VA - Hidden Waters: Strange and Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro (2023)

The city of Rio de Janeiro has a long well-documented history of producing some of the greatest Brazilian artists from the past century including legends like Marcos Valle, Arthur Verocai, Azymuth, Sérgio Mendes, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Jorge Ben Jor, Tim Maia, Joyce Moreno and countless others. Over the past decade, the region has had a strong resurgence of new artists presenting a more left-field take on bossa nova, samba, jazz and funk. The Sounds and Colours label celebrates these groundbreaking artists on a recently released compilation, titled Hidden Waters: Strange and Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro.

This highly eclectic 2xLP compilation features 20 forward-thinking Rio de Janeiro-based acts fusing together elements of Tropicália, samba, disco, Candomblé, lo-fi rock, jazz, bossa nova, experimental electronics and everything in-between, all while pushing the boundaries and providing fresh new takes on Brazilian rooted music.

This remarkable release features iconic Rio mainstays like Negro Leo, Ava Rocha, Kassin, and Thiago Nassif, as well as rising Brazilian artists like Antônio Neves, Ana Frango, Elétrico, Letrux, vocalists Raquel Dimantas and ROSABEGE, among many others.

The gatefold vinyl comes with a sleeve insert of two essays written by eminent music journalist Leonardo Lichote and professor and critic Bernardo Oliveira, and extensive track-by-track notes written by the participating artists themselves, all housed in beautiful artwork created by Caio Paiva and Karina Yamane.

Overall, this is a fantastic compilation that successfully sheds like on a new wave of promising and talented Rio de Janeiro artists.