Brazilian singer Céu’s sixth album, Novela, takes us into a completely different universe from what we’re used to. A journey through time that takes us somewhere between the 60s and 70s, that’s what emerges when listening to this opus. Most of the songs are soft and romantic, a bit like those you play at the end of a party to get the guests to leave. Such is the case with “Cemosa”, “Corpo e Colo” and “Crushinho”, which could very well end up on a jukebox in the States. The track “Reescreve”, which means “Rewritten” in Portuguese, also has a retro feel and could well have featured on the soundtrack of a James Bond film.
Having seen her on stage with her musicians in October 2024, she was surrounded by her four musicians who also do backing vocals, and this is what we hear on “Lustrando Estrela”, a little more disco.
My favorite track on the album is “Gerando na Alta”, featuring Anaiis, an artist Céu met during the pandemic through social networks. This song is a tribute to the friendships between women that are sacred to the Brazilian artist. It’s one of the standout tracks on the album, as it’s less retro and adds Brazilian percussion played by the incredible Sther, whom we discovered at the concert.
Fortunately, reggae still has a place on the album, a style of music Céu is particularly fond of, especially on High na Cachu, with a retro touch in the chorus.
A song mixing English and Portuguese features on the album, “Into my novela”, which she sings with Loren Oden. When asked why she chose the title Novela, Céu replies that she wanted to dwell on the dramatic aspect of our lives, a bit like in soap operas. “These telenovelas are a kind of collective therapy,” she compares in our interview a few days before her concert at the National.
Another favorite is “Mucho Oro”, which completely changes rhythm halfway through the song, a pleasant surprise.
On this album, she collaborated with Los Angeles-based producer Adrian Younge. His speciality: he works in a raw, analogue way, without editing or computers. A challenge that Céu rose to with flying colors, don’t you think?
