Photo credit: Henrique Barreto
“Late Again blurs the boundaries between pop and alternative in
a way that’s both charming and vulnerable” - Billboard
"turns the textures of sand-shifting jazz from Rio into an electronically alive corner of Williamsburg" - JazzTimes
“A dashing blend of dream pop with suns from his country” - Galore
Brooklyn-based project Late Again will release his new EP I Dreamt I Was Awake on September 4. The moniker of multi-hyphenate artist Rafael Melo, he today shares the languid summertime-infused single “Crazy or Stupid”.
An observational piece of social commentary featuring a quirky cast of characters, "Crazy or Stupid" juxtaposes modern anxieties with breezy dream-pop textures. Casual references to potential deportation and AI takeovers are softened by blissful synths, phased-out guitars and an infectious melody, crafting a song that's equal parts unsettling and disarmingly catchy.
"It’s ultimately a funny ballad that doesn't take itself too seriously" shares Late Again.
The accompanying visualizer was created by visual artist Gabriel Rollinos (Tame Impala, Toro y Moi, Metronomy).
Listen to “Crazy or Stupid” on All Platforms
With I Dreamt I Was Awake, a newfound confidence emerges as Late Again doubles down on his astutely observational writing style. Across six intricately structured tracks, the EP explores the gap between the life you imagine and the one you’re actually living, and the strange ways people learn to make peace with that distance. Self-aware, sometimes funny, and always subtly critical, the songs fluctuate between tenderness and irony, minimalism and chaos, and the hyper-personal and universal.
Recorded at Studio G (Brooklyn) and Evil Twin (São Paulo), the EP features drums from Thiago Dom (Kimbra, Duda Beat), bass from John Lisi (Twin Brother, John Roseboro), engineering from Nelson Espinal (Mdou Moctar, YHWH Nailgun, Sessa), and mixing from Heal Mura, Melo’s long-term Brazilian collaborator.
Born and raised on the coast of São Paulo, Late Again sonically sits at the intersection of North American indie pop and obscure Brazilian bossa nova references, with a hint of dreamlike film soundscapes and Japanese 80s grooves. Since his debut in April 2024, he’s picked up support from Billboard, JazzTimes, Galore, Grimy Goods, TrebleZine and more, and collaborated with creative trailblazers including Brazilian jazz maestro Arthur Verocai (BADBADNOTGOOD, MF Doom, Gal Costa) and experimental visual artist Gabriel Rollinos.
With a multi-hyphenate career spanning award-winning films and bestselling indie video games, Rafael Melo's work through Late Again expands the boundaries of his music beyond sound itself, in an effort to tell his stories in whatever medium it takes.
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