PREMIERE: Living Links Brazilian Grooves with Norwegian Pop on “Risen” Single

The Brazilian-cum-Bergenser returns with a new single ahead of an October EP.
PREMIERE: Living Links Brazilian Grooves with Norwegian Pop on “Risen” Single

The Brazilian-cum-Bergenser returns with a new single ahead of an October EP.

Words: Sadie Sartini Garner

photo by Simen Peder Aksnes Aarli

September 12, 2016

Living / photo by Simen Peder Aksnes Aarli

Lucas de Almeida grew up in Brazil, but he now calls the Norwegian city of Bergen home. And while it would be a little pat to call the music that he makes under the name Living a tidy amalgamation of the sounds associate with those two countries—well, it wouldn’t be totally wrong, either.

Today, we’re premiering Almeida’s song “Risen,” which follows recent singles “Florahedron” and “Cerulean.” The bubbling, spacey track certainly takes cues from both his natural and adopted homelands: the rhythm bubbles around the perimeter of a wide groove, and its structure and sophistication are the product of Scandinavian pop tradition. But the melding produces a few unexpected results, too, most notably in Almeida’s production work—the song’s texture, like rough paper, recalls Person Pitch–era Panda Bear, but where that album’s transatlanticism felt like it was clawing its way back from alienation, “Risen” has already undertaken the journey—if indeed it left at all. Give it a listen below.