BRUNO BERLE Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Bruno Berle hails from the coastal Brazilian city of Maceio, and he charmed the world in no uncertain terms with his 2022 album No Reino Dos Afetos. Berle's music is steeped in the tradition of MPB and Brazilian music overall, but he combines dreamy songwriting with an artful kind of lo-fi production which makes his sound all the more charming. This follow-up record once again finds Berle working closely with Batata Boy, drawn from the same seven-year period of developing ideas while moving from Maceio to Sao Paulo via some recording sessions in Rio de Janeiro. It's diaristic and scrapbook like, but rendered with such conviction it swoops in around your grey matter and carries you off to somewhere very pleasant indeed.

Review: Serene MPB via lo-fi via neo soul from Bruno Berle, one of Macieo, Brazil's hottest vocal talents. 808s and microtonal future bass sensibilities underlie this stylistically sprawling release, recalling something made by Monte Booker mixed with the songwriting sensibilities of Joao Donato. There's the occasional bit of ambient, dancehall and soft rock in there too, with every part that defines each genre all deftly handled by the instrumentalist.