Os Mutantes formed in São Paulo, Brazil in 1966 — brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias with Rita Lee — and became the psychedelic heart of the Tropicália movement. The 1968 debut Os Mutantes is essential, and the whole early Polydor run rewards deep listening. Dig into Os Mutantes vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Os Mutantes (The Mutants) formed in São Paulo, Brazil in 1966 around brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias Baptista, and Rita Lee (born Rita Lee Jones de Carvalho, who subsequently married Arnaldo Baptista). They are widely cited as one of the foundational acts of the Brazilian Tropicália (or Tropicalismo) movement of the late 1960s - the Brazilian counterpart to American and British psychedelic rock and broader 1960s counterculture, with integration of MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), bossa nova, samba, and avant-garde musical influences. The movement was suppressed by the Brazilian military dictatorship of 1964-1985, with Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil being exiled in 1968-1972. Os Mutantes avoided exile but operated under creative restrictions. The band's distinctive 1960s and early 1970s recordings have been rediscovered internationally through the 1990s reissue programs (American rediscovery via Beck, David Byrne, Of Montreal, and others citing them as foundational). They reformed in 2006 (without Rita Lee, who pursued a solo career) and have continued releasing material across multiple decades. Rita Lee died of cancer on May 8, 2023 at age 75.
Os Mutantes's sound is foundational to Brazilian Tropicália - combining Tropicália, psychedelic rock, Brazilian psychedelia, MPB, avant-pop, bossa nova, rock, and avant-rock with their distinctive multi-vocalist arrangements, experimental production approaches (use of tape manipulation, found sounds, and unconventional arrangements), and lyrical content in Portuguese drawing on avant-garde Brazilian musical and literary traditions.
Original Polydor Brazil pressings of the late-1960s and early-1970s Os Mutantes catalog are foundational items in Brazilian and broader psychedelic rock collecting, with collector premiums. Multiple anniversary editions, audiophile reissues (Mr Bongo, Light in the Attic, Universal Brazil), and the comprehensive reissue programs have been released.
Listeners new to Os Mutantes typically start with Os Mutantes (1968) or Mutantes (1969).
