After opening for Radiohead at the Allianz Park Stadium, in São Paulo, being nominated twice as Next Wave Band and Single Of The Week by BBC Radio@1, as well as featured on BBC Radio@6 in 2019, the brothers André and Murilo Faria rented a loft in the Esther building, downtown São Paulo, brought in all their gear and stayed there in a complete immersion process for ten days composing the album’s new tracks. The result is Esther Building: a mix of indie with electronics, bass lines, guitar and synths. The album has nine tracks, inspired by the city of São Paulo and other curious stories.
St. Aldo by Gabi Schmidt
São Paulo, June 2022 - On July 22, the duo Aldo, now St Aldo, releases “Esther Building”, the third album of their career. Recorded in a loft in the historic Esther Building, downtown São Paulo, the work marks a new phase for André Faria and Murilo Faria. After uncle Aldo’s passing due to Covid-19 complications (the band was named after him), the duo decided to enhance its name to honour him. In addition, they’re re-releasing their initial albums.
Two years ago, a few weeks before the lockdown, Andre and Mura rented a loft in the Esther building, brought in all their gear and stayed there in a complete immersion process for ten days composing the album’s new tracks. “I particularly prefer to compose outside the studio, breathing less tainted oxygen, waking up and sleeping with the instrument in hand, humming whatever comes to mind, without any aspirations… That's why we love the immersion process. Because you manage to record a bunch of ideas that make sense in that time-space window, and then it’s easier and fun to pick out, rummage and choose what really communicates with yourself outside that environment. The moments together also yielded trips like Heaven's Gate (the cult) that Mura was obsessed with at the time. I remember that we pulled an all-nighter watching videos and researching the life of the founder of the cult… The only person who went to the apartment was Vitor Bossa, a friend who is a director and photographer. He took some pictures while he was there. Nothing was produced there, he just spent the day hanging out and telling us what he liked the most. I love those photos”, says André.
"In the studio you have infinite possibilities of equipment, now in the Esther Building we only had a few instruments: two or three synths, two guitars, a bass, pedals and a microphone. We wanted to somehow reproduce the first album’s indie and sloppy production that at the time was done in our own mother's house, recording the voices in the closet. The Esther Building was similar, everything was more relaxed and less serious than a professional studio. Another thing that worked well was the jams. Sometimes we spent the day just playing, enjoying and recording. It wasn't until the next day or night that we would listen to what we did and decide to work on it. We just chose what we would somehow like to listen to out there, whether produced by us or by any other band. We play what we like to listen to, without thinking too much, trying to keep the spontaneity of the day without worrying about pleasing anyone… When we had no idea, we just looked around and something would come up. That's how we created 'Bell Jar', looking around and finding Olivier Anquier's totem next to a man with those GOLD FOR SALE signs", says Murilo.
The result is a mix of indie with electronics, bass lines, guitar and synths. The album has nine tracks, inspired by the city of São Paulo and other curious stories such as the Heaven's Gate cult, which preached that the passage of comet Halley would save the faithful who "hopped on its tail". These are the lyrics to "Comet Tail". Some characters that marked the duo's childhood also served as inspiration, such as Fofão da Augusta in "Glitterin Stain". Not to mention the corrupt councils hinted at in "Pleasant Man".
Today, The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track of São Paulo based duo St. Aldo. “Scratching The Surface” comes off as a closing song of “Esther Building”. The album delivers multigenre storytelling, full of variety of sounds and moods, combining both acoustic and electronic instruments, synths, groovy rhythms and high vocals, bringing a nostalgic touch of the music of the 1970s - 1990s, as well as the indie music of the early 2010s. The album takes us on a night ride through São Paulo, passing buildings and people, where each place has a story and its own atmosphere: dreamy, playful, romantic, sentimental, etc.
Listen to “Scratching The Surface” on The Brvtalist SoundCloud and follow the band on social media.
Also check out the bands’ amazing music video of the composition “Restless Animal”