Oruã, a child of downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was born at night and attends parties at dawn. A poor man’s jazz. Working-class’ krautrock. Formed during one of the most turbulent periods in recent Brazilian history (which has seen a coup d’état, political imprisonment, and the rise of the extreme right), Oruã was idealized by Lê Almeida, a cultural agitator in Rio de Janeiro’s independent scene, through his label Transfusão Noise Records.
Based around the meeting point that became the Escritório, a space of collective creation which fosters an artistic community and a music scene that dialogues with the Brazilian underground from a unique place, Oruã emerged in improvisation sessions that mixed repetitive bass lines, electric phrases and indie guitar solos, doses of feedback and wall of noise to afrobeat and Brazilian references that ranged from Luiz Gonzaga’s primal Pernambuco sound to Brazilian guitar references. Oruã is lead by critically-acclaimed guitarist and producer Lê Almeida and is joined by long-time collaborators João Casaes (synths), Bigu Medine (bass) and Ana Zumpano (drums). Together they blend lo-fi independent rock, krautrock, noise, afrobeat, and Brazilian references that range from Luiz Gonzaga’s primal Pernambuco sound to classic Brazilian psych rock.
In 2019 their sound was discovered by indie rock legend Doug Martsch of Built to Spill, which led to him inviting Lê and João to become temporary members of the 90’s indie rock band. Later they recorded, co-produced, and co-mixed Built to Spill’s most recent album, When the Wind Forgets Your Name (Sub Pop Records). After touring extensively with Built to Spill and showcasing their high-energy shows in the US and Europe throughout the years, Oruã returned to the US in 2024 in support of the album PASSE on their own Transfusão Noise Records. Their sound continues to mix the electric pulses of deconstructed guitars over a mesmerizing groove, taking both audience and band into a collective trance. At the end of the PASSE U.S. tour Oruã returned to Seattle and recorded their fifth album Slacker [KLP307] with Jim Roth, who also plays guitar, synth and percussion on the recordings. In July 2025, Oruã embarked on their third European tour, visiting over ten countries. During the trip, they recorded a session at the BBC studios in London, and Slacker was released by K. In March 2026, Oruã performed at the Lollapalooza festival in São Paulo, gaining significant exposure; this led to an appearance on the famous TV Cultura program Cultura Livre, where they played tracks exclusively from Slacker. After the release of their ten year retrospective album Maldição (2016-2026) [KLP324] Oruã will continue touring extensively taking the collective trance of Oruã to many different cultures, exporting the best that Brazil has to offer: art!
Oruã, Maldição (2016-2026) A major career retrospective is planned to celebrate ten years of the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil combo Oruã. Maldição (2016-2026) [KLP324] is a double album exploring the hyper-creativity of Oruã, drawing from their many periods and various releases since 2016.
As part of their ten year celebration, Oruã will perform at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville, TN, April 1-4. 2027. The songs comprising the Maldição (2016-2026) [KLP324] album were recorded in different places and countries, expanding on a sound that originally stemmed from old cassette tapes and 4-track porta-studio recordings. The album contains twenty songs in all, ranging from thoughtful psychedelia to fuzzy, experimental rock’n’roll. Oruã. Maldição (2016-2026) [KLP324] will be released November 13, 2026 by the underground record label K, based in Olympia, Washington, U.S.A.
