Following the sophisticated sounds of his previous albums, the Brazilian Lucas Santtana has stripped his melodies and vocals bare and dressed them in his acoustic guitar’s arpeggios and chords. Nephew of Tom Zé and son of a composer who worked with Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, Santtana is an heir to the Tropicalists: a group of Brazilian artists who questioned and commented on society in the mid-1960s predominantly through traditional music. With all the political unrest that is shaking his country today, Lucas Santtana confronts current issues and underlines the importance of nature, friendships, love and helping one another. For example, the single Meu Primeiro Amor, a duet with Recife singer Duda Beat, describes the harmonious love between an urban middle-class young woman and a forro musician from the poor lands of the sertão. Santtana is politically engaged on this record, reflecting on the ways in which Lula improved rural Brazil. While he denounces the ultra-right’s obscurantism, the musician never raises his voice or loses hope. The wise message of this lucid yet confident album is perfectly captured its title O Céu é Velho Há Muito Tempo (“The sky has been old for a long time”). © Benjamin MiNiMuM/Qobuz