Starting Point

In 1975, under the oppressive air of military dictatorship in Brazil, brothers Lelo and Z Eduardo Nazario invited bassist Zeca Assumpcao to join their musical experiments in a basement under Sao Paulo's Teodoro Sampaio Street - as teenagers, the trio had already been playing together in Hermeto Pascoal's Grupo, alongside guitarist Toninho Horta and saxophonist Nivaldo Ornelas, and it was while working together under Hermeto's direction that the Paulista rhythm section (as they were then known) began to realise their own potential. Just like Hermeto Pascoal's 'Viajando Com O Som' from the following year, 'Starting Point' was recorded over two days at Vice-Versa Studios, by revered engineer Renato Viola. The studio was one of the best in Sao Paulo and musicians communicated with engineers through cameras and a monitor, allowing the group complete immersion in the process. They also made use of the studio's hemispherical tiled room, which served as an acoustic reverberation chamber.