahian essence on the songs he wrote for this album was hilarious and brilliant. For backing vocals, the two were augmented in the studio by Varinia Govea, a Uruguayan singer/actress/model living in Brazil. "Aceite O Dendê"'s title is a pun on "azeite de dendê" (a type of oil that's a common Bahian cooking ingredient). The song is filled with figures of speech created and inserted within the lyrics to evoke the symbolism and social customs of Bahia. "Tribo" is a song within the Bahian samba-reggae aesthetic with lyrics by Bruno, Roger, and the late Reinaldo Leitão. The track features percussion by Eduardo Lyra. One day in Rio in 1986 Bruno came back from the beach and, finding Geo in the apartment, said "I just wrote some lyrics, let's write a song!" Geo got the guitar, Bruno began singing and, after a few back-and-forth suggestions regarding chords and melodic structure, "Depois Da Praia" was ready in under 20 minutes. Absorbed in the art, music and poetry of the great Dorival Caymmi, Bruno went to the studio with the lyrics, melody, arrangement and instrumentation for "Itapoã" already worked out in his head. "Vivo Só" has lyrics that can be interpreted as a bit of intrinsic self-analysis on Bruno's part. Despite all the popularity, glamor and magnetism he appeared to exude in the Rio night life and even in Salvador, there was an obstinate feeling of loneliness behind Bruno's bohemian image. Bruno plays electric guitar. The other players are Geo on acoustic guitar and Bruno "Batera" Wanderley on bossa-flavored drums. Bruno had been a Steely Dan fan since 1983 and they heavily influenced the concept and aesthetic of "Três". For the recording of this track Bruno called on drummer Anderson Guirlinzone to play a regular drum kit. The track also features Sergio "Guita" Diab on guitar. The idea behind "Bossa" was to pay homage to his idols and mentors in Brazilian popular music. It was made to order within the MPB tradition with all its associated melodic, rhythmic and harmonic procedures. The track features Geo on acoustic guitar, the legendary maestro-composer-producer Zé Américo on piano and Banda Eva's Paulinho Andrade on flute. The song "Spleen" is another product of the fruitful partnership between Bruno and Geo Benjamin who confirms that he is indeed its co-writer, handling the music while Bruno wrote the lyrics. 180 gram vinyl; old school Tip On cover; printed inner sleeve.
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7"
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NOAJ7 003EP
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Antônio Cláudio Silva Cardoso -- Cláudio Bocca grew up in a family of three siblings in North Rio. His first professional gig was at the Ponteio Bar, where he was backed by his now-bandmates Augusto and Márcio. At the company of Antônio's father there was another employee by the name of Gil Figueira, a singer-songwriter who had just recorded his one and only single with the backing of Gaúcho do Luar, founder of the Farroupilha label. At the first meeting between producer Gaúcho do Luar, Cláudio and Gil Figueira, a handshake agreement was reached wherein Cláudio's dad would pay the stipulated amount for the production and pressing of the single that is reissued here. Cláudio would then take the finished tape to the Polygram pressing plant and then later receive the 1000 copies made. The studio became known in the '80s for recording independent projects, and its engineers were acclaimed veterans Toninho Barbosa (the Brazilian Rudy Van Gelder) and Everson Dias. With the help of an PR agency and artist management MM Artglobal, he sent countless copies to radio stations but they only got played once before vanishing into the stations' archives. Jürgen von Knoblauch -- a longtime member of Jazzanova and Sonar Kollektiv -- met Junior Santos, a musician, drummer, and Brazilian music aficionado extraordinaire, when buying records from him. Junior offered Jürgen to buy a record by one Celso Rubinstein/ The collaboration between knowledge fount and collector was fruitful enough that Junior and Jürgen decided to work on more reissues. This Claudio Bocca record is their second collaboration for Notes on a Journey. When releasing older and more obscure music, collaboration is extremely important at NOAJ, especially when it comes to getting the rights and making sure that they rightfully acknowledge all of the musicians involved on a record. Junior Santos, a true expert in the Brazilian music genre, who put together compilations like Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds (1978-1982) on Favorite Recordings (FVR 098CD/LP, 2014), helped the label track down the rights holders of the featured compositions. He also wrote the liner notes and descriptive texts for each song in Portuguese. Translation work by Greg Caz.
