Brazilian Girls is a band from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, United States, known for their eclectic blend of
electronic dance music with musical styles as diverse as
tango,
chanson,
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
and
lounge
Lounge may refer to:
Architecture
* Lounge, the living room of a dwelling
* Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby
* Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar
* Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...
(but no Brazilian rhythms at all).
None of the members are actually from
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and the only female in the band is the
Italian singer
Sabina Sciubba
Sabina Margrit Sciubba or Sabina is a singer, composer, and actress. She is best known as the lead singer for the Grammy-nominated electronica band Brazilian Girls. She is also a visual artist. She has a solo career, and also worked as an actress, ...
. Other members include
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
keyboardist Didi Gutman,
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Aaron Johnston and
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
Jesse Murphy.
The band released four
studio albums: their
self-titled debut on 1 February 2005, ''
Talk to La Bomb'' on 12 September 2006, and ''
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
'' on 5 August 2008, and ''
Let's make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
'' on 13 April 2018.
The singer,
Sabina Sciubba
Sabina Margrit Sciubba or Sabina is a singer, composer, and actress. She is best known as the lead singer for the Grammy-nominated electronica band Brazilian Girls. She is also a visual artist. She has a solo career, and also worked as an actress, ...
is known for her fashionable stage-wear and for her enigmatic stage persona. Her outfits were designed by
Threeasfour
threeASFOUR is a New York fashion house – led by Gabriel Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil – known for combining technical innovation and couture craftsmanship with an aesthetic focus on natural geometries. Hailing from Lebanon, USSR, ...
, Gemma Kahng, Carolina K. and others.
History
The band formed in 2003, performing at a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
club,
Nublu. While playing a weekly gig, the band wrote many of the original songs that would appear on their debut album, which was eventually released in February 2005.
In 2007, the band released their second album, entitled ''Talk to La Bomb,'' featuring the single "Jique." They toured widely across the United States, Latin America and Europe, appearing on several TV shows, notably
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...
and
Jimmy Kimmel.
They also covered Talking Heads' "Crosseyed And Painless" for the
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
benefit album ''
Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin Redux'' produced by the
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.
Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...
.
Their third album, ''New York City'', came out in 2008. They toured through October, at which time the band took a break for Sciubba to have a child. The song "Good Time" off of ''New York City'' was featured in an ad for
Amstel Light
Amstel Brewery ( nl, Amstelbrouwerij, ) is a Dutch brewery founded in 1870 on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam. It was taken over by Heineken International in 1968, and the brewing plant closed down in 1982, with production moving to the main H ...
.
In 2008,
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
appeared as a guest on their single "I'm losing myself".
In 2009, the album ''New York City'' was nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best Dance/Electronica Album.
In June 2011, despite rumors of a split, Brazilian Girls collaborated with Forró in the Dark and
Angélique Kidjo on the track "Aquele Abraço" for the
Red Hot Organization's newest charitable album ''Red Hot+Rio 2''. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight HIV/AIDS and related health and social issues.
In April 2012, the band reunited, playing live shows and recording new material.
In February 2014,
Sabina Sciubba
Sabina Margrit Sciubba or Sabina is a singer, composer, and actress. She is best known as the lead singer for the Grammy-nominated electronica band Brazilian Girls. She is also a visual artist. She has a solo career, and also worked as an actress, ...
released a solo record on
Bar None Records, called ''Toujours''.
On 12 March 2015, during the band's well-attended performance at
Thalia Hall
The Thalia Hall ( ro, Sala Thalia) is a theatre and concert hall situated in Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical r ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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's
Pilsen Historic District, band member Sabina Sciubba as well as the keyboardist repeatedly announced that the band's new album had just been completed and would be issued later in the year.
On 13 April 2018, the band released their fourth album, ''
Let's Make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
''.
The band has not performed in the original formation since 2019. Following a band dispute, some band members continue to perform under the name "Brazilian Girls" without Sabina Sciubba.
The group has worked with a variety of singers and instrumentalists during that time.
Discography
![Flickr - moses namkung - Brazilian Girls 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Flickr_-_moses_namkung_-_Brazilian_Girls_1.jpg)
Albums
* ''
Brazilian Girls'' (2005)
* ''
Talk to La Bomb'' (2006)
* ''
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
'' (2008)
* ''
Let's Make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
'' (2018)
Singles and EPs
* ''Lazy Lover EP'' (2004)
* "Don't Stop" 2005)
* ''More Than Pussy – The Remix EP'' (2007)
* "The Critic" (2016)
* "Pirates" (2018)
Videos
* ''Brazilian Girls: Live in NYC'' (2005)
References
External links
New York Times interview with Sabina SciubbaRehearsal Space: Brazilian GirlsLAist.com 9/23/08 Interview with Sabina Sciubba
{{Authority control
Alternative dance musical groups
Electronic music groups from New York (state)
Verve Forecast Records artists
Fiction Records artists
Downtempo musicians