Peace Lily

Real

At the forefront of a rising wave of Brazilian artists captivating international audiences, Nyron Higor brings a quiet yet potent sense of wonder to his new self-titled album. Born in Maceió, Higor’s latest work is rooted in the traditions of Northeastern Brazilian music and golden-era MPB. Within the peaceful surroundings of his home, Higor weaves these roots together with global influences and contemporary production techniques, for a uniquely dreamlike vision of hope.

Following the success of his self-released debut Fio de Lâmina—an instrumental record of delicately balanced rhythmic and harmonic patterns, which earned support from tastemakers like Mr. Scruff, Gilles Peterson, and John Gomez—Higor’s new album is a move towards a more expansive, lyrical exploration of transcendence and triumph. As Higor explains, “This album is a test of resistance and a big event in my life as a young Black man from the Northeast and coming from a humble background, financially speaking, its context is political.”

Taking his demos and unfinished tracks to São Paulo, Higor worked alongside friends and collaborators from Brazil’s vibrant contemporary music scene—including fellow Maceioense artists Bruno Berle, Batata Boy, and New York-based Brazilian vocalist Alici Sol—assembling a rich musical landscape and a cutting edge development on the musical world from which he emerges.  

For Higor, the process of recording and producing in close collaboration with Berle and Batata Boy allowed him to fully cultivate the emotive power of his compositions. Album opener "Ciranda" sets the tone with a slow frevo rhythm, as wistful trombone melodies and melancholic acoustic guitar harmonies create an atmosphere both intimate and grand. Lead single "São Só Palavras," featuring Alici Sol and Bruno Berle, captures both the lightness and depth of young love in an all too fleeting minute-and-a-half moment of soaring brilliance. 

Building upon the instrumental sound of his debut, “Louro Cantador” with its playful organ, birdlike whistles and elegant acoustic guitar, emanates a kind of rare natural beauty, as each sound dances amidst the gentle pulse of Higor's bass—his main instrument. 
Through ten carefully crafted tracks, Higor’s acuity for sound and silence draws listeners into a place that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. “Above all, I value making music that brings me genuine satisfaction. I’m always looking for depth in the things I create.” 

This album is a testament to the timeless themes that define Higor’s artistry, as well as his creative drive to overcome the obstacles he faces. Conveying his feelings of jubilance for his work, Higor notes, “This work is liberating, contemplative and victorious!” Each track invites the listener to experience the raw intimacy, the joy and longing, and the otherworldly ingenuity of Brazilian music, which seems to endlessly keep us coming back for more.


Nyron Higor - Louro Cantador

Nyron Higor - Som 24

Sabrina Malheiros - Estação Verão

As If

dublon - As If

Mr Bongo proudly announces the first single from Don Glori’s forthcoming third album ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’. The cornerstone of the LP, 'Brown Eyes' is a joyous soul-jazz groover featuring the captivating lead male vocals of fellow Melbourne/Naarm local, ML Hall. On first listen you’d be mistaken for thinking this is a straight-up love song. Yet underneath its uplifting soulful flavours and sultry vocals, lies a deeper topic at play.

‘Brown Eyes’ discusses the comfort of seeking and finding your community when you had previously felt like an outsider. As Don mentions, “This song is about feeling 'othered' in a predominantly white society like Australia. The first verse is about being tokenised/tolerated and having to stake your claim to a place at the table. The second verse and hook are about finding people who have a shared history with you and feeling at ease around them. When you meet another person like that, and you don’t have to explain all the above, it’s a comforting feeling.” 

“It was the first song I wrote start to finish for the record, starting with the opening riff on the piano. I was taking a lot of cues from Jordan Rakei’s cover of Donald Byrd’s ‘Wind Parade’, as well as throwing in a nod to The Doobie Brothers inserting hooks where they shouldn’t be.”

The result is an empowering hit of jazz-injected soul, nourished by a funk flavour. A track that ebbs and flows between sections of sweeping tenderness and head-nodding, bassline-heavy grooves. Crisp swung drums, masterful keys and those honeyed vocals from Hall, backed with lush harmonies from Ruby Dargaville, Isadora Lauritz, and Bianca Kyriacou, combine to send you cruising out across the horizon.


