Swiss singer and musician Dino Brandão has become a familiar figure on the Swiss and European music scene in recent years. After many artistic and personal adventures, Brandão has finally completed his first solo album, Self Inclusion, which will be released on May on Two Gentlemen. Before 2019, he sang and played the guitar with Swiss outfit Frank Powers. In 2020, he contributed to the composition of the Swiss-German declaration of love Ich liebe dich alongside Sophie Hunger and Faber, and his debut EP Bouncy Castle is already more than two years old.

The catchy yet deeply lyrical line Life’s a Bouncy Castle/Filled with Tears and Laughter from his first EP is particularly relevant for Brandão. Over the past few years, as he set out to record his first solo album, he has had to face not only the challenges of the pandemic, like the rest of us, but also a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and stays in mental health hospitals. Hence the decision to call his debut album Self Inclusion, which begins with the track Sweet Madness and ends with the dropout anthem Loser, reflects a depth that goes beyond mere coincidence.

Brandão is lucid about his approach: “I decided very early on to be totally open and to share everything that concerns me. Perhaps this helps, if only a little, to destigmatise mental health issues. I just hope I won’t be reduced to these themes forever.” This fear is probably dispelled by the excellence of this debut album. Although the artistic aspects of the album are steeped in these personal themes, the ten tracks offer a richness that goes far beyond them. First, Brandão’s gorgeous voice is at once soft and otherworldly, but also capable of launching warm yet scathing cries like “Fuck Nestlé!”, in Pretty for example. From a lyrical point of view, the album, recorded for the most part solo, overflows with love, depth, social criticism, and truth, so much so that it could be the topic of a round table discussion. What may seem imposing at first glance fits perfectly into this work. Brandão belongs to a special class of artists, exuding a spellbinding,
even diabolical aura.

When confronted about this “affiliation”, he responds with a thoughtful smile and declares calmly: “In a way, I enjoy tackling serious subjects with upbeat music”. A major influence for him is Angola-born artist Bonga, whose now legendary protest album Angola 72 became a soundtrack for the country’s struggle for ndependence. Brandão has this to say about Bonga: “I grew up listening to his songs and to Semba, a popular music and dance genre in Angola. You’ll feel it even in the quieter tracks, like Coconut for example. Surrendering to melancholy and lamentation while playing this lively, empowering music, that’s where I truly find myself.”

Many of Brandão’s songs corroborate this theory. Such is the case with the excellent track Bouncy Castle, which already featured on the eponymous 2021 EP, and the aforementioned Pretty. Musically, Pretty oscillates between laid-back Afrobeat vibes and a West Coast folk, dream-pop chorus. Its content is also rich with themes such as post-colonialism, globalisation, and capitalism. Brandão’s strength lies in tackling these delicate topics, not with militant slogans, but with some sharp, meticulous storytelling.

Emotionally, a pause is necessary as each line of this brilliant lyricist from Self Inclusion permeates your mind. But then the lure of this remarkable, delicately groovy, and captivating music takes over again, prompting you to press play again and to plunge right back in. There’s no escaping it.

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