A long-time fixture of both the American and Brazilian music scenes, either as collaborator with NY guitar legend Yonatan Gat, or as co-founder of São Paulo psych-folk combo Garotas Suecas, Sessa debuts his solo work for the first time in 2019. His songs are sung in Portuguese, with visceral, sexual lyrics in the vain of Caetano Veloso and melodic flourishes not unlike those of Jobim. However, the music gets a deliberate minimalist treatment rarely found in contemporary Brazilian music, more reminiscent of the understated directness of Leonard Cohen or Devendra Banhart’s early work. Sessa’s concerts are already stuff of legend in Brazil, as he takes the stage accompanied solely by female background vocalists and Afro-Brazilian percussion. While the songs often deal with subjects such as the sensual body in times of digital excess, the music points to new, more subtle directions for World pop in 2019 – a deep, minimalist, almost insinuated use of the endlessly rich textures and rhythms that defined the songwriting history of Brazil – one which Sessa now joins as one of the most promising new voices.
Sessa