Don Glori - Brown Eyes (Ft. ML Hall)

Presenting the second single taken from Melbourne/Naarm multi-instrumentalist Don Glori’s forthcoming third album ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’. ‘Power’ is a spiritual, choir-led, Brazilian-infused beauty. 

It was a song that Don wrote after being fed up with dealing with bad promoters and agents. It’s a simple mantra - protect your power and energy and do what feels free and good. A playful composition, musically it's divided into two parts. The first was inspired by Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' and the West Coast sonic world, delicately balancing the spiritual choir, ghostly horns, and jazz break intro. The song then morphs as it progresses, with the gravity that the choir once provided, ripped away by the next section.

From sombre to cheeky, the group chant turns to a satirical hook from the opposite view of the cynical promoter.
 
‘Take your fee, take your seat, come on man keep it up,
Take your fee, take your seat, come on man just shut up’

The song then breaks into a segment that nods to the Brazilian legends Azymuth and their 1977 track 'Tamborim, Cuíca, Ganzá, Berimbau’. Alcides Neto, Robyn Cummins and Al Kennedy provide the shimmering pandeiro, conga and drum percussion rhythms, as Joel Trigg lets rip with a swelling Rhodes solo that crescendos to the finale.


Don Glori - Power

Murmuring

DJ-Kicks: Quantic

In My Defence

Song

Far Out Recordings was founded in 1994 by London DJ and record producer Joe Davis. His longstanding and insatiable passion for Brazilian music, fuelled by his initial love of the jazz, funk and soul ubiquitous on the Rare Groove scene in 1980s London, took him to Brazil first as a teenager. It was there that his enthusiasm for record-collecting led him to some of his musical heroes and the eventual formation of musical bonds and close friendships. Joe’s early discoveries led to him becoming the UK’s foremost authority on Brazilian music, much of it little-known here before his enthusiastic endorsements began to ring out across the music scene. This led to the inevitable, and the keen young music fan and DJ with an entrepreneurial flair founded Far Out Recordings.

The label’s aim from the start has been to bring the sound of Brazil to the world – to showcase the history and culture of a land bursting with creativity and energy – from the classic to the cutting edge. There have been numerous releases from both new and established Brazilian artists including legends such as Azymuth, Joyce, Marcos Valle, Arthur Verocai, The Ipanemas, Sabrina Malheiros, Clara Moreno and Binario, to name a few. 

Far Out also releases music from musicians and producers around the world who share the label’s appreciation for Brazilian music and culture. Alongside Brazilian music, the label is also well known for its longstanding association with underground dance music, having collaborated with some of the most acclaimed and accomplished electronic producers of our times. This had led to a rich plethora of pioneering and innovative dance and beats music, forging a future for the oft-neglected role of Brazil and its rhythms in the complex dance music diaspora of the UK and US, with 12" remixes and original productions from the likes of Theo Parrish, Mark Pritchard, 4hero, Dego, Andres, Marcellus Pittman, Kirk Degiorgio, Nicola Conte, A.D. Bourke, Henry Wu and Rick Willhite among many others.

Joe's crate-digging mentality has also been the driving force behind another crucial aspect of Far Out's work - unearthing forgotten masterpieces and once impossible to find records. This has led to reissues from the likes of Milton Nascimento and Roberto Quartin’s catalogue of lost gems, resulting in some of the finest Brazilian reissues you’re likely to find. While this remains a relatively small percentage of the label's output, every release is brought to you with the utmost love and care, ensuring painstaking perfection in the realms of sound, aesthetic and physicality.

Many of the artists on the Far Out roster regularly tour worldwide, playing across Europe, the USA and the Far East. Look out for them in your town, spreading the joy, the warmth and the restless creativity of Brazilian music and all that Far Out seeks to represent. “After more than twenty years of Far Out, we are only just beginning to realise our ambitions” surmises Joe. “We are still learning about production, recording and music, always.. and we are fortunate to be surrounded by the most exciting group of musicians and producers who are making consistently brilliant music. We are still intent on finding new stars, but we are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far and our formidable artist roster.”

"Brilliant British-Brazilian label" Daily Telegraph
"15 years of the excellent Far Out" Word
"The original and the best, Far Out has never faltered" Gilles Peterson
"Excellent London-based Brazilian label" The Independent
"UK's leading Brazilian label" The Observer
"UK's foremost Brazilian record label" Clash

Sabrina Malheiros - Estação Verão

Far Out Recordings

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