JOÃO SELVA

new album “Onda” (Underdog Records / January 2025)

Son of a pastor from Ipanema, the Carioca João Selva is “one of the best ambassadors of Brazilian music” according to France Culture. But that’s not all… his musical universe, full of sunshine and abundance, spans a wide range of musical influences: from Angolan semba to Cape Verdean funaná, from Caribbean zouk to Congolese rumba – João Selva’s music channels the musical pulse of the Black Atlantic. In the purest (im)Brazilian tradition, he also digests the contribution of North American music and freely incorporates elements from elsewhere into the irresistible rhythms of Brazil. The result is an invigorating machine for dancing and dreaming, updating the tropical revolution of the 70s with a turbulent mix of samba, soul, jazz and funk.

After Navegar (“to sail”) in 2021, Passarinho (“little bird”) in 2023, whose titles have displayed the artist’s ambitions and ideals of fluidly and swiftly connecting the musical components of a Black Atlantic that would extend from Brazilian samba to Angolan Semba, from Cape Verdean funaná to Caribbean zouk via Congolese rumba and American funk,  João Selva carries us away with his new album “Onda” keeping riding this same wave, crowning a luminous transatlantic artwork, imbued with sensuality and joie de vivre.

*in agreement with Zamora productions