Tropicalia In Furs, East Village, New York
Closed – 304 E. 5th St. East Village New York 10003 Updated November 11, 2025
The Store
Last December (2012) I visited Tropicalia in Furs, then a record shop in the East Village which sold, in addition to the usual rock, Brazilian music. Unfortunately, when I was there, I didn’t know what Tropicalia was, and had no real familiarity with Brazilian music outside of Bossa Nova.
Since then, I have learned what Beck, David Byrne and others before me have already discovered – Tropicalia. From Brazil of the late 60s early 70s, it is music that mixes Bossa Nova, psych, French and British 60s pop, soul and African influences into a wonderful experimental stew. Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Tom Ze and Jorge Ben, among others, put out excellent tropicalia albums. You can hear some of their songs on a Tropicalia playlist in our playlist section.
Having finally discovered this music, I decided another trip to Tropicalia in Furs was in order. Unfortuately, as reported in EV Grieve in the article Another East Village Record Store Closes of January 2013, Tropicalia in Furs is no longer with us. Here are some photos of the store just before it closed. The store was originally opened in another location in 2004, and closed here about 9 years later.
That picture on the shop’s wall of a man with an orange colored afro set on a blue background of stars and planets is Tim Maia and his 2012 album The Existential Soul of Tim Maia – No One Can Live Forever. A true classic from a true Brazilian classic, I finally bought it at Sweat Records in 2025. How much better my life would have been if I had only bought it in 2012, when I visited this store. If you’re curious (and you should be) the link will take you to our article on this compilation album, where you can read about Tim Maia, and sample some of his music from the ’70s it features. And no, it is not a picture of Joel Oliveira, though he did have an afro …..
Here’s a You Tube video of a tour of Tropicalia in Furs in happier days.
A second video, titled A Day At Tropicalia In Furs from 2008, shows what you missed if you didn’t make to the Tropicalia in Furs while it was still with us. It features the store’s owner Joel Oliveira aka Joel Stones playing some nice tunes and showing records he has in the store. The song the customers are dancing to is the great Take Me Back To Piaui. By Juca Chaves from 1972, it was recently featured in the 2024 film I’m Still Here, about a darker period in Brazilian history. And Joel shows us he had more than just Brazilian records in this store. Was that Nirvana’s Bleach I spyed?
Here’s a link to an article in the Village Voice, titled Fifth Street Tropicalia in Furs from 2009 which describes both Tropicalia in Furs and Tropicalia too.
Joel Oliveria Stones and the Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas compilation
But while the store has left us, Joel Oliveira’s influence has not. Giving us the benefit of his extensive digging in Brazil, he put together a two record compilation Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas. First released in 2010 on his Tropicalia in Furs Records label, it is a deep dive into music most of us would never have had the chance to experience without Joel’s guiding hand. It initially came with extensive liner notes and a booklet that provides extensive information about the bands and music you are listening to. First presses also came with free 3d glasses, but my did not. The first 6 cuts from my YouTube playlist Tropicalia 2 all come from this two record set, that’s how much I like it.
At one point, filmaker Artur Ratton was interested in making a movie about this comp, the music in it, and Joel Stones. Below is a promo for the movie. Don’t know if the project ever came to fruition, but the promo is way cool, and features one of my favorite cuts from the comp – Fábio – Lindo sonho delirante (LSD).
In recognition of his place in the record collecting world, Joel was photographed – replete with glasses – for Eilon Paz’s Dust and Grooves – Adventures in Record Collecting. Paz posted an October 8, 2008 interview of Joel, with pictures of Joel and some of his more risque vinyl offerings, on his Dust and Grooves website.
From his facebook page Joel is living in LA. From time to time he opens a Tropicalia in Furs pop up store featuring – what else – more of his amazing Brazilian finds. Won’t miss it the next time he comes around. (And yes, that link works, even if it has a strike through it.)
Interested in buying Tropicalia? Reissues are more plentiful now in some of the record stores I visit, but if you’re looking for first pressings, I would recommend a trip to Human Head in Brooklyn. I heard tell that they take trips to Brazil for records, which I’ve always found in the store on my visits. I’ve also found some at various vendors at the annual WFMU record fair in New York. But as the fair just happened, you’ll have to wait another year to see whats there. And it won’t be cheap.
