Zé Ibarra, Brazil's indie wunderkind

Still little known as a solo artist, Zé Ibarra is the voice of the groups Dônica and Bala Desejo. With the latter, he won the Latin Grammy for best Portuguese-language pop album in 2022. He'll be in concert at Le Botanique on March 25, and Hogar has tickets for you!

Zé Ibarra knows how to surround himself, to say the least. A band musician, with his two groups Dônica and Bala Desejo, the Carioca is also adored by the MPB legends, Brazilian popular music. He shares the stage and recording studios with Milton Nascimento, Ney Matogrosso and Gal Costa. No more, no less.

For many, this 27-year-old musician is considered the future of MPB. On March 25, he will be on stage at Le Botanique to present his first solo project, AFIM. For this album, he will once again be well surrounded, this time accompanied by emerging voices from the new Brazilian scene such as Sophia Chablau, Maria Beraldo and Italo França.

For this first solo effort, he can also count on the unfailing presence of musician Dora Morelenbaum. Friends since childhood, they were both members of the group Bala Desejo. In 2020, with the entire planet under lockdown, the four musicians retreat to the home of one of them. They composed and posted some extracts on their social networks. In 2022, the band recorded their first album Sim Sim Sim, co-produced by singer Ana Frango Elétrico, who had graced the stage at the Dour festival last summer.

Zé Ibarra lives in this little Carioca artistic bubble as much as he is inspired by his predecessors on the MPB scene. With Bala Desejo, he won the Latin Grammy for “best pop album in Portuguese”. A musical genre that the artist is proud of. Drawing inspiration from the aesthetics of Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso in the 70s, Zé Ibarra aims to inject a touch of extravagance into the MPB scene. “A touch of Bowie, a touch of peacock, I want to change the representation of the Brazilian popular music artist,” he said in an interview.

The Brazilian brilliantly blends the sensitivity, melancholy and storytelling power of MPB with modern arrangements and visuals. Often in the shadows, those of the big names in Brazilian music or hidden within a band, we can't wait to hear what Zé Ibarra intends to offer us on his first entirely personal project.

The AFIM album has yet to be released, and the concert on March 25 will be the perfect opportunity to hear his new compositions. He'll be accompanied by Amorosa, a Brussels-based band we're particularly fond of, who draw their influences from Brazilian sounds and jazz.

In collaboration with Le Botanique, Hogar.Brussels will be giving away two tickets to the March 25 concert to one of its subscribers. All you have to do is follow HogarBrussels on Instagram and answer the following question by DM:

“With which band did Zé Ibarra win a Latin Grammy in 2022?”

Infos: Zé Ibarra * Amorosa

March 25, Botanique

Zé Ibarra - Amorosa | Botanique