It goes without saying that samba rock underscores the sheer diversity of cultures, and in turn sounds, of Brazil. Emerging in the late 1950s, samba rock fused samba with elements of not only rock music but also soul, funk, blues, jazz and bossa nova. From Jorge Ben’s bouncy “País Tropical” to Gilberto Gil’s understated “Aquele Abarço”, via Farofa Carioca’s buoyant “Moro No Brasil”, the genre covers an exhilarating range of sonic moods and textures—emblematic of the favelas that birthed it and the discotheques that further popularised it throughout the 1960s and beyond.