Sound Peculiarities of the Experimental Songbook by Tom Zé

Abstract

The article proposes a reading about the process of creation of the Bahian artist Tom Zé, based on the analysis of interviews in which the musician comments on his compositional work. We also collect comments by the composer about his work through the book Tropicalista Lenta Luta (2003), by Tom Zé himself; in the documentary Tom Zé ou Quem irá colocar uma dinamite na cabeça do século? (2000), by Carla Gallo; of the book Estudando o Samba Tom Zé (2014), by Bernardo Oliveira, besides other research realized on the work of the composer. In a complementary way, we provide references in the area of Sonology that help us in our argumentation. We point to the emphasis that the concept of “sound” acquires in the work of Tom Zé, derived from the influence that contemporary music has on the academic background of the composer and we observe this influence in some of this songs.