With a promising start to her career in popular music in the late 1970s – working with artists such as Egberto Gismonti and Jards Macalé – Marlui Miranda decided to change the course of her life. Upon being introduced to an indigenous song from the Krahô people, the artist embarked on a journey towards ethnomusicology, dedicating herself to the research and dissemination of the original cultures of Northern Brazil.

In the interview, which you can read in full in Noize #165, included with the vinyl of Bandido (1976), Marlui stated: “ I made beautiful songs, I'm a composer and all that. But I thought Brazil already had so many wonderful and creative composers. I changed course of my own accord because I thought indigenous music was wonderful at that time and I wanted to immerse myself in that universe.”

Since then, over the past 50 years, the artist has performed in Brazil, Europe, and the USA, a repertoire composed of songs from peoples such as the Yanomami, the Jaboti, the Pakaa Nova, the Parakanã, the Tukano, the Kaiapó, the Nambikwara, the Karitiana, the Tupari, the Juruna, and the Suyá.

He recorded the albums Ihu — Todos os Sons (1995), 2 Ihu Kewere: Rezar (1997) and Fala de Bicho, Fala de Gente (2012), in addition to collaborating with major names in Brazilian music, such as Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento.

Below, check out the special playlist we've prepared so you can get to know Marlui Miranda's work and get a taste of what you'll find in the new edition of Noize.