Video: Silva - "Eu Sempre Quis"

We’ve long been aware of Silva’s universal appeal and star quality. Grandiosity is not a hard sell if you are earnest and selective (e.g. not cheesy) in the approach. Silva has already twice succeeded with this formula. Rather than burn out under his own trademark sound, he welcomes change.

On his latest single, “Eu Sempre Quis”, the Brazilian producer stands in quiet rebellion to previous work. This is not a sweeping first single of horns, big synths, and life-affirming hooks. Silva’s performance is delicate, a “here I am” moment that works as a private exchange and a public confession set to serene guitars. The opening shots establish the need for silence and the chance to transmit his own feelings (“Amor, eu sempre quis / Desde quando te conheço”). Silva’s positioning in a plain white studio is counterposed with many shots of Jupiter. Just as the name suggests, our own mythology has obsessed over the scale and power it evokes, but here only appears fragile, lonely even. Despite this and even despite the sparse, metronomic beats, Silva manages to dance and to smile. A sight that our minds have been conditioned to reject, much like how when we saw “Hotline Bling” we could only see memes. It’s too late for Drake, but please let’s let Silva have his dance.

“Eu Sempre Quis” is taken from Júpiter, Silva’s third full-length album due November 20th.

SILVA - "Noite"

More than a year after launching Vista Pro Mar, SILVA returns with “Noite,” a sensual and magnetic number written between Japan and Brazil. The single, which features collaboration with veteran singer and guitarist Lulu Santos and rapper with growing hype Don L, has a disco funk feel expressed through voluptuous synths and heady back vocals.

The talented composer and producer hailing from Vitória (ES) transcends the limits of ephemeral pop and dreamy electro to offer a romantic ascension to the world of ideal beauty where mundane life fades under a heavy black veil. The blurred edges of “Noite” envelop all things, allowing for fantasies to emerge and the most unreal visions to prevail, leaving open the promise of a fresh LP.

Video: SILVA - "Volta"

Gorgeously shot between sunset and sunrise and directed by William Sossai and Angelo Silva, the exquisite clip for “Volta,” latest single off of Vista Pro Mar, follows SILVA on a journey through the streets of Luanda, Angola. Killer dance moves and performances by young and less young kuduristas are juxtaposed to the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist’s fragile, beautifully nuanced voice telling a story of contemplation and romance (“Pode ser o tempo fará com que você perceba que nós dois não somos em vão, em vão não há beleza”).

Although separated by an ocean, Brazil and Angola share a rich history of mixed Afro-Iberian musical tradition – heritage of centuries-long Portuguese colonization and slave trade. Thus, this stunning depiction of cross-fertilization at a micro-level makes the marimba-like layer take on a full significance.  


In May, SILVA will release a documentary about his week-long trip in Luanda, in collaboration with FARM.

SILVA - Vista Pro Mar

Vista Pro Mar, SILVA
Som Livre, Brazil
Rating: 83
by Sam Rodgers

"Stealth Pop" refers to pop music that sounds simplistic, easy and nice (both pretty and precise) at first listen –music that you might balk at because you, dear reader, have more sophisticated tastes. HAIM are a recent example of a "Stealth Pop" band: easily digestible tracks that only over time reveal their subtlety, imbedding themselves in your ear. Suddenly, and maybe unexpectedly, you're a full-blown fan. It's a term we might have just made up, but it seems apt when describing the tunes of Brazil's SILVA, here with his sophomore LP, Vista Pro Mar.

Like the aforementioned LA sisters, SILVA comes with a fully-realized sound of his own, even though he borrows heavily from late-70s and 80s pop: atmospheric synths; chiming disco hooks, funky bass lines, saxophone solos; bridges that build and climax; hand claps, clicks and earnest oohs/ahhs. This multi-instrumentalist from Vitória unashamedly celebrates nostalgia, incorporating the essence of popular music from the past into an electronic present –visiting a horn section or crashing piano from time to time. Folded through this is his appreciation of Brazil's own musical styles, including the cliché bossa nova, and 'tropical' instrumentation: track "Entardecer" moves from James Blake-on-Ipanema Beach to a reggae outro, without breaking a genre-shifting sweat.

On 2012's Claridão – SILVA's bedroom project and first LP – the artist showed a knack for creating epic, heralding melodies, among quieter, moodier tracks crafted for repeated listening. Again, with Vista Pro Mar, the 25-year-old (!) shifts around with immediacy and intimacy, but with the through-line of the sea (seaside sound effects fill the gaps between songs): sometimes he's on a precipice overwhelmed by the horizon, other times, he's picking his guitar by a beach bonfire. Unlike Claridão, Vista Pro Mar's melding of styles doesn't deviate from a singular, signature sound. Where it was hard to introduce a 'typical SILVA' track to new listeners from the first album (the single "A Visita" was glorious, except it sounded nothing like the rest of the album), with each track on this one, the newbie gets a more succinct example of SILVA's aural-vision.

