Lê Almeida

For quite some time, when Lê Almeida came up in a conversation, I’d describe him as a ‘Brazilian lo-fi pop genious’, and I still think that’s a pretty accurate way of portraying the guy.

Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Lê is one of the most prolific people we’ve ever met – Apart from the solo project, he also plays in Tape Rec, Coloracao desbotada, Carpete Florido and Babe Florida; and runs Transfusao Noise Records, an excellent label based in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

Highly influenced by 90s American indie rock (think Guided by voices, Eric’s trip, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., and Elephant 6), Lê Almeida makes short, punchy, fuzzy pop songs, filled with dirty guitar riffs and the kind of melodies that stick to your head for days.

We’ve had a fair deal of those stuck in ours in the past couple of years and are now very proud to announce his (and our) next release: Mono Maçã.

Sang entirely in Portuguese, the mini album contains 12 songs in just over 20 minutes of pure excellence. - WeePOP records

Lê Almeida is one of the coolest Brazilian dudes we’ve come across; he lives the lo-fi style life like very few know how to, starting with the fact he’s the founder/head of Brazil's youth-rushed netlabel Transfusão Noise Records. After dedicating time to his side projects, and a handful of EPs under his arm, his debut LP Mono Maçã has finally seen the commercial light. “Eles estão na minha rua” is an extract from the record, a track that finds Almeida on its most structured moment yet. Beyond the noise-revivalist sound, he definitely shares the lo-fi aesthetic and the urgency to tell stories in very short timings. This song breaks most of those principles. Like some of his fellow Latin American lo-fiers (Las Robertas, Babe Florida, Hypnomango), there are tropical flairs embedded with the sound, so often confused as psychedelic. Mono Maçã is out now on London’s Weepop Records. - Club Fonograma

lê almeida is from brazil, the lyrics are in portuguese, and there are a handful of EPs available for free download from the label transfusão noise records. the band definitely carries a 90's college rock sound to them with fuzz and swirls galore reminiscent of dinosaur jr and apples in stereo. the debut LP, mono maçã (mono apple for the english folk) is expected in January 2011. transporpirações is the band's first single and you can get a taste of the new record below. i've also included 'me de sua mao' off a 2007 EP, loufailandia, which deviates from their fuzz sound and opts for a little more fun energy, and 'nunca nunca' from a 2009 EP, revi. a lot of their stuff is definitely worth listening to so if i were you i'd take advantage of all the free downloads at transfusão noise records. if you feel inclined to purchase any of these gems you can do so at midsummer madness.
- Chromewaves Radio

Lê Almeida is a Brazilian band that plays some seriously infectious power pop in short bursts of fuzz-soaked melody. The tight chord progressions bring to mind Nirvana, but the vocals are less aggressive, sneering punk and more laid back, nineties indie rocker, resulting in songs that sound like the Latin offspring of the Breeders or Brazil’s answer to Guided By Voices. (Athens, Ga., Elephant 6 affiliates, Elf Power, also come to mind.) File Lê Almeida under “new favorite” and get ready to wear out your repeat button (and maybe learn a little Portuguese), ’cause this shit’s as catchy as the clap in Bangkok. And like a Thailand tryst with a silky-voiced sohpaynee, even if you don’t know what the hell’s bein’ said, you can still dig the way it sounds.

Lê Almeida’s latest single, “Transporpirações” (see picture above and song below), is out now on Rio de Janeiro-based label Transfusão Noise Records and can be downloaded there for free along with the band’s previous ep’s as well as the Pollard-authorized Brazilian tribute to Guided By Voices, Don’t Stop Now, which includes Lê Almeida’s version of “King Caroline”.

Let all of this tide you over until–and get you primed for picking up–Lê Almeida’s upcoming lp, Mono Maçã, out soon and currently available for pre-order from London-based label WeePOP!. Check out the details here - Los Grillos

If your Portuguese is a bit rusty, the music of Lê Almeida may well have flown under your radar. The Brazilian band has released a handful of EPs and now a single for the label Transfusão Noise Records. Each release is like a compact nugget of experimentation that takes huge power pop cues from the likes of Apples in Stereo and rolls them together in a Guided by Voices fashion with short song sketches and melodic interplay. "Transporpirações" is actually one of the band's longer songs, clocking in at a full 2:42, each second packed with fuzzy guitars, psych swirls, and more than a few melodies that lodge themselves in every cranny of your brain. - Altered Zones

Not going to lie, usually when I hear the words Rio de Janerio or Brazil I am more likely to think about Gisele Bundchen or Carnival than I am to think of awesome, fuzzed out indie-pop, but Lê Almeida has thankfully changed all that. The delightful Brazil based trio combine all the finer elements of garage rock-pop with their fuzzed out instruments, charming vocals, and upbeat drum styles, but add an extra unique spin on it all with their internationally flavored vocals. Listening to the energetic Nunca Nunca transported me from the billowy draft of D.C.’s winter streets to somewhere impossibly sunny and happy. It proved the perfect pick-up for a blah-infused Sunday afternoon. Lê Almeida keeps things straight-forward with all songs falling just below the three-minute mark, but those few minutes pack more of a punch that is often missing from much longer tunes. Transporpirações is a great stand out track that sees the group mixing their garage sound with some beach flavorings and a bit of psychedelic guitar melding. The song wraps up with pounding drums and a guitar lick that can only be adequately described as sweet before the tune fades out in a perfectly deconstructed manner. Jardim de Tarde provides a nice 31 second interlude that displays excellent musical prowess in a thumping bass line and beautifully crafted guitar hook, which leaves the listener hanging for more. Luckily the previously mentioned Nunca Nunca follows Jardim de Tarde up, arriving in the nick of time to supply the empty pop void. Lê Almeida’s new EP Mono Maçã will be arriving soon on Transfusão Noise Records and their single Transporpirações can be download for free on the site.

