Release Date: 26.06.2026
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IT BEGAN IN IPANEMA
Rio de Janeiro in 50 Songs
By Daniel Haaksman

228 pages
ISBN 978-3-910265-28-8

Sorry, the music from Rio de Janeiro has been travelling the world since decades. For Non-Brazilians, everything seemed to begin in Ipanema: a guitar chord, a soft melody, a girl walking by. Enough to transform a city into a myth. However, samba rose from the hills, far from the beach. And baile funk emerged from the favelas rather than Copacabana.

Berlin DJ and music producer Daniel Haaksman looks behind the curtain of postcard clichés and explores both the history and the present of Rio, creating a sensual map of carioca music. Spanning more than a century, the songs featured in „It Began In Ipanema“ reveal how a city tells its story through sound. From the restrained precision of bossa nova to the intensity of baile funk, from beachside mythologies to hillside realities, each chapter opens another window onto the city. What takes shape resembles less a linear history than a constellation of perspectives. A sonic urban architecture formed through longing, rhythm, and resistance.

Written with the curiosity of a digger and the sensitivity of a cultural mediator, Daniel Haaksman´s It Began in Ipanema moves between essay, travelogue, and musical analysis. It´s for readers willing to follow and explore. And above all, to listen and to listen again.

With a preface by Jamz Supernova

“No one writes about music with such intelligence and warmth as Daniel Haaksman—bravo!”
Maxim Biller

“With a Berlin ear, Daniel is writing his way through Rio, connecting the world”
Coco Maria

“This book is like a bible”
Jamz Supernova

„The best legal trip in a long time!“
Kruder + Dorfmeister

"A book that will take you on a journey with your ears wide open. Maravilhoso!“
Philippe Cohen-Solal

„An exciting, colourful and passionate guide to one of the greatest musical cities on earth“
Tash LC