This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.
Luiza Brina has emerged as a tender and idiosyncratic voice of Brazil, with transcendental music as quiet as it is cosmic. At the Tiny Desk, she presents a searching set of orações that serve as meditations, no matter your spiritual journey.
A little over a decade ago, Brina suffered panic attacks and, as a way to re-center herself, began to write a series of prayers despite not having any religious background. Prayers for comings and goings, hopes and dreams, a world falling apart. This practice formed the basis of Prece, one of NPR Music's best albums of 2024, where psychedelic symphonies commune with the sacred. That she comes from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais — home to Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges — speaks to the lineage of soul seekers that she inherits. Inspired by Música popular brasileira and artists from the late '60s tropicália movement, Brina experiments with folk and pop traditions, layering electronics with orchestral maneuvers.
For this performance, Brina is front and center with her seven-string nylon guitar and effects pedals, accompanied by woodwinds, keys, electronics and percussion that honors her Brazilian heritage. The arrangements, scaled down to a chamber ensemble, are still just as complex and whimsical. But it's her voice — bright and curious, steady and pure — that guides these orações, leaving us with this wisdom: "Do not distinguish God from happiness."
SET LIST
- "Oração 18 (pra viver junto)"
- "Oração 2"
- "Oração 17 (risco)"
- "Oração 15 (oração à Cobra Grande)"
- "Oração 16 (dios/adiós)"
MUSICIANS
- Luiza Brina: vocals, guitar
- Lucas Ferrari: keys, electronics
- Guilherme Kastrup: drums, percussion
- Patrícia Garcia: oboe
- Ester Muniz: bassoon
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Lars Gotrich
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant
- Audio Engineer: Andie Huether
- Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Grace Raver
- Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Josh Newell
- Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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