Brazilian Folk Jazz in a dreamy psychedelic fusion

'Raphael Gimenes & As Montanhas de Som' is the debut album by the Europe-based Brazilian singer, guitarist, and composer. It was recorded between 2014 and 2015 in Aarhus and in Aalborg, Denmark. The music in it blends Brazilian folklore with classical music, ambitious harmonies with psychedelic effects, and African-Brazilian rhythms with fingerstyle guitar. Some of the tracks deal with personal issues, such as 'A Serra das Russas', which touches on the subject of Gimenes' difficulties as an immigrant. Others, such as 'O Último Jacarandá', pay a tribute to Brazil's endangered nature. It is a concept album, in which different stories about homesickness, love, hardship, and hope flow into one another, like a theater play with its different acts.

The album's core band, As Montanhas de Som (The Mountains of Sound), are formed by international musicians, who each contribute to the music with their different backgrounds. The Danish string group "Who Killed Bambi" colors some of the tracks in epic fashion, while the effects created by Gimenes' bird whistles and percussion instruments lead the listener deep into the Brazilian mountain ranges and rain forests.

Gimenes composed, arranged, and co-produced each and everyone of tracks on the album, while writing all but one of the lyrics. The way the album is produced is a clear reference to the sound of the 60's and 70's, which can be heard in the overdubbed vocals among other things. More than anything, the album tells Gimenes' own story - the story of a young man who left his country as a teenager, and now rediscovers it through his music.

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