Brazil’s Anum Preto takes a very hands-on, DIY approach to his music: the prolific artist records, plays, and produces his own albums. Preto’s modern, insular approach to post-punk is balanced by nostalgic harmonies and dissonant melodies reminiscent of Brazilian and alternative music alike.
Capturing in amber the animus of classic coldwave melodies, and anthems, the project’s latest offering, a self-titled full length, is certainly a gem of a discovery for music aficionados. The record is an immersive journey, brimming with all the wistful emotions and romance that are part of the melancholic soundtrack that scores the lives of those who are still caught in the undertow of the new wave.
Watch the video for the dance-driven darkwave track: “Além do Bem e do Mal”:
Anum Preto’s music unifies existentialist aspirations with the artist’s view as a rebel in modern society. Almost all the songs are in Portuguese, but the intensity and passion transcend language barriers. We hear elements of Joy Division, Editors, Molchat Doma, Little Nemo, Asylum Party, and Interpol, with a distinctly unique spin on the post-punk genre.
Although it is difficult to translate the lyrics in real-time without an understanding of Portuguese, Preto did offer these words about his song “Onda Fria”:
“I dreamed that I was some free spirit capable of living with the inexistence of truth. And I could say some way to unveil the self-announced blindness, because whoever sees the world as if it were simple, doesn’t see anything. The cold wave through a hot vehicle, full of new intentions, trivializing all values and convictions. An irony implicit in a young and bitter spirit of living, which intends to reduce morals to pieces, and it goes, because the only constant is change.”
Watch the video for “Onda Fria”
In addition to the songs written in the native tongue of Portuguese, there is an exquisite Russian language track on the album “Пробовать”, whose title in English translates to “Try”.
Since releasing his debut album Inferno Interno in 2009, he has steadily been releasing an album per year. His latest self-titled album is being issued in partnership with Wave Records, Young & Cold Records, and Vlad Tapes.
Pick up the digital and CD versions here via Wave Records, and listen to the LP below:
The vinyl edition will be released by German label Young and Cold Records.
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