Far Out Recordings

Far Out Recordings presents the peerless and criminally undervalued Quartin catalogue, beginning with the reissue of Jose Mauro’s forgotten masterpiece Obnoxius. Over the course of the 60s, Roberto Quartin released more than 20 albums in Brazil on his label Forma, by artists including the likes of Eumir Deodato and Quateto Em Cy. Selling the rights of Forma to Polygram in 1969, Quartin struck out for pastures new at the dawn of the 1970s with the launch of his self-titled label. Significant works and high-water marks for Brazilian music overall followed in that decade’s first year, with Victor Assis Brasil Plays Antonio Carlos Jobim and the aforementioned Obnoxious. These singular gems in Brazilian music, difficult to categorise yet compellingly haunting, have for too long gone unheard.

A firm favourite amongst the likes of Madlib, J-Rocc, Antal, Gilles Peterson, and Floating Points. José Mauro’s mournful and melancholic vocals create a dark, brooding atmosphere that stands in contrast to the usual joyfulness and high-spirited rhythm of the more prominent Brazilian music of the era. Despite this air of foreboding, Mauro’s confident baritones, chord patterns and sumptuous arrangements have the ability to induce in the listener an almost trance-like state of ecstasy. Mauro’s long hidden masterpiece, a complex and uniquely stunning work is being offered the chance to be heard by the wider audience it has always deserved.

For many years it was presumed José Mauro was dead, based on false rumours and inaccurate speculation in blogs and comment sections. It wasn't until the 2016 reissue of Obnoxius that Far Out Recordings learned that Mauro was alive (now in his mid 70s) living a quiet life on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. After years of trying to track him down (with many twists and turns along the way), the label finally established contact with a close family member of José Mauro. This paved the way for the long awaited reissue of Mauro's second masterpiece from the Quartin catalogue A Viagem Das Horas, released in May 2021 with three previously unreleased recordings.