Ahead of the World Cup 2014, DJ Gilles Peterson brings you his playlist of Brazilian beats – a perfect accompaniment for idling in the sun. All he wants in return is help tracking down a rare record.
There aren’t many people who boast they once swapped their car for a round piece of plastic, approx seven inches in diameter. But when said disc is a rare and impossibly funky recording of a Brazilian jazz classic, and the person in question is British DJ Gilles Peterson, it all starts to make sense.
Above: Gilles Peterson’s Brazil World Cup 2014 top tracks – you can listen to the playlist below.
Have a listen to Joao Donato’s Amazonas and you might understand. This isn’t the perfectly respectable (and quite well known in jazz circles) album version – but something a little raw. The kind of booty the likes of Peterson will do just about anything to procure.
If that tickled your eardrums, try these – Mr Peterson’s Channel 4 News World Cup playlist (below).
Now you might just be able to help (see video, below), because he’s on the hunt for the next big tune. You might recognise what Tam Tam Tam – written by Jose Prates in 1958. It eventually became Brazil’s signature party tune – Mas Que Nada, the Sergio Mendez classic – and forever etched into the British psyche after a certain advert for the 1998 World Cup.
And, says our Gilles, Brits have a lot more in common with Brazil than we realise. He’s just been there to record a new album with Brazil’s greatest living musicians – just in time for the World Cup. And Brits just can’t get enough of both – Brazilian footballers and Brazilian music.
And these are worlds that collide in so many ways. The artistes on Peterson’s new album include samba queen Elza Soarez – who was once married to Garrincha, arguably Brazil’s most gifted player of all time – and king of samba pop Seu George, who has just finished playing Pele’s dad in a feature film.
The album launches on Monday.
Do you have any suggestion for the best Brazilian World Cup playlist? Tell #c4news on Twitter.