By: Stephanie Glass - S.O.T.R.

The Brazilian answer to Robert Pollard, and part-time suitcase-fixer, who dominates the local indiepop scene

Today's new band is an indiepop outfit from Brazil. Call it early World Cup fever, or maybe it's just because we've never featured a Brazilian indiepop band in this column before – how very short-sighted of us – but we thought it was high time. Lê Almeida is the 29-year-old locus or focus for Rio de Janeiro's indiepop scene, because apparently most people in Rio tend to listen to samba and funk (or acts like Gaby Amarantos, whom we featured here 2012 when we felt it was our duty to include a "technobrega" artist who looked like a cross between Lady Gaga and Queen Latifah).

Actually, although we've heard that not very many people in Brazil do listen to music informed by Weezer, the Elephant 6 collective or Guided By Voices, there is a burgeoning lo-fi movement known as "Baixada Fluminense", and Almeida, basically, bosses it. He's sort of the Rio Robert Pollard, a prime mover in it all. He comes from a rundown neighbourhood called Vilar dos Teles, on the outskirts of Rio, and records under various aliases including Treli Feli Repi. Whatever the name, he's doing the writing and singing, playing every instrument and producing – although he has other musicians to help out when he plays live. Come on, he's not that good.

As if that wasn't enough, he's also the guitarist and lead singer for bands Babe Florida, Tape Rec and Cramapel, and a member of the punk outfit Refrigerantes. Oh, and he produces loads of other acts and runs a label to put out his and their records. His cost about $90 to make: that label of his has already released 34 so far, all for free, digitally, or as CDs with artwork for about $2.50 each.

This is all, by the way, when he's not working part-time for his dad, fixing up old suitcases. Plus, he's an acclaimed graphic designer who designs the sleeves for his label's bands, and he runs a communal space called Escritório (Brazilian for "office") for musicians and artists to meet and rehearse in. He houses his own rehearsal space and studio in his backyard, which he and his chums quaintly refer to as Interstellar Lo-Fi studios. You can see it in this video here. It even made the local news. Sweet.

His songs are sweet, too, all models of concision: short, sharp bursts of melodic guitar pop with hooks that lodge in your head and harmonies he delivers with slackerish gusto – if that's not a contradiction in terms. There is an album, Mono Maçā, on Spotify, and stuff on Soundcloud. It genuflects before Ramones and Nirvana, with nods to punk and grunge but also powerpop, only slower (slowerpop?). It is fizzy and fuzzy, brimming with pop smarts, but so determinedly DIY it would win any indier-than-thou contest. All hail Rio's Tone Soul Evolution.

The buzz: "Each second [is] packed with fuzzy guitars, psych swirls, and more than a few melodies that lodge themselves in every cranny of your brain."

The truth: Suitcase-mending's loss is Brazilian indiepop's gain.

Most likely to: Run the Office.

Least likely to: Watch the Office (he's too busy).

What to buy: Lê Almeida's latest single, Transporpirações, is out now on Rio de Janeiro-based label Transfusão Noise Records.

File next to: Guided By Voices, Weezer, Apples In Stereo, Dillon Fence. - The Guardian

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, all Song of the Day podcast songs have been selected by DJ Chilly, host of El Sonido, bringing you fresh, contemporary flavors from the diverse Latin alternative scene. Today’s song is “Micropontes” by Lê Almeida from the 2011 album Mono Maçã on Transfusão Noise Records.

Lê Almeida, indie-pop outfit from Rio De Janeiro, is the dominating pioneer of Brazil’s lo-fi grunge rock scene. The twenty-nine year old crafted his own record label, starting Transfusão Noise Records in 2004. About the endeavor, he states that “I wanted a label with music that sounded like the stuff my friends played.” Citing Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and Guided By Voices as inspiration for his tracks, Lê Almeida’s smartly appropriates American indie-rockers’ style of music, adding a Brazilian shade to his sound along the way. What’s interesting though is the way his own country received him. In an interview he stated that, “In the beginning we were viewed almost as lunatics here because this type of project is very new ... but with the passing of the years we’ve gained plenty of love from outside.” As is evidenced by today’s Song of the Day Lê Almeida, crazy or not, knows how to piece a track together. Sounding like Blur’s “Song 2,” “Micropontes” possesses a wealth of catchy riffs and hooks, at times using variable distortion to gain the sonic upper-hand. With a similar vocal style to Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, Almeida complements the track well by singing over it softly, almost lazily. Clocking in around two-and-a-half minutes, the jam’s on the shorter side, which works well for Almedida, because it ends with a drone-like double-take before becoming too repetitive. - KEXP