Ultrasoma

Ultrasoma formed in São Paulo in 1994, originally calling themselves Soma before settling on the name that stuck. They were a Brazilian band working with the textures of shoegaze and dream pop, with Guilherme Arantes and André Travassos handling guitars and vocals, Yuri Kalil on bass, and Egeu Laus on drums.

Their first album, 'A Estrada Perdida,' came out in 2000 and gave them a clearer identity. The title track and songs like 'Mundo mente' and 'Ego vil' showed their preference for hazy, layered arrangements and introspective lyrics. They followed it with records like 'Congresso' in 2003 and 'Lanterna dos Afogados' in 2006.

By the time 'Azul' arrived in 2013, they had been at it for nearly two decades, still exploring that atmospheric sound without much concern for fitting into mainstream Brazilian music. Their work drew from shoegaze touchstones like My Bloody Valentine but filtered them through their own quieter, more patient approach.