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12"
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NJEDITS 001EP
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An edit pays tribute to the original by trimming and rearranging the song in a way that it works for today's dancefloor or listening habits. Delfonic and Mendel are two outspoken specialists in this and understand the edit craft like no one else. For almost twenty years, Delfonic has been running Oye Records, a record store known far beyond the city limits of Berlin, and therefore knows very well which records and tracks go down best with whom and how. Always on the lookout for that heartfelt connection, Mendel doesn't cater to the fist pumpers, but rather the loving, open-minded and upbeat. His sets are peppered with diverse influences, from Chicago's (ware)house pioneers to Amsterdam's soulful school of DJs. He carefully orchestrates dance floor experiences by selecting tunes based on the emotion they evoke. A steady flow of mixtapes and Mendel's Melodies, his regular show on Red Light Radio, provide a platform for Mendel to share his mellower side, capturing hearts by interweaving soulful classics with silky rarities from all corners of the musical landscape. Notes On A Journey has therefore decided to make use of the services of the two DJs and to take two songs from their own, meanwhile extensive catalog under the magnifying glass, respectively the scalpel. On the one hand there are two new editions of Germannu's "Fale De Mim" and one edit each for "Marcação" and "Pé na Estrada" by Valéria. Four times the very finest in soulful Brazilian pop music as one is now almost used to from Notes On A Journey. "Fale De Mim" by Germannu, by the way, originally appeared in 1984 on the EP Germannu and was released in September 2020 by NOAJ as a lavish reissue. The four-track 7" "Pé na Estrada" by Valéria originally came out in 1983 on the Brazilian label PPA (Paladar Produções Artisticas) and was re-released by NOAJ in November 2020. With NOAJ Edits 01, a first absolute must-have edits package was put together. And as the title suggests, the series will continue in the following months with more highlights from the NOAJ catalog.
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7"
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NOAJ7 002EP
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Valéria's debut EP, recorded in just six hours, both vocals and backing tracks, reissued by Notes On A Journey. On the track "Artimanhas", a technical glitch made it impossible to remove Valéria's guide vocal, forcing her to "double-track" the guide with the final vocal on the finished version. While this was a source of both frustration and embarrassment for Darcy, it did nothing to dampen the joy Valéria felt in recording while recording her first record. The EP was recorded, mixed, and mastered between the 10th and the 20th of May, 1983. Not having even thought about the cover art, she asked her cousin, civil engineer Beatriz Roldão, and friends Cézar, Yeda, and Paulo for help. As the graphics needed to be dispatched to Rio ASAP, Beatriz told Valéria there wouldn't be enough time for a photo-shoot and another solution was needed. Luckily, Yeda and Paulo, who had recently traveled to Germany, had a suggestion: "We have a picture we took in Berlin of a girl sitting on a curb in the city and she looks just like you!" A bit of creative know-how was applied to the photo negative and Valéria's cover was ready. The release of the EP was marked by a show at the FUNARTE (National Arts Foundation) in Brasília, and sales and distribution were handled in true DIY fashion with help from her friends and Valéria herself, hustling at record shops around town. Pé Na Estrada: As the daughter and only child of strict and protective parents, Valéria was left her feeling like she was missing out on the normal adventures and odysseys most people have in adolescence. She dreamed of being able to travel the world, learning about other cultures, and growing through real-life experience. This hit her hard one Friday night when she wanted to go out but her parents forbade her to. Her guitar helped her express the anxiety and anguish she felt, resulting in this song.
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12"
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NOAJ 007EP
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Originally released in 1984. Manoel Germano Filho (better known as Germannu) started his foray into education by following in his family's footsteps, earning his agronomy degree at the Federal University of Viçosa in the state of Minas Gerais. Yet it was music rather than soil that held his heart, and after a chance meeting with Milton Nascimento, one of Brazil's biggest musical icons -- both back then and today -- he threw himself into the Minas music scene, burgeoned as it was by student movements and local music festivals. In 1984, Manoel, now Germannu, met the composer, arranger, vocalist, and guitarist Jorge "Jóia" Olímpio at a show in Linhares, and a month later threw caution to the wind, moved to Rio and found himself crashing at Jorge's house while putting down his roots. Over the following days and weeks, the recording of Germannu's debut LP began in earnest, starting with his songs "Lavoura", "Fale De Mim", and "Hei De Amar". Jorge's help was crucial. Although Germannu had certain melodies in mind and chord structures around which he wanted to build the songs, he hadn't yet developed how the melodies would play out, nor decided how exactly the chord sequences would go. The pre-production was done at Jorge's home, before they moved over to the now-defunct Estúdio Rio near the Laranjeiras viaduct to flesh things out. Jorge Jóia called on his contacts and brought in musicians he was sure would work, including a bassist and former bandmate named Borjalo, with whom he had previously played with in a band that was put together by the legendary organ player, Lafayette. Drummer, Paulinho Black (ex-Banda Black Rio), and pianist, Moisés Pedrosa, were also part of the team, as was the fabulous Jorge Cardozo -- who transcribed Jorge Jóia's arrangements. 180 gram vinyl; Old School Tip On cover; includes download card.