SILVA's vibe is one that yearns for existential joy –a why can't life always feel this good naivete that seems opposed to the doleful, Portuguese folk fado, but actually exists on the same spectrum. The warm, lushness of the eleven tracks on Vista Pro Mar only masks this underlying sadness. SILVA will make you smile because you get his romanticized will to stay happy. Though we might find the sax solo on bopping single "Janeiro" a blissful trip down memory lane, the irony of how a saxophone was originally used in mournful love songs is not lost. Listen to how the beats of "Disco Novo" posture 80s high school seriousness, as the protagonist asks a crush to listen to a mix-tape. On "Capuba," SILVA reaches an Alex Anwandter level of Chilean new wave disco smarts, mixing the mirror ball with heartfelt longing.

We don't get too many Brazilian acts playing on the Fonograma stereo, which makes it all the more exciting to promote one as talented as SILVA. That his music is still resolutely Brazilian is promising –Fernanda Takai duet "Okinawa" offers, at least superficially, a current cultural snapshot of the nation, for example. Tapping into the country's ocean of musical styles and history seems only logical, but breaking free of the World Music tag and turning a myriad of influences into a sneakily near perfect pop record is SILVA's and Vista Pro Mar's greatest achievement.

Mahmundi - Setembro EP

Setembro EP, Mahmundi
Independiente, Brazil
Rating: 75
by Souad Martin-Saoudi

Mahmundi is the musical project of singer songwriter and self-taught multi-instrumentalist Marcela Vale. The prodigy from Rio de Janeiro unlocks Setembro (the follow up to her first effort titled, Efeito das Cores), a fragmented collection of six tracks that condense and disperse in rhythm with the tides. The amalgam of atmospheric synths, well-calculated guitar splashes and haunting drum machine beats creates an impressive landslide her husky and sensuous voice breaks against, commanding a constant yet hurried side-to-side movement of the whole body. Introspection and fortitude could be Mahmundi’s credo - 'Mah' being a nickname of Marcela and 'Mundi' a derivation of 'Mundo', meaning 'world', something like 'Marcela’s world'.

The EP’s opening number and first single off, “Vem - {Selah}” perfectly embodies the artist’s premise. “Vem, me dê uma dança, me dê um abraço, vê se não se cansa, segura o meu braço, eu te levanto, caso o cansaço, venha te puxar pra baixo, dos lençóis” she declares in the first lines of the song as the sharp drum machine and synth feed a dark and contemplative soundscape on the verge of tropical and industrial. Vale’s take on becoming a better person while finding inner peace and serenity acts as a balm on the electronic undertows of co-producer Lucas Paiva. With “Preludio” and “Quase Sem Querer” Vale's lyrics navigate even further in her land-locked sea of confession and nostalgia, all with an '80s breeze in its sails.

We then reach “Arpoador," where Vale makes us disembark to admire one of the most beautiful sunsets in Rio de Janeiro. Her breathy inflections, that echo the works of iconic figures and role models Marina Lima and Rita Lee, are reassuring. The sadness that overwhelmed us in the early morning is now unraveling itself in the water and sun of Arpoador. Simple, crystalline words swirl and fold back into the emotional ebb and flow of Mahmundi. The title song, with its autotune incursion, exudes a gentle wistfulness. Vale’s voice is meant to reverberate ad infinitum. The 25 minutes EP closes with “Leve”, a stripped-down (scaled down) track on which she accompanies herself on the guitar, revealing her strength as a composer. Till the release of a proper full-length, you can download Setembro HERE.

Video: Silva - "Mais Cedo"

In less than two years, Silva (solo project of Lúcio Souza) emerged from relative obscurity to become Brazil's breakout indie star, playing the country's top festivals and amassing a huge online following. Why, then, has his music gone virtually unnoticed by most Spanish-language music publications? Could it be that after Michel Teló, Spanish speakers (perhaps unconsciously) are now just unwilling to give Brazilian indie a chance? Not even Club Fonograma managed to review his standout EP, though, in our defense, "12 de maio" did land a spot on last year's best of list.

The video for promo single "Mais Cedo," which also coincided with the release of Silva's first full-length, Claridão, makes a pretty convincing case as to why not only indie kids should be listening, but everyone. Ignoring those overwhelming Instagram filters, the clip is an honest and beautiful effort to let the music speak for itself. Here, Silva trades his usual orchestral flair for a smooth blend of electronic textures with a voice that recalls those rare occasions when waking up to a sun-lit room isn't a total pain, especially if it's next to the right person. Adding to its brilliance, the song ends midway through and uses the remaining time as an outro, resulting in a sound that's somewhere between Torreblanca and Jessie Ware. And, if you’re lucky, listening will also make you forget you ever had the words “nossa” stuck in your head.