Oruã - Slacker Oruã

Oruã, a child of downtown Rio de Janeiro, was born at night and attends parties at dawn. A poor man’s jazz. Working-class’ krautrock. Oruã are exporting the best that Brazil has to offer: art!

Oruã is lead by critically-acclaimed guitarist and producer Lê Almeida and is joined by long-time collaborators João Casaes (synths), Bigu Medine (bass) and Ana Zumpano (drums). Together, they blend lo-fi indie rock, psychedelica, noise, afrobeat, and Brazilian references that range from Luiz Gonzaga’s primal Pernambuco sound to classic Brazilian psych rock. In 2019 their sound was discovered by indie rock legend Doug Martsch of Built to Spill, which led to him inviting Lê and João to become temporary members of the 90’s indie rock band. Later they recorded, co-produced, and co-mixed Built to Spill’s most recent album, When the Wind Forgets Your Name, released in 2022 on Sub Pop Records.

After touring extensively with Built to Spill and showcasing their high-energy shows in the US and Europe, Oruã returned to Seattle and recorded the album Slacker [KLP307] with Jim Roth, who also plays guitar, synth and percussion on the recordings. Their sound continues to mix the electric pulses of deconstructed guitars over a mesmerizing groove, taking both audience and band into a collective trance.