| "Tropicalia" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Beck | ||||
| from the album Mutations | ||||
| B-side | "Halo of Gold" / "Black Balloon" | |||
| Released | 7 December 1998 (UK) | |||
| Genre | Tropicalia | |||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
| Label | Geffen GFS 22365 (UK, 7") GFSTD-22365 (UK, CD) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Beck Hansen | |||
| Producer(s) | Nigel Godrich and Beck Hansen | |||
| Beck singles chronology | ||||
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"Tropicalia" is a song from Beck's 1998 album Mutations. It was released as a single in the UK in December 1998. The B-side "Halo of Gold" is a drastically reworked cover version of "Furry Heroine (Halo of Gold)" by Skip Spence.
Background
Beck said that "Tropicalia"'s inspiration was "I've always loved a lot of different exotic music. I've been listening to Brazilian music since I was a kid, but I haven't really felt it was something that would come naturally until the last few years. I think for something like 'Tropicalia' I needed to go to places where that music existed in order to get to the point where I could do it myself. I wrote it in the back of the bus on tour, and then later I put lyrics to it. A lot of times I write the melody and the chords of the songs sometimes years before I ever get around it writing lyrics, so it just sits there incubating." [1]
Beck does not play any instrument in the song.[1]
Track listings
CD
- "Tropicalia" – 3:23
- "Halo of Gold" – 4:29
- "Black Balloon" – 3:30
7"
- "Tropicalia" – 3:23
- "Halo of Gold" – 4:29
Personnel
- Beck Hansen – vocals
- Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – synthesizer, organ, percussion
- Justin Meldal-Johnsen – acoustic bass, percussion
- Joey Waronker – drums, percussion, drum machine
- Smokey Hormel – percussion, cuíca, acoustic guitar
- David Ralicke – flute, trombone