Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

7. Nana CaymmiNana Caymmi

Well these Brazilian singers, you know – motherfuckers. It’s almost not fair. It’s not fair that Brazilian Portuguese exists – it makes other singing languages look sad in comparison. She’s somebody I came to much later than Jorge Ben, who we’ll talk about later, or Caetano Veloso. What I love about this record is that it is sweet, and the orchestral arrangements are amazing. I adore Brazilian music with big, fat string arrangements, I think they do it amazingly. And the lyrics are strange – like all the poets of that era; even Veloso’s lyrics are unbelievably strange. Some of them would have problems in our cancel culture, in fact. The sound is beautiful; it’s warm and sweet and wild. I love it.

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