# Caetano Veloso — Tropicália

Caetano Veloso’s Tropicália (1968) is No. 1 in our Tropicália ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1968
- **Label:** Philips
- **On one list:** Tropicália
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Artist:** [Caetano Veloso](https://waxonia.com/artist/caetano-veloso/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/caetano-veloso--tropicalia/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Tropicália](https://waxonia.com/genre/tropicalia/)

The song that named the movement, a collage of Brasília, monuments and television, sung deadpan over an arrangement that keeps changing its mind.

## Analysis

7 sections, the first drop at 2:32, 64% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 107.7 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** C minor
- **Dynamic range:** 7.6 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 3:56

- `0:00` A · **intro** (bar -5), instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy
- `0:18` B · **build** (bar 3), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: bass
- `0:31` B · **peak** (bar 9), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `1:28` B · **peak** (bar 35), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `2:03` C · **breakdown** (bar 50), sung — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `2:33` B · **peak** (bar 64), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `3:27` D · **outro** (bar 88), sung — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other

**Drop** at 2:32 (bar 63). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Caetano%20Veloso%20Tropic%C3%A1lia) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=WwfwRULbSA8)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.