"The leading light of the new generation of Brazilian songwriters” - Arto Lindsay

Thiago Nassif is a Brazilian musician, composer and producer based in Rio de Janeiro, whose impactful mélange of pop, jarring no-wave, and edgy Tropicália has slowly been turning heads the world over.

Exploring the visual aspects of sounds and the visual sensations they generate, in 2011 Thiago released his album Práxis, a Greek word meaning 'learning from experimenting'. For this, he gathered a supporting cast of musicians, painters, sculptors and architects, who each brought their own perspectives and techniques to the record.

His third album, Três, co-produced by no wave icon Arto Lindsay, was released in 2016 in Brazil and re-released in 2018 to critical acclaim on the British label Foom. Inspired by artists such as Tom Zé, Ricardo Villalobos, and James Chance, the album features contributions from some of Brazil's most exciting, new generational talents, such as Negro Leo and Domenico Lancellotti.

Following on from this, Thiago Nassif co-produced Arto Lindsay's Cuidado Madame album and recorded his follow-up Mente.

MENTE

Thiago's fourth album Mente was released in July 2020 on Gearbox Records. The album's title is a Portuguese homonym meaning 'mind' and 'to lie' and represents Thiago's attitude towards what he called the post-truth state of Brazil's (meanwhile ended) Bolsonaro regime. Again, with Arto Lindsay as co-producer, the music goes deep into no-wave, electronic music, Tropicalismo, jazz and rock, moving between funk carioca to dystopian, distorted bossa nova. Mixing the languages of Portuguese and English, the album shows the process of Thiago's mind on transforming thoughts into products, music, colour, and lacquer.

The album achieved critical praise from a global selection of press including The New York Times, who wrote "It’s music of nowhere and everywhere, disappearance and arrival, the archive becoming the now", The Wire, who described it as "crunchy and distorted, yet undeniably funky", Pitchfork, who called it "a testament to a local avant-garde scene still bursting with creativity", as well as fans ranging from Iggy Pop to Cornelius to DJ and broadcaster Nick Luscombe. In 2023 Thiago released a remix by Cornelius of the song Pele de Leopardo from Mente.

DOBRA DE LÍNGUA

For his 2025 tour Thiago joins Cláudio Brito, a renowned percussionist, born in Rio de Janeiro and literally raised in the Jongo da Serrinha percussion group. Cláudio is known for his lengthy career as a musician in the Vila Isabel samba school. He was the percussionist of Maria Bethânia and now he plays with Mart'nália. He is an absolute master on the congas and other percussion instruments. Thiago and Cláudio perform improvisations and songs from Thiago's albums "Três", "Mente" and the new album "Dobra de Língua", all three produced by Arto Lindsay, mixing portions of kraut-samba-funk-pop-no-wave through guitar loops, noise and Afro-diasporic percussive rhythms. "Dobra de Língua" will be released in 2025 and features an impressive and eclectic cast of guest musicians, amongst others Arto Lindsay, Jadsa, Luisinho do Jêje, Kassin, João Meireles and Jonas Sá.

LINEUP:

Group Size: 3 Artists + 1 tour manager
• Thiago Nassif: Vocals / guitar
• Claudio Brito: percussion