The band’s first adventure and recording together is a direct expression and response to the Covid chaos that broke out in their home city of Manaus in 2020. Having initially come together prior to the awful developments of the virus in their city (which were screened around the world) the three singers Clariana Brandão Arruda, Bruno Barrozo Belchior and Melka, like everyone else, went indoors and had little contact with each other.
Bruno goes on to explain what happened next, “I opened the pores, undid the knots, painted my face and reinvented myself…I had no time to succumb to the loneliness and desperation”. The debut track from the EP – Acopalices – refers to a meme that went viral in Brazil during the pandemic about Manaus. As always, Brazil offered a humorous take on tragic circumstances and D’Agua Negra tapped into that and a myriad of emotional connections to their personal and isolated journeys in recent times.
Unlike their contemporaries and the wealth of new music in Brazil, D’Agua Negra come from Manaus, a city set deep in the Amazon in north Brazil and not Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. Manaus is a city with a magical black river running through it that the band decided held such significance; they would name their band after it.
The new Ep features a recognisable array of black music forms and obvious references like D’Angelo, the original Brazilian funkster Tim Maia shine as well as the groups love for breakbeat and hip hop.
Listen to the exclusive premiere of ‘Yoga Bota Doca Ardente’ below. D’Agua Negra’s ‘Erógena’ EP is released November 23rd via Amplifica Records.