Great pics! I've ordered from and spoken with the owner of Mafer Records a few times. He's a great guy! His band is pretty good too.
Our next vinyl store, a couple days later was the Casarao do Vinil on Rua dos Trilhos, São Paulo. This place boasts of having 700,000+ records. But I think we all know that quantity does not equal quality. This holds true here. I found many records that I wanted here, but just could not buy them in the condition they were in. The different rooms of this 2 floor building have vinyl set at different prices. A R$30 room, R$50 room, and so on. I would only recommend this place if you've been to many other places first. For me, the best part was the building in the back which houses their R$10 stuff. I found some things worth buying there, but watch out for the mosquitoes.
Casarao do Vinil continued. Could it be?? Is it an affordable, good condition copy of Secos e Molhados??? No... it's a friggin' Elvis Presley record...
Even in Brazil you will find Whipped Cream and Other Delights. Or as they called it Creme Batida e Outros Delicias. Just outside the building (love the Beatles artwork everywhere): Purchased: 51. Chico Buarque – Não Vai Passar - Vol.2 (1992) - R$10 52. Nara Leão – Meus Sonhos Dourados (1987) - R$10 53. Clara Nunes - Claridade (1975) - R$10 54. Elis Regina – Elis Especial (1979) - R$30 55. Elis Regina E Jair Rodrigues – 2 Na Bossa (1965, Mono) - R$30 56. Elis Regina – Saudade Do Brasil Vol. 2 (1980) (1988 reissue) - R$30 57. Toquinho & Vinicius – Toquinho E Vinicius (1971) - R$10 58. Various – A Lenda Viva De Carmem Miranda (1995) - R$10 59. Various - Bethânia, Mano Caetano & Amigos (1985) - R$10 60. Various – Festival dos Festivais (1966, Mono) - R$10 61. Various - História Da Música Popular Brasileira - Ataulfo Alves (1983) - R$10 62. Various - História Da Música Popular Brasileira - Jorge Ben (1970) - R$10 63. Various - História Da Música Popular Brasileira - Herivelto Martins (1983) - R$10 64. Various – História Da Música Popular Brasileira - Lupicínio Rodrigues (1982) - R$10 65. Various – Os Grandes Momentos Dos Festivais Da Música Popular Brasileira (1977) - R$10 Total - R$210, discounted to R$200
Some thoughts: Always ask for the best discount they can give you and bring cash. In most cases, you can get a great deal. (To get money, I recommend the tourist exchange in the Santa Cruz mall in SP. Don't even bother with the banks, seriously.) The most common form of inner sleeve in Brazil for older records is plastic. If you buy a lot of these old '60s and '70s records you'll eventually find out that some of these plastic inner sleeves are breaking up and turning into flakes. Which of course is horrible for the record. But it can also make a mess of your floor. Watch out for this when buying. Also, and I'd hadn't seen this before, but I'm sure it happens everywhere. Watch out for vinyl that has been "cleaned" improperly. I brought home more than a few records that looked like this: A run through my Spin Clean took care of this, but prior to this trip, I'd actually never bought any vinyl that looked like this. And I buy a fair amount of used vinyl. If you like MPB, like I do, you might want to pick up some of the História Da Música Popular Brasileira volumes. It seems there are 2 series with this title. The more common one is from the early 80's and has the white cover. I saw these everywhere I went. They were always cheap and they were always incredibly clean. Most of them seemingly unplayed. When I asked someone about them I was told that they were sent out in the mail as a subscription type thing. So, most likely, a whole bunch of people got them and weren't really into whoever the featured artist of the month was and just put them away unplayed. I mean, really, I guess I have about 20 of these volumes now and they are all immaculate. I'm hoping to complete my set one day. Example: Thanks for reading!!!
Interesting. Have you actually encountered records being damaged from the heat? I have often wondered about this.
I never encountered records damaged from the heat, but I always avoided buying used records from Rio de Janeiro and from the cities of the brazilian northeast. However, I bought several new brazilian records and some were pressed at Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, but none had any damage.
Just came across this thread. I must admit to knowing nothing of Brazilian music, but your posts and pictures, almost a diary of your record hunting are wonderful, thank you. Don't know if it's just me but some of the pictures on the later posts are not loading, just a box with a question mark. The photos I can see are fascinating though.
Thanks! I had a blast on both trips and thought it would be quite interesting to all of you here. Maybe refresh your browser to view the photos. For me, I see all of them. Hope this works for you.
Thanks, my iPad is a bit old and creaky so will check them out on my newer phone. My family take quite a few trips to Europe, and I always try and negotiate some time to check out the local record/CD shops and bring some local music home (unfortunately my wife and daughter don't share my passion, but they go and do something else for an hour or so). I'm guessing this might not be your last trip, so will look forward to more picture in the future.
Wonderful thread. I’m norwegian but I’ve been to Brazil 7 times and going on my 8th this July. Last trip was early 2015. On some of my early trips I bought a few records in RJ. Got a early brazilian pressing of Pink Floyd’s Meddle actually. Love brazilian music as well. However on this family trip with two small kids vinyl purchases will be a pure bonus. Will follow this thread just in case.
Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great time there and the opportunity presents itself for some record shopping. Drink a caldo de cana for me.
We hope for a return next year. No doubt, I'll be ready to check out more places and bring more vinyl back with me.
Obrigado for the fascinating tour of the Sao Paulo record store scene. Have been to Rio four times myself, but despite being somewhat of a Brazilian music fan (especially bossa nova), couldn't take the time out for vinyl shopping due to the huge amount of other exciting and fascinating attractions available in Rio. But always interesting to get a different cultural perspective on music - especially in a place where a country or region's own artists are held in equal or greater esteem than the ones we generally revere.
Very nice photos and essay. Nice little virtual crate digging trip. If I did this trip, I'd have a wagon load of bossa nova likely. Samba til ya can't samba no more! McLover Approved and Endorsed thread, by the way!!!
De nada! You're right, Rio is full of amazing sights. I especially loved the beaches. I only got to spend about 4 days there in 2014 and just a day on my 2016 trip. I hope to see more of the city the next time I return to Brazil.
This is a great thread! I'd love to see more like this from other foreign locations, or heck, even from other U.S. cities. Maybe we can start a series. "The Record Stores of...(insert city name here)" Just a thought...
Thanks! Glad you liked it. I totally agree, would love to see more threads like this. I might have to do one for Ohio stores soon.
Baratos Afins Av. São João, 439 SP also has issued or reissued records. They did a reissue in the 80s of the Mutantes first 3 LPs which are very good quality although about as rare as the originals. However they are mostly in excellent condition as opposed to trashed originals. Are they still a record store there or have they closed
