Name: The Woman At The End Of The World (A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo)
Brand: Elza Soares

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

MAIS 031CD

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

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Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2016-06-14

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Forced Exposure

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

5052442009047

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Elza Soares

Genre US

South American - Latin

Label US

MAIS UM DISCOS

Elza Soares (1930-2022) was a Brazilian samba recording artist born and raised in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. She gained recognition after winning a singing contest presented by renowned musician Ary Barroso. Soares's unique style combined scat à la Louis Armstrong with jazz-infused samba, earning her popularity with her first single "Se Acaso Você Chegasse". Her husky voice became her trademark as she performed at theaters and nightclubs in São Paulo.
In the 1970s, Soares toured the U.S. and Europe, showcasing her talent for over 40 years. In 2000, she was awarded "Best Singer of the Millennium" by the BBC in London, where she performed alongside Gal Costa, Chico Buarque, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Virgínia Rodrigues. Throughout her career, Soares scored several chart hits in Brazil including "Só Danço Samba" and "Aquarela Brasileira".
Soares's albums have been re-released on CD in remastered editions such as A Bossa Negra and Elza Pede Passagem. Her album Do Cóccix Até O Pescoço earned her a Grammy nomination in 2002 and featured collaborations with Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Carlinhos Brown, Jorge Ben Jor among others.

​Septuagenarian Brazilian music icon Elza Soares teams up with the cream of São Paulo's avant-garde musicians for an album of apocalyptic, experimental samba sujo ("dirty samba") that tackles the burning issues of 21st century Brazil: racism, domestic violence, sex, drug addiction and global warming. The Woman at the end of the World is Elza's 34th studio album and her first to feature previously unrecorded material, exclusively composed for her. Voted "Best Album of 2015" by Rolling Stone Brazil after its domestic release, it will now be released worldwide by UK based label Mais Um Discos. Over a sprawl of distorted guitars, squalling horn, taught strings and electronic shards, samba is savaged by rock 'n' roll, free jazz, noise and other experimental music forms. A true legend of Brazilian music Elza has an incredible musical oeuvre that stretches back over seven decades mixing samba with jazz, soul, funk, hip hop and electronica, whilst her life story is a rags-to-riches-to-rags rollercoaster of triumphs and tragedies that has made her a voice for Brazil's repressed female, black, gay and working class populations. Her music career began in the late 1950s as she sung in clubs and hotels, sometimes being forced to perform off stage because of her skin color. The '60s was a career defining period with a run of classic albums for Odeon. After decades of hardships and artistic exploration, her latest muse is São Paulo's hyped samba sujo scene. Soares presents an album that walks a tightrope between post-rock and post-samba. "I knew this album would be a bold, modern sound" she says. "These songs are tense they do not allow you to relax". The album opens with "Coracão do Mar (Heart of the Sea)" with Elza reciting a poem from celebrated Brazilian modernist poet Oswald de Andrade. Title track "Mulher do fim do Mundo" uses carnival as a metaphor for the apocalypse and according to composer Romulo Froes "translates Elza's strength and indestructability". With The Woman at the End of the World, Elza forces the joy and sadness that personifies samba to confront the dirty truths of modern day São Paulo.

The Woman At The End Of The World (A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo)

Music US