A partnership between Brazil and Australia resulted in the creation of an album without borders amid the Covid pandemic.
The album “Dois Oceanos” (“Two Oceans”) was recorded simultaneously in Londrina, Brazil, and in Melbourne, Australia, by the Brazilian Israel Laurindo and the Australian Emily Tam.
With touches of choro and bossa nova, “Dois Oceanos” celebrates the Brazilian and the Australian cultures through compositions that unite the different styles of Brazilian popular music.
Brazilian musician Israel Laurindo. Source: Supplied
Israel is a professional guitarist and a guitar teacher in Londrina and Emily is a singer who currently lives in Melbourne.
Despite an ocean away, the history of the two musicians began years ago in Brazil.
Australian singer Emily Tam. Source: Supplied
“After finishing university, I lived a few years in Tokyo, Japan. There, I married a Japanese-Brazilian and ended up moving to Londrina after a while, where I met Israel. We played together in Brazil and now that I'm living back in Melbourne, Australia, we decided to continue our musical partnership in new ways," says Emily
Distance is not an issue for musical partnerships thanks to technology, says Emily
The album brings references to nature and South American folklore through music. This was how the composition “Mãe d’Água” (“Water mother”) was created.
“Israel composed the melody for Mãe d’Água and I wrote the lyrics for the song. The song portrays the waters of the ‘boiling river’ in La Bomba, Peru. The piece describes the sensations of being by that river and could be easily interpreted as the lure of temptation,” says Emily.
The Aboriginal culture is also remembered on the album.
The song “Uluru” celebrates Australian Indigenous culture with Brazilian rhythms, thus uniting the two cultures through music.
“This is the last track on the album. It is an instrumental track. I created the melody and sent it to Emily to come up with a song on top of my version. It is a musical expression of our Brazilian and Australian roots. It starts with a guitar solo and then Emily comes on top with her voice”, says Israel.
Israel also spoke about the challenges and opportunities of creating an album during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This album has everything to do with the pandemic we are living in. At the same time that we are all a bit disconnected, I felt that people got closer, especially us musicians. We started to see that even with the distance we could do work and think artistically together. And, this album comes in that context.
"Dois Oceanos" album cover art. Source: Supplied
The album “Dois Oceanos” will be available from December 10th on several streaming platforms.
Article online production and English translation: Jason Mathias
