Os Mutantes

Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes perform in 2010
Background information
Origin	São Paulo, Brazil
Genres	Psychedelic rock, experimental rock, tropicalismo, progressive rock, Avant garde
Years active	1966–1978 2006–present
Labels	Polydor/Universal, Som Livre, Sony BMG (Brazil) Omplatten/Polydor/Universal, Luaka Bop, ANTI-, Krian Music Group (US)
Members	Sérgio Dias Esmeria Bulgari Vinicius Junqueira Vitor Trida Henrique Peters Cláudio Tchernev
Past members	Cláudio César Dias Baptista Arnaldo Baptista Rita Lee Liminha Dinho Leme Manito Rui Motta Túlio Mourão Antônio Pedro Luciano Alves Paulo de Castro Fernando Gama Zélia Duncan Bia Mendes Fabio Recco Ani Cordero Amy Crawford

Os Mutantes ("The Mutants") (Portuguese pronunciation: [uz muˈtɐ̃tʃis]) are an influential Brazilian psychedelic rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s.

Although the original line-up (Rita Lee, Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias; and later with Liminha and Dinho Leme) made the most notorious breakthrough for the group, it has gone through numerous personnel changes throughout its existence. After a hiatus from the late 1970s to the early 2000s, the band reunited in 2006, touring and recording new material.

Os Mutantes was formed in São Paulo 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 performed and recorded with many artists of this period, including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, before Veloso and Gil were arrested and subsequently exiled by the military government of Brazil in early 1969. During this period, Os Mutantes was also threatened by the military government of Brazil of that time.