Azymuth bassist Alex Malheiros doesn't remember recording this single. It's understandable—the sessions happened over forty years ago, and at the time, Malheiros, Ivan Conti and José Roberto Bertrami were backing countless MPB artists throughout the genre's golden age.
As one of Brazil’s most influential groups, Azymuth's story is well known. Vocalist Luisa, however, remains something of an enigma. She recorded this, her one and only single in 1981, for Carlos Lemos' Pirâmide Label. Lemos was a successful producer in Brazil with an evident penchant for groove. Throughout the seventies, he produced a string of records for Polydor and CBS, including Azymuth's early leftfield experiments and many now-classic albums by Robson Jorge, Tony Bizarro, Marcia Maria and Hyldon.
With Luisa's powerful yet understated vocal, Bertrami's futuristic synths and José Carlos Bigorna's brow-raising tenor sax licks, the early-80s pop ballad "Romantica" should have been a radio hit—emanating from taxis from Rio to Salvador alongside the best of Marina Lima and Erasmo Carlos.
On the B-side, "Lenha na Fogueira" (a Portuguese expression equivalent to 'fan the flames' or 'to make a bad situation worse'), legendary guitarist Paulinho Guitarra locks into an exceptional samba-funk groove with the Azymuth rhythm section. The record also features backing vocals from the lesser-known vocal group Arco Iris.
Luisa will be reissued for the first time on 7" vinyl and digital on September 5th, 2025, via Far Out Recordings.
- 1. Romantica
- 2. Lenha na Foguiera
