Rubel – Grão de Areia / Forró Violento

‘Grão de Areia’ and ‘Forró Violento’ (Release Date: March 29th, 2024) form the first radio single taken from Rubel’s Latin Grammy-nominated third album, As Palavras, Vol. 1 & 2. One of the stars of Brazil’s new wave of artists taking the world by storm, Rubel has set out to fuse the contemporary with the classic. An album that takes listeners on a whirlwind tour of all the major genres in Brazilian music, both old and new. 

Bringing together some of his key contemporaries across the album, Rubel deftly marries traditional styles such as forró, MPB, pagode and samba with modern baile funk, rasteirinha and hip-hop, showcasing the breadth and brilliance of Brazil’s musical heritage.

For this first double A-side single, we present two songs that expertly illustrate Rubel’s ability to harmonise the genres that have soundtracked the lives of Brazilians. Written by Rubel, Ana Caetano (one-half of Anavitória) and Tó Brandileon, ‘Grão de Areia’ is a modern-day Brazilian anthem, blending a contemporary edge with a vintage familiarity deeply rooted in Brazil’s makeup. Mestrinho’s accordion intro fixes the focus straight to the north of Brazil, whilst Rubel and Xande de Pilares (of Grupo Revelação) dual a relaxed duet with their vocals at times dancing together, interweaving as one.

‘Forró Violento’ follows, a grand choral masterpiece, where Mestrinho’s forró-flavoured accordion contrasts with Rubel’s modulated and pitched down tale of tragedy, adding a tougher tone that rides the accordion line. A sublime string section and piano glide alongside, as the stellar vocal choir arrangement of Dora Morelenbaum (Bala Desejo), Ana Frango Elétrico and Calu gel the composition together with an added air of elegance. 

Two standout songs that showcase Rubel’s gift at threading the links between tradition and modernity across the ages of Brazil.