Eugênio Cruz

Eugênio Cruz writes songs that feel like they come from somewhere deep. His best-known track, "Fábula," has that quality of a ballad that people keep returning to, with lyrics that sit with you. He's from Salvador, Bahia, and you can hear some of that place in what he does, though he's not exactly making party music.

He put out his first album, also called "Fábula," in 2003. Other songs like "A Dor De Amar" and "A semente e o passarinho" show the same careful attention to words and melody. He followed that with records like "Pedra Bruta" in 2005 and "Canções de Amor e Morte" in 2008, working in a space that's quiet and often serious.

There's a directness to his writing that cuts through a lot of the noise. He's not trying to be flashy, just getting at something real, which is probably why his music has stuck around.