Caipirinha Appreciation Society

Like everything in life the Caipirinha Appreciation Society show also appears to come in cycles. A couple of specific themed episodes are usually followed by a couple of random ones. Of course, the only constant being our selection of Brazilian music beyond the clichés, winter, spring, summer or fall.

The main ingredient of Caipirinhas is Cachaça, a very strong spirit that only recently began to be recognised as an exclusively Brazilian product, like champaigne is French and Whisky is Scottish. Deeply ingrained in Brazilian history, culture and way of life, cachaça went from being illegal to being a global hit, praised in literature and, of course, music.

Alternative Brazilian music is becoming more and more popular among record collectors and brazilophiles. Tropicalia and Brazilian Psychodelia are quite well known outside Brazil these days. However, there are some hidden gems from the eighties that have been overlooked by most foreign Brazilian music lovers.

This show, differently from the normal ones, was totally made up as we went along, the only planned feature being Dimitri BR's new solo album. The result was a completely satisfactory beyond-the-cliché mix.

While the whole world focuses on the huge Carnival festivals in Rio, Salvador or Olinda, the Caipirinha Appreciation Society crew wanders in the opposite direction. We check out the carnival in the minuscule town of Monteiro Lobato SP (3,500 inhabitants) to find a very different vibe from the beaten carnival tracks.

In the last few months the Caipirinha Appreciation Society has experienced an exciting surge of new listeners around the world, who are happily embracing the cause of 'Brazilian music beyond the clichés'. This show is dedicated to them and to those of you who are helping us spread the word to your friends and networks.

Pitanga is a typical Brazilian fruit and this week we introduce you to a band called Pitanga em Pé de Amora, a samba band from the state of São Paulo. The show also brings new tracks by Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda, Mundo Livre S.A., Flávio Renegado and many others, besides revisiting tunes that were in our 2006 playlists.

NYE in Rio used to be a beautiful celebration of faith and hope with sons and daughters of Yemanja seeking guidance and blessings by the sea. But that was before corporations like Coca-Cola seized the party and relegated the followers of Afrikan Brazilian religions to the outskirts of the celebration.
This show is our homage to that entity, so beloved by our people.

CAS 287 Pernambuco 5 - More music, bootlegs and adventures from Recife.