Brazilian couple Salma e Mac releases a relaxing and sensual "indie Bossa Nova" album

The Brazilian couple Salma e Mac released last June 24th the charming “Marquinha” (bikini tan line), the single that starts the campaign to promote the album “Voo Livre”. The first major release by the founding duo of the indie band Carne Doce, the album, produced by the renowned producer Alexandre Kassin, arrives in August and bets on minimal, relaxing and sensual topics to do Brazilian acoustic indie pop, inspired by Bossa Nova and MPB (Música Popular Brasileira).

Tropical and elegant, “Marquinha” brings Salma — known for her powerful vocals with Carne Doce — tenderly singing lines like “I was kissed by the sun and who knows which lips more”, cradled by sweet chords of Mac on acoustic guitar. The single’s cover (attached) is a portrait of Salma's bikini tan, photographed by Mac at their home, in Goiânia, in the Brazilian Midwest.

Rhythm by the percussion of Leonardo Reis, a musician awarded with two Latin Grammys for his participation in Gilberto Gil’s and Caetano Veloso’s albums, the track also has acoustic bass and banjo, performed by Kassin.

“I was impressed with the quality of the songs, it's something very difficult for an acoustic project to have this sensual lens, it caught me immediately”, says Kassin, who has produced great names in Brazilian music such as Caetano Veloso, Vanessa Da Mata and many others.

“Salma's point of femininity and sensuality is very well placed in the lyrics and it is done in a non-pamphleteer way”, he says. The album was recorded in April 2022 in Rio de Janeiro.

Salma e Mac debuted their duo project in 2021 with the release of the EP “Salma e Mac”. In July they will release another single before the album “Voo Livre”, scheduled for August 12th.

“Voo Livre”, a gentle musical glide to a Rio beach

By Jacob Wolbert, Doctoral Candidate at the University of California - Berkeley

This release comes from a partnership well accustomed to intense, brooding alternative rock in their band Carne Doce, but with Voo Livre (hang gliding), Salma e Macloys show their versatility, offering a calmer approach. Trading the electric guitar for an acoustic, the duo offer eight original songs, including two acoustic versions of previously released Carne Doce songs. The subject matter in the newer songs is based on welcoming topics like relaxation, vacation, and the beach. In each track what comes across is a controlled tranquility, full of deep musical knowledge. This can be heard in the instrumental textures, the clever lyrics, and Salma’s way of singing, which has the ability to transport a listener to the beach in Rio de Janeiro. Even for those who do not understand Portuguese, there is a lot to enjoy here, including the opening track, Gringa, which has a chorus in English. Fans of Bossa Nova and Latin jazz will be taken in by the album’s musical connections, but will be delighted by the innovative details that Salma e Mac put into the tracks, brilliantly mixed by Alexandre Kassin and mastered by Ricardo Garcia. Standout tracks: Gringa, Marquinha, Na Pele, Cetapensano.

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