Kleiton & Kledir is a Brazilian pop duo made up of brothers Kleiton and Kledir Ramil, who were in the 1970's pop band Almondegas before setting out on their own as a duo act. Here's a quick look at their work, including their albums with Almondegas...
Almondegas "Almondegas" (Continental Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Sidney Morais & Carlos Alberto Sion)
Bright, almost blithe-sounding acoustic pop-rock with a relentless cheerfulness and an appealing non-electrified regionalism melded to a harmony-vocals poppiness which stood in welcome contrast to the increasingly fusty, overly serious vibe of the 'Seventies MPB scene. This was the first album from this group out of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, which included brothers Kleiton and Kledir Ramil, as well as bandmates Quico Castro Neves (banjo and guitar), Gilnei Silveira (percussion) Pery Souza on guitar and percussion.... This is an inventive and refreshing album with delicate, dancing arrangements that should appeal to many fans of global "folk freak" music -- this kind of picks up where others left off, similar to the best, most acoustic-flavored efforts of experimentalists such as Lo Borges or Quintal De Clorofila, but more focussed, more coherent and more consistent. Definitely worth checking out, perhaps even essential, despite the twee vibes.
Almondegas "Aqui" (Continental Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Roberto De Santana, Luis Claudio & Carlos Alberto Sion)
Their second album, which is still legitimately folk-rocky, and mostly pretty easy on the ears. It also has an underpinning of harmony-rich, blank-eyed, Beatles-y bubblegum pop... not quite the slick, breezy, LA country-rock sound that was popular in the early 'Seventies, but more like one of those innumerable not-quite-psychedelic, perky pop groups from the late 'Sixties -- like the Cyrkle, or whatever -- the second- and third-tier bands that laid the foundations for the soft-pop sound to come. That said, Almondegas had a lot of interesting aspects, in particular their acoustic instrumentation, which in mid-'Seventies was relatively unusual outside of choro and various regional styles. Also some proggy elements which played into the overly-ornate, orchestral sensibilities of the contemporary MPB scene -- at various times the repertoire sounds either overly simplistic or, alternately, a bit over-the-top and somewhat pretentious. Overall, though, this is a consistently intriguing and inventive album -- certainly worth a spin!
Almondegas "Gaudencio Sete Luas" (Continental Records, 1977) (LP)
Alas, no third album on Continental, but instead this rather abruptly compiled best-of collection drawing pretty evenly from their first two albums, Almondegas and Aqui. There's also one new track, "Piquete Do Caveira," which they also included on their first album for Philips (Alhos Com Bugalhos, below) and which became a staple of their live shows.
Almondegas "Alhos Com Bugalhos" (Philips Records, 1977) (LP)
Almondegas "Circo De Marionetes" (Philips Records, 1978) (LP)
Kleiton & Kledir "Kleiton & Kledir (1)" (Ariola Records, 1980) (LP)
Kleiton & Kledir "Kleiton & Kledir (2)" (Ariola Records, 1981) (LP)
Kleiton & Kledir "Kleiton & Kledir (3)" (Ariola Records, 1983) (LP)
Kleiton & Kledir "Kleiton & Kledir (4)" (Barclay Records, 1984)
Kleiton & Kledir "Kleiton & Kledir (5)" (Polygram Records, 1986)
Kleiton Ramil "Sim" (RGE, 1990)
Kledir Ramil "Ao Vivo" (Som Livre, 1991) (LP)
Kleiton & Kledir "Dois" (1996)
Kleiton & Kledir "Classicos Do Sul" (Universal/Mercury, 1999)
Kleiton & Kledir "Ao Vivo" (Som Livre, 2005)
Kleiton & Kledir "Autorretrato" (HPI, 2009)
Kleiton & Kledir "Par Ou Impar" (Biscoito Fino, 2011)
Kleiton & Kledir "Com Todas As Letras" (Biscoito Fino, 2015)
Almondegas "Warner 30 Anos" (Warner Music, 2006)
Almondegas "Nova Serie" (Warner Music, 2008)
Almondegas "Aqui" (Phonodisc, 2008)
An oddly-packaged best-of set which has the same artwork and album title as their second record, Aqui, but is actually an expanded version of the 1977 Gaudencio Sete Luas LP, which mashed up their first two albums. This includes more material from both records, as well as a live version of the song "Piquete Do Caveira," presumably recorded at some MPB festival or another. Looks pretty groovy: wish I had a copy!
Kleiton & Kledir "Millennium" (Universal/Mercury, 2000)
Early '80s pop from Kleiton and Kledir Ramil... It's perky and hook-filled, shamelessly overwrought and mechanically produced -- but there's certainly worse music to be found in Brazil's AOR-influenced "brega" canon. Lots of cow bells, hand-clappy drum machines, noodly electric guitar riffs, shimmering string arrangements and smiley-faced vocal choruses. Yikes!
Kleiton & Kledir "Novo Millennium" (Universal/Mercury, 2005)
Kleiton & Kledir "A Arte De Kleiton & Kledir" (Universal, 2006)
