Brazil 45, number 41:

A. Rosa Maria - Deixa Nao Deixa / AA. Rosa Maria - Avenida Atlantica

Well, this is a BIG 7”, what can we say – two monster funk/bossa nova cuts from Rosa Maria, that we play every time we go near the turntables. This is the first time we have reissued both cuts from the original 7”, that came out in 1972 on Tapecar. Needless to say, extremely difficult to find now.

‘Deixa Nao Deixa’ has a distinct afro-latin feel to it thanks to the guitar, horn and percussion. Add in the catchy lead vocal, strong harmonies, funk/bossa drum grooves, shuffling percussion and the continuous build to the end, and you have one of the greatest Brazilian funk records ever pressed.

‘Avenida Atlantica’ doesn’t mess around either. Funk and bossa drum grooves alternate underneath the layers of vocals, horns, piano and percussion found on the flip.