Luiza Brina: Tiny Desk Concert

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Lars Gotrich | September 17, 2025
Luiza Brina has emerged as a tender and idiosyncratic voice of Brazil, with transcendental music as quiet as it is cosmic. At the Tiny Desk, she presents a searching set of orações that serve as meditations, no matter your spiritual journey.

A little over a decade ago, Brina suffered panic attacks and, as a way to re-center herself, began to write a series of prayers despite not having any religious background. Prayers for comings and goings, hopes and dreams, a world falling apart. This practice formed the basis of Prece, one of NPR Music's best albums of 2024, where psychedelic symphonies commune with the sacred. That she comes from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais — home to Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges — speaks to the lineage of soul seekers that she inherits. Inspired by Música popular brasileira and artists from the late '60s tropicália movement, Brina experiments with folk and pop traditions, layering electronics with orchestral maneuvers.

For this performance, Brina is front and center with her seven-string nylon guitar and effects pedals, accompanied by woodwinds, keys, electronics and percussion that honors her Brazilian heritage. The arrangements, scaled down to a chamber ensemble, are still just as complex and whimsical. But it's her voice — bright and curious, steady and pure — that guides these orações, leaving us with this wisdom: "Do not distinguish God from happiness."

SET LIST
"Oração 18 (pra viver junto)"
"Oração 2"
"Oração 17 (risco)"
"Oração 15 (oração à Cobra Grande)"
"Oração 16 (dios/adiós)"

MUSICIANS
Luiza Brina: vocals, guitar
Lucas Ferrari: keys, electronics
Guilherme Kastrup: drums, percussion
Patrícia Garcia: oboe
Ester Muniz: bassoon

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Lars Gotrich
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant
Audio Engineer: Andie Huether
Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Grace Raver
Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Josh Newell
Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #luizabrina

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