For Issue 31, Wax Poetics contributor Allen Thayer spoke with Os Mutantes about their radical transformation of Brazilian music and the manner in which they were able to fuse rock, tropicalia, and psychedelia into something revolutionary. As a Wax Poetics online exclusive, guitarist Sergio Diaz discusses fifteen of the albums that contributed heavily to Os Mutantes’ dynamic sound. read more »

As above, so below, wrote magician-philosopher Hermes Trismegistus. It’s the key to all the universe’s mysteries: the macrocosmos is the same as the microcosmos. The Mackrosoft is the same as its microgram doses. A single bar of music from the brothers is as important as their entire catalog; a single beat represents their entire philosophy. See Cheebacabra’s shape-shifting synthesizer masterstroke, Exile in the Woods, and think Marc Moulin’s angular geometry. This is music as fractals played on a Mandelbrot drum set. Menacing, spiraling, salvia-chewing self-transforming machine elves go to work in the studio, and Cheeba plays Tristan Tzara and picks up the pieces. Also see the Mackrosoft’s jazz-funk organic opus, Antonio’s Giraffe, and think Bob James as primordial Ptah. Like a mad Strindberg indulging in alchemy, atomic arranger Aja West flips Sandoz Lab samples into Fibonacci sequences. He codes Headhunters drummer Mike Clark and triggers the cosmic 808 (RIP R. A. Wilson). Finally, see the adepts’ synth-funk ode to their childhood felines, Flash and Snowball, and think Herbie Hancock Gully-jaunting from synth to sensi. Together, Aja and Cheeba create a blood-brother ritual of dynamic interconnectedness, always macking their slew of keys — Minimoog Voyager, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Roland Juno-60, Korg PolySix, ARP Solina String Ensemble, Yamaha CS-40m, Moog Opus-3, the Cat by Octave, Roland JX-3P, MTI Auto-Orchestra, Ensoniq ASR-10, and the PAiA FatMan. read more »

“I get high from collecting and creating,” so says Xavier Mosley, better known as Chief Xcel. By collecting, he’s referring to his 20,000 records; by creating, he’s referring to his production on Blackalicious’s revered albums. read more »

“Bernard is very sharp,” once said Galt MacDermot. “He plays a lot of interesting rhythms.” Indeed. And many admirers have sought out Purdie’s now-reissued first solo album for his interesting rhythms and, let’s face it, his open drum breaks. But it’s not always about the open breaks; as a matter of fact, a drummer’s key role is to keep time for other players (to play with other players). “What a person plays means nothing if the time’s no good,” Wilbur Bascomb has said, “and Purdie is the king of time. The naval observatory can get their time from Purdie.” Witness Purdie’s time and rhythm. read more »