Singer, songwriter and producer, Tim Bernardes is one of the great new voices of Brazilian music. As vast as he is talented, Bernardes has become one of the most profound artists of his generation: a contemporary musician with deep roots in Rio de Janeiro’s musical heritage, who has also collaborated with artists such as Fleet Foxes, Tom Zé, david byrne, Gal Costa, Devendra Banhart and Shintaro Sakamoto, among others.
Currently, and four years after their outstanding 2017 debut, recommendthe artist is presenting his second studio album, A thousand invisible things. Bernandes’ latest release is an invitation to discover his new facet and his unique world of sound: a warm, intimate, resonant and healing work. By his account, the album was written primarily while he was on tour with his band, or suit.
“Throughout my life, I’ve been very practical, very objective, and I had never stopped to think about spirituality,” says Bernardes of his latest material. “But after the tour, I was very stressed and I noticed that my thinking rational was saturated. I felt like, ‘Yeah, this is my mind, but I’m something above that.’ I had this shock of conscience that made me inquire into the meaning of things. My music ended up being a part of my self-development“.
The result of that inner search were the fifteen polychromatic and exciting songs that make up A thousand invisible things. With the entire record on his shoulders – he was responsible for the album’s composition, performance, production, direction, mixing and arranging -, Bernardes has the luxury of dancing between the everyday and the ethereal, with a list of songs that inspire an inherent and palpable serenity..
Musically, the last work of the artist connects the cosmic and almost antagonistic points of tropicalia and Brazilian samba with contemporary indie and folk, which he defines as “a generous and intimate moment, meditations of metaphysical transformation in the face of serious uncertainty”. Within its sound there are thousands of meanings cut by symbolism and layers of feeling. A compendium of confessions and reflections on life and its course to the beat of tambourines, pandeiros and acoustic guitars.
As he comments, for his album the man from São Paulo found inspiration everywhere: “In the letters collected from John Lennonin the Brazilian popular music of the 70s, in the fact of looking at the phases of the moon from the patio of my house”, he says. Under this halo of illumination, Bernardes vigorously proposed that his new music be transmitted in the same way that it always did without damaging his identity.. Also, that she could continue to be beautiful, intimate, and emotionally evocative to her audiences.
The Brazilian musician will arrive in Argentina for the first time to perform two unique shows this month: the first will be the Thursday December 8 at the prestigious National Auditorium of the Kirchner Cultural Center (Sarmiento 151, CABA), free admission through this link; and the second will be friday december 9 in C Art Media (Av. Corrientes 6271, CABA), where it will open the show of Fleet Foxes, tickets available via passline.
Watch the video for “To be born, to live, to die” below and listen A thousand invisible things on streaming platforms (bandcamp, Spotify, tidal, Apple Music).
From Brazil, Tim Bernardes sings to spirituality and everyday life