Ão – Malandra

One evening, in the car, I heard on ICI Musique a mesmerizing song in Portuguese, with an accent that had nothing to do with Brazil. My surprise was complete when the host, Alexandre Courteau, told me it was a Belgian group called Ão.

At the heart of this fascinating band is Brenda Corijn, a Flemish Belgian with Portuguese and Mozambican parents, who mostly sings in that language. She fully draws us into her magnetic universe. She is accompanied by three creative musicians who love blending styles, using guitars, keyboards, and percussion. From beginning to end, Malandra captivates and intrigues.

Ão sometimes sounds like post-Portishead, sometimes like pre-Nicolas Jaar; at times it evokes the Portuguese singer Maro; at other moments, you can hear traces of Portuguese or Mozambican folk. But all these influences are so fully integrated that the result is a completely original and spellbinding music.

You move effortlessly from softness to trance, from pain to celebration. Ão deserves to be added to the list of great Belgian inventions—after fries, waffles, and mussels. Along with Arno, Jacques Brel, and Stromae, of course. Please.