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LP
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NOAJ 006LP
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It is 1971. South Africa is struggling with a myriad of political and cultural problems. Mandela is in jail and the United Nations has declared it supports isolating South Africa for its apartheid policies. The state-controlled South African Broadcasting Corporation has an almost complete monopoly on what is being played on the radio, and the advent of television wouldn't be seen in South Africa for another five years as such things are seen as a threat that would undermine the proud Afrikaans tradition and spread communism and immorality. The stain of apartheid also means that most of the music being aired on the radio comes from exclusively white artists and the majority of accessible music comes from the States and the UK, with many people not realizing that local exports like Manfred Lubowitz (later known as Manfred Mann) actually come from South Africa. Despite such a tumultuous social and political backdrop, or perhaps because of it, music remains an escape for much of South Africa's youth and local scenes do spring up. This is the setting in which a band with the unusual name of Humphrey is born. The album was recorded over two weeks, and upon its release is met with rave reviews and nominated for a SARI award. Naturally, a single -- "Down Down" b/w "In The Morning" -- is released, but is met with a surprisingly lackluster response. Humphrey seemed to fade into obscurity not long after the album came out. Until, that is, Notes On A Journey's own Stefan Leisering stumbled across the album in Johannesburg, while touring South Africa with the Jazzanova live band. The Anglo-American folk, pop, rock, and psych influences on Humphrey are undeniable, something about these influences finding a voice at such a particular time and in such a particular place makes this album truly unique. The record seems almost polarized in nature, the saccharine melodies of the harmonized vocals and the band's pop sensibilities are kept from becoming throwaway bubblegum tunes by the songs unexpected psych elements, chord changes, and arrangements that bring a touch of darkness and mysticism. An early '70s South African pop psych gem, NOAJ reckon you'll be delighted it's getting another chance to shine. 180 gram vinyl; Old School Tip On cover; includes download card.
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LP
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NOAJ 005LP
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Limited repress. Notes On A Journey present a reissue of Phrydderichs Phaelda's Bruchstuecke, originally released in 1981. Even those of you who are already familiar with the label's concept of rediscovering music which has unjustifiably been lost, overlooked, or forgotten will be surprised by the reissue of the six-track-record Bruchstuecke LP by free-jazz artists Phrydderichs Phaelda. This band was a short living school band project of the Gymnasium Voerde Mitte (West-Germany) led by pianist and music teacher Friedrich Schepers joined by other teachers and students: Hans Klimek on bass, Lutz Leonhardt on drums, Wolfgang Kulawik on guitar. In 1975 they went to the studio to record six instrumental tracks in a style that could be best described as jazz/fusion with hints of R'n'B and rock, which are brimming with crisp snare drums played in polyrhythmic and ever-changing patterns and tempos. Alongside that, the astounded listener gets to enjoy thrilling electric guitar lines and breathtaking electric piano excursions together with ultrawarm and elaborate bass guitar parts. All this is held together by the four musicians great overview and ability to improvise and react spontaneously to their fellows. This creates a kind of magic which is rare to hear in music these days. Stefan Leisering and Juergen von Knoblauch, the two record digging members of Jazzanova have immediately understood the unique quality of Bruchstuecke and decided to re-release this overlooked masterpiece. In the course of the original release of this album in the early 1980s only a small amount has been pressed. Now this reissue on Notes On A Journey provides this gem to a larger audience -- to people who share a great interest in the remarkable development of underground jazz in Germany during those years. 180 gram vinyl; Old school tip on cover; Includes download card.
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7"
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NOAJ7 001EP
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The fifth release and the first 7" on Notes On A Journey turns its attention to Brazil. Brazilian DJ Junior Santos brought this Celso Rubinstein 7" EP to the Berlin label's attention. Marina Lima and Antonio Cicero contributed "È A Vida Que Diz", a song as marvelously written as much as performed sophisticatedly by Rubinstein with his star-studded studio crew, amongst them: Oberdan Magalhães and Claudio Stevenson from Banda Black Rio, Rique Pantoja, Reinaldo Arias, as well as American session musician Don Harris. On "Enquanto Houver", written by Paulinho Mendonça and Gerson Conrad, Rubinstein tried to infuse some rap flavor.
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