Luedji Luna: Bom mesmo é estar debaixo d'água

Brazilian singer and composer Luedji Luna, born in Bahia, the center of Afro-Brazilian culture, has performed in Brazil and Europe, the United States, and Canada. Her music combines Brazilian sounds with African rhythms and jazz, and her lyrics deal with social issues, in particular related to Black identity. Luna is co-founder of Palavra Preta, an exhibition that brings together Black female composers and poets from all over Brazil, which has taken place in Salvador and Brasília. 

She released her critically acclaimed debut record, Um Corpo no Mundo (A Body in the World), in 2017. Three years later, she released the audiovisual album Bom Mesmo é Estar Debaixo D'água (What's Really Good Is Being Underwater). The album was recorded in Kenya and co-produced by Luna and Kenyan guitarist Kato Change. The album opens a new chapter in the singer's life and career—maternity—and is essentially Luna: lightness and strength. The songs traverse jazz and African rhythms, and they are like a dip in the warm waters of Bahia. The album is political without being partisan and romantic without falling into clichés. It was nominated for a 2021 Latin Grammy.

This new video was recorded in São Paulo in February 2022. This event was part of Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism festival.

Luedji Luna, voice
Weslei Rodrigo, bass
Otis Selimane Remane, drums
Vinicius Sampaio, guitar
Rudson Daniel, percussion
Jonathan Vargas, keyboard

Funders

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation. The Spring 2022 Music program was also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.