Brazil’s number one soul brother masterpieces Racional Vols. 1 & 2 are the ultimate “cult” albums in every sense of the word. These mysterious recordings represent everything a twenty-first-century record collector might want: super-limited, independently produced, pressed and released, and containing world-class music (unknown to most) with a bizarre and intriguing back story. In 1974, at the height of his fame, Tim Maia, notorious for his hedonistic lifestyle, became a devoted follower of Manuel Jacinto Coelho’s radical, extraterrestrial obsessed Rational Culture cult (which first began as an offshoot of the mystical Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda). During his brief period with the cult, Maia gave up drugs and alcohol and issued these albums containing some of Brazil’s – and the world’s – best funk and soul music.