Os Leif S

Origin

Salvador, BA

Years Active

1960–1970

Genres

psychedelic rock, MPB, rock

Biography

Os Leif S were an influential Brazilian psychedelic rock musical group founded in the 1960s in Salvador, Bahia, by Erickson Leoni da Costa Nunes, known as Leif Erickson Lico. The original lineup also featured renowned Bahian musicians Pepeu Gomes, Carlinhos Gomes, and Jorginho Gomes, and is widely recognized as the embryo of the legendary lineup of Novos Baianos. In the Bahian music scene of the time, the group stood out for the intensity and great instrumental virtuosity of its members.

Thanks to the prestige they gained in Bahia, Os Leif S were invited by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil to act as the backing band for the historic Barra 69 concert, held in Salvador shortly before the duo's exile to London during the military dictatorship. The joint performance remains one of the rare official records of the band's psychedelic sound. In 1970, the group released the 7-inch single "Fobus In Totum / Nem Sei De Mim" through the Beverly label, which at the time was distributed only to radio stations and ended up being commercially credited under the name "Os da Bahia" due to the label's marketing strategies.

The band's trajectory holds important connections with major icons of Brazilian music, having been included in the lineup of the canceled PrimaVera Festival in São Paulo, alongside names like Tim Maia, Os Mutantes, and Gal Costa. Although direct official discography is scarce, the participation of its members in the tropicália scene and the subsequent reissue of the single in the 2010s by the Psico BR label consolidated the group's historical importance for rock and MPB.