Drawing us in with an operatic vocal from Pabllo Vittar singing, “No meu amor sempre tem dor, tudo pelo meu prazer…”, which translates to “In my love, there is always pain, everything for my pleasure…”, Sevdaliza opens Alibi with a dimensional, genre-expansive soundscape and seductive bassline as she shares an empowering, yet subversive tale.

The opus expands with Yseult‘s French verse as she continues the connected yet dramatic story with her unique flair and ethereal vocals. Her prose describe a chaotic mental state with repetitive thoughts, intimate moments of affection, a sense of using someone for physical comfort while emotionally detaching, and an acknowledgment of a love-hate relationship with poets, ultimately revealing a dark dependence on a partner as an alibi for a figurative or literal crime.

Pabllo‘s verse describes a painful and destructive love where she dmits to being the source of the beloved’s suffering and relies on their partner, metaphorically referred to as “Rosa,” as an alibi for their harmful actions.

Alibi is a haunting exploration of love, pain, and survival, delivered through a mesmerizing blend of Portuguese, English, and French lyrics. This multilingual tapestry adds depth to the song, reflecting the complexity of human emotions and experiences.

The collaboration serves as a powerful metaphor for the struggles and harsh realities faced by marginalized communities, particularly women. It grounds the song in a context of resilience and hardship, serving as a poignant reminder of the environments many women must navigate.

Culturally, Alibi is rich with influences, from the vibrant yet challenging life of Brazil’s favelas to the melancholic beauty of French chanson. The use of the name “Rosa” in the chorus introduces a symbol of both beauty and fragility, evoking the image of a rose which represents love and sacrifice.

The song’s multilingual approach not only showcases the diverse backgrounds of Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar, and Yseult but also underscores the universal nature of its themes. Alibi transcends language barriers, speaking to the shared experiences of love, pain, and resilience.

The poignant track is a powerful anthem for those navigating the complexities of love and the strength found in solidarity, making it a significant and moving addition to contemporary music. We always love what Sevdaliza creates and cannot wait for the narrative driven music video to come to light later today, in the meantime, you can find Alibi on the top of our New Music Spotlight playlist!

The post Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult team up on dimensional, empowering and subversive new opus, Alibi appeared first on KIMU.

You can read more features in our Music + Culture section.

Pablo Vittar, Rina Sawayama – Follow Me

“If you want to set yourself free, Follow Me”…sing Pabllo Vittar and Rina Sawayama on their collaborative track, Follow Me. Both artists recently featured on Lady Gaga’s remix album and previously collaborated on a remix of Rina’s Comme des Garçons.

Follow Me is a high energy, sexy, genre-bending subversive LGBTQ+ anthem fusing Brazilian, Japanese, club and cyber culture. We love the guitar, immersive synths, dirty bass and of course, both Pabllo and Rina’s vocals fused together.

Lynks – Perfect Human Specimen

Meteorically rising art-punk provocateur Lynks today unleashes their new trilogy: “MEN”,  and shares its final entry “Perfect Human Specimen”.

Drenched in 80s sensibilities, “Perfect Human Specimen” is an electro-pop smash that harks back to the greats of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys & Soft Cell; all pulsating synths and driving basslines that culminate in an explosive saxophone solo finale. Lynks once again uses their lyrical prowess this time describing (with a heavy dose of cynicism and firm tongue-in-cheek-manner) the ‘Perfect Man’.

Speaking on the track Lynks says:

“When I wrote ‘Perfect Human Specimen’ I was thinking a lot about the idea of a ‘Perfect Man’. Imagining what that actually means; how tall? How attractive? How funny? Because the instinct is to say that you’d want the hottest, funniest, smartest, most selfless, sweetest man in the world. But in reality that would be fucking stressful. Because, firstly, you wouldn’t be able to help comparing yourself to him and feeling kinda shit by comparison. But secondly, it might also start feeling a bit much after a while! A bit exhausting, all that perfection and attentiveness. Imperfections and vulnerabilities are kind of important when it comes to actually connecting to someone. So with Perfect Human Specimen I decided to try and write a song from the POV of this hypothetical ‘Completely 100% Perfect Man’, and hopefully in the process reveal that the ‘Perfect Man’ is actually not so perfect after all.”

Alex & The Alpaca – Adorable

22-year old Nicaraguan-Norwegian Alex & The Alpaca welcomes us to his universe with his new single, Adorable. We are immediately immersed with a layered and textured intro before Alex sings, “one time, two times, you let me down, I’m sick and tired of feeling down…”

Being the youngest brother in a family of musicians has given him the opportunity to pick up different musical skills, allowing him to form his own one-man band, and the results are phenomenal with intricate guitar details, subversive bass and eloquent and thought provoking vocals.

Speaking on the track, Alex says “The lyrics of Adorable are ironic, and the beat has a video-game-like characteristic. To me this gives the song a feeling of being on top of the world and a sense of carelessness, like on the day you finally get over someone”.

Bishi – Reflektions

Following the release of her album Let My Country Awake, Bishi has released Reflektions, an immersive composition that has the hairs on our arms standing on edge!

Reflektions, which almost has a Clint Mansell vibe, was composed for Bishi’s 3D video installation commissioned by Ludic Rooms for Coventry City of Culture 2021. The track features Anna Phoebe on violin, and Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres on piano, and was co-produced by Bishi and Richard Norris.

Una Jensen – CROOKED TOOTH, featuring Boy Jr.

Serving up a transdental hyperpop energy, Una Jensen has teamed up with Boy Jr. on her latest single, CROOKED TOOTH. The track fuses dirty bass, twinkling chimes and Una’s iconic rapping.

The track is vibrant and immediately recognisable, and Una says that she included the snare in the chorus “to sound like someone crunching into something, like a potato chip…”

The song is inspired by embracing your imperfections, and speaking on the themes of the track, Una says “I’m mostly excited about having a song out there that specifically talks about having “messed up” teeth, because I never had that!”

We definitely agree that this is likely a “world first” and we are here for it! Una has worked with Adrian Young who is the drummer from No Doubt, Goo Goo Dolls guitarist Jim McGorman and Todd Forman of Sublime!

The lyrics on the hook, “Look at that girl’s crooked tooooooth. Look at her, she makin’ mooooooves” lets us know that Una is here for individuality and her uniqueness shines through on this record.

The post New Music Spotlight appeared first on KIMU.

I wanted to instead focus this week on a video that serves not only as an LGBT+ political statement in Brazil but of an artist that I have truly grown to love in his own right on a level that I have traditionally reserved for the Kanyes, Lanas and Gagas of this world.

Here’s the video for Pabllo Vittar and Lucas Lucco’s Paraíso. A track that might be pretty uncomplexed lyrically, but a visual and cultural statement that goes far beyond the futuristic beach concept video that it is.

The video itself opens with a hyper reality tower block with the graffiti on it that spells out Homophobia Kills in Portuguese, followed by a super intimate and completely hypnotising trip into a literal paradise. The intimacy between the two is unfettered and frankly never before seen on such a mainstream level – considering Lucas Lucco is a the hottest straight idol in Brazil and Pabllo identifies as a drag queen. It all just makes me grateful for unrelenting progression in the face of such mounting adversity and uncertainty in this political climate for the community. Congrats and thank you Pabllo and Lucas.

The post Lucas Lucco e Pabllo Vittar – Paraíso appeared first on KIMU.