OS Mutantes - History

History

Os Mutantes was formed in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1966 by two brothers: Arnaldo Baptista (bass, keyboards and vocals) and Sérgio Dias Baptista (guitar and vocals), and lead singer Rita Lee. They were originally named Six Sided Rockers. The Baptistas' father was a poet and mother a pianist, and the two had previously had a band called The Wooden Faces. Sérgio Dias' guitar, the Golden Guitar (Guitarra de Ouro), was created by Arnaldo and Sérgio's brother, Cláudio César Dias Baptista, who built many of their instruments and electronic effects. Their current name was settled upon immediately before a performance on a Brazilian television program.

Through other TV performances, the band was able to meet Gilberto Gil, an influential musician in the Tropicália movement, who brought them into the movement's circle. Os Mutantes released two albums heavily influenced by Tropicália, which blended psychedelic rock with other forms of art. They played with many artists of this period, including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, prior to their arrest and subsequent exile. During the 1960s, Os Mutantes was threatened by the military government of Brazil of that time. In 1971, bassist Arnolpho Lima Filho ("Liminha") and drummer Ronaldo Leme ("Dinho") officially joined the band. They released five albums together before Lee departed in 1972 to start a solo career. Rita Lee's 1972 album Hoje É o Primeiro Dia do Resto da Sua Vida was actually recorded with Os Mutantes but credited to Rita Lee due to record company disagreements. Subsequently the band moved in a progressive rock direction with the album O A e o Z, recorded in 1973 but released only in 1992 due to disagreement with the record company. Arnaldo left the band in that year to pursue a solo career due to differences with other band members and problems with the abuse of LSD, followed by Dinho and, a year later, Liminha. Arnaldo subsequently was institutionalized and jumped from the building's window, causing a six-week coma. Sérgio Dias, the only remaining original member, led the band until its dissolution in 1978. During this time, they released one more studio album, a live album and an EP. Two unreleased albums were released many years later, the aforementioned O A e o Z and Tecnicolor recorded in 1970 and released in 2000.