Before the soft moon’s the highest, our guest tonight, the singer and composer, handsome  (Lukas) Castello Branco (b. 1986) will have introduced, or re-introduced you to the sensual melodies and rhythms of his country. Songs and sounds born out of a multicultural diverse society and its distinct traditions which have spawned universal styles like samba, bossa nova, tropicalia and lesser known directions like mangue, sertanejo and MPB (Brazilian pop) - and that’s by no means the end of it.

Castello Branco’s new album’s titled «Sintoma», the second solo album of his career. He calls it «Unfolklore». It’s more than a symptom of sensual songwriting and performing, it’s sensuality personified. The songs are about relationships and love, pain and healing, sometimes in a confessional tone, sometimes in the form of advice but always with a hopeful undertone.

«Sintoma» was preceded by his first album «Servicio» (2013) which found itself downloaded over a million times worldwide. Castello Branco, a born and bred carioca, was himself downloaded into the bohemian heart of the Santa Tereza neighborhood at the age of three, a famous haven for artists of all kind. And it’s where he got under the wings of Jose Triguerinho Netto, a widely published spiritual leader who had a beneficial influence not only on his writing but his being. Because carousing around the tough backstreets of Rio «was a time of smashing, my mother was sad, but she had an understanding that this was part of my maturation. They could not deprive someone of living what had to be lived.» It’s also where he joined the rock band R. Sigma of which he’s still a member.

Castello Branco, live at el Lokal. Muita sensualidade when you need it the most.