Ouro is Isabel Lenza’s debut, and it shares the wavelength of another São Paulo-based singer-songwriter so often that comparisons are inevitable. Reggae-tinged tracks like “Incontível” recall Céu’s early, dub-heavy works, but most of Ouro goes for the seamless blend of electronic textures and traditional Brazilian pop that Céu perfected in last year’s Tropix. It took Céu […]
How do you now when you’ve reached the upper echelons of Brazilian popular music? When Caetano Veloso wants to be your bff. The legendary musician has a long history of boosting new talent. Back in 1980, Veloso was so taken with Rio de Janeiro singer-songwriter Marina Lima that he wrote this sultry number for her, […]
Ionete da Silveira Gama, aka Dona Onete, didn’t start singing professionally until her early 60s, but she spent a lifetime immersed in the rhythms and culture of her native Pará, a northern state in Brazil’s Amazon region. As a child, she sang while washing clothes along the river as a child; as a youth, she […]
This 26-year-old was born Jefferson Ricardo Silva in Taboão da Serra, a working-class community on the outskirts of São Paulo, but he reinvented himself as Rico Dalasam — a rapper with looks to die for, who takes equal pride in his sexuality and in his Afro-Brazilian heritage. Dalasam honed his craft in the same DJ […]
![Luísa Maita preps N. American tour, new album; first single out [listen]](http://bzusa.vamjsu3d.maxcdn-edge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Luísa-Maita-e1501815865564-536x402.jpg)
São Paulo chanteuse Luísa Maita’s sophomore album, Fio da Memória, is due out at the end of next month. The title track is already available via Bandcamp, and supporters will be able to download the album on the Brazilian release date, Sept. 23; the physical CD will be on sale in the U.S. on Sept. 30. […]
Stefanini continues to make waves with his trap- and bass-influenced electronica. The second video from his first EP, Onde, delves even further into glitch aesthetics than the first one. The song is called “Duas Faces” (“Two Faces”); the lyrics speak of duality and anxiety, and after a spoken passage and a dramatic build-up, the video […]
Choro das 3, the father-daughters quartet that’s one of the finest representatives of choro music in the U.S., is in the midst of a summer tour to support their new album, Impressões. See if they’re coming to a town near you — more dates and details to be announced. July 20: Chicago / Jazz Showcase […]
Duo Ladeira is a Brazilian musical duo who do not come from Rio, São Paulo, or Salvador. As described in their short interview below, their influences are diverse. Listening to their music, one is aware of these influences while noting that this duo has arrived at a familiar yet fresh sound. Their debut album, Ladeira, […]
Bebel Gilberto doesn’t sound anything like her dad, João Gilberto, the bossa nova pioneer fiercely committed to a bare-bones musical approach. But Bebel is like her dad in the sense that you know what you’re going to get when she goes into the studio: a classy melding of lounge music, traditional Brazilian stylings, and electronic […]
Ilhabela, a paradisiacal archipelago on the coast of São Paulo state, draws more tourists with each passing year. A jazz festival launched in 2012 helped raise its profile as a cultural center, and just when you didn’t think it was possible for Ilhabela to get any cooler, along came Vento (“Wind”), a festival bringing together […]
Two major names in contemporary Brazilian music, Céu and Rodrigo Amarante, are kicking off international tours over the next week or so. In Céu’s case, it would be more accurate to say that she’s resuming an international tour. After playing several European dates in April to support her recent Tropix album (stream it and read our […]
Winter is coming along in Brazil, but Mahmundi’s self-titled debut album is all about summer. Warmth, sunshine and the ocean are constant references, but by the time you get to the third track, “Eterno Verão” (“Eternal Summer”), the chorus (“In this eternal summer life passes by and we don’t even notice”) suggests that the summer […]
