Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

August 10, 2022

Rogê: “Pra Vida”

By: Jack Anderson

I’ve been taking Portuguese on Duolingo for the past year and am this close to earning my Legendary Purple Owl. So naturally I’ve been trying to show off that comprehension as much as possible. But with the exception of Michael Crockett’s Horizontes every Sunday from 7-9PM, we simply don’t have a ton of Brazilian music coming through the Austin Music Experience. That said, there’s a Carioca who recently made his way into the continental United States that could soon become a new personal favorite.

I’m talking about Rio de Janeiro’s Roger José Cury, better known by his stage name Rogê. Rogê spent years immersed in Rio’s nightlife refining his idiosyncratic style of Brazilian Soul and Samba Funk. That hard work soon heaved Rogê into a household name, thanks to a co-writing credit for Brazil’s 2016 Olympic Games theme music. In 2020 Rogê hit the road with fellow Carioca Seu Jorge for a U.S. tour, which ultimately got cut short due to COVID. But now that’s Rogê calls Los Angeles home, he’s begun what may be his biggest chapter yet.

Rogê’s debut American release (semi-eponymously titled Curyman) was created in deep collaboration with Budos Band guitarist/Menahan Street Band founder Thomas Brenneck, who’s lent his talents to Mark Ronson, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and the late legends Amy Winehouse, Charles Bradley, and Sharon Jones. According to o anúncio from esta manhã, Curyman comes out February 2nd, and Rogê has two gigs with Gipsy Kings next weekend in L.A.. But with summer in full swing, Rogê’s gone ahead and handed us Curyman‘s lead single, “Pra Vida”. Perfeito na praia or just in a mid-week mental resort, “Pra Vida” channels Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 with sandy acoustic guitar and breezy group vocals for an experience that’ll have you reinvesting in the magic of life, language barriers be damned.


Episodes

February 17, 2025

MIEN: “Evil People” (Live In Studio 1A)

We all know that when an artist is featured on a song, it’s likely that they recorded it remote and sent the track to the main artist. But how does it work when you’re a quartet and only 2 of y’all live in the same place? To ask the members of Austin experimental psych band […]

Listen

February 14, 2025

Kowloon: “Heart Begins With You”

L.A.’s Kowloon is truly a one-man operation. Songwriting? Him. Instrumentation? Him. Recording, production? Yep, all Kowloon. Backed by a full library of effects and music gadgets from various eras, Kowloon released a string of singles last year, demonstrating his affinity for the darkwave sounds of the 80s a la the Cure and Bronski Beat. Ahead […]

Listen

February 13, 2025

Tommy Francisco: “Tommy’s Groove”

Even a piping hot bowl of tokontsu ramen can’t fully shake-off today’s bone chill, but maybe the headspace of partying on a yacht in Mallorca can. Austin native Tommy Francisco hit the scene in 2020 with “Fever,” giving him an international audience and proving his ability to blend his Latin and Indigenous backgrounds into a […]

Listen

February 12, 2025

Serebii: “Verrans Corner”

Auckland, New Zealand’s Callum Mower, known as Serebii, has always focused on pushing forward. Forward musically, forward personally, and now, forward into naked vulnerability.   Serebii’s upcoming album Dime finds Mower at his most vulnerable. Historically, Mower has relied on his mastery of instruments and production with others, namely fellow New Zealander Arjuna Oakes, but […]

Listen

February 11, 2025

Slept All Day: “Asteria”

Austin duo Slept All Day may be new on the scene, but don’t sleep on them. Together, the two create moving soundscapes a la Bonobo and Washed Out. And they use their vocals as an element of the scape instead of its driving force. And despite the electronic instrumentation and vocal effects, the music is […]

Listen

February 10, 2025

Middle Satre: “Corrupted (Uncorrupted)”

Welcome! Today’s theme is vision and reimagining. After spending a childhood in Salt Lake City, Hunter Preuger moved to Austin to sow oats with his project Middle Sattre. The project quickly expanded into a six-piece…and then an eight-piece, and a year after the release of their debut album Tendencies, the experimental folk outfit returned to […]

Listen

February 7, 2025

Death Palmz: “IL2H2LU”

I’ve heard your week’s woes, I know it’s been one, so Aunt Tay is here to deliver a little Friday elixir to shift you into weekend mode as you get ready to burn rubber in the parking garage. Austin’s Death Palmz is another project from Exotic Frutica, and if you’re familiar with the punk band, […]

Listen

February 6, 2025

Scott Collins: “Aphophenia”

Austin singer-songwriter Scott Collins has been ever-evolving in both songwriting and sound and now he’s started leaning in more to letting himself define his sound, branching out and seeing what feels right. His 9th EP And All This Happened serves on the title’s promise: it’s all happening. But the early 00’s indie sound is still […]

Listen