Brazil’s Oruã Announces Career Retrospective

Maldição (2016-2026) out Nov. 13; listen to title track below

September 15, 2026September 15, 2026 Ron Hart 0 Comments 2026, Brazil, Calvin Johnson, K Records, Maldição, Maldição (2016-2026), Oruã, Rio de Janeiro

Somewhere between Patife Band, Soulfly and Os Mutantes exists the psychedelic fury of Rio de Janeiro’s Oruã.

Now, their decade of progressive fuzz pop has been collected for a new anthology, Maldição (2016-2026), coming out Nov. 13 on Calvin Johnson’s K Records.

“Oruã is a child of downtown, was born at night and attends the parties at dawn,” explains the spiel on their Bandcamp page. “A poor man’s jazz. Working-class’ krautrock. They play in Baixada Fluminense and in the United States, do not travel on tourism and have never been on an exchange program.”

Today, the band shares the first single from Maldição (2016-2026) with the release of the collection’s near-nine-minute-long, Sonic Youth-evoking title track worldwide on all digital service providers.

“Maldição” is a landmark song in Oruã’s history,” the band said in a statement. “The lyrics deal with spiritual liberation and the mockery of societal judgments. Issues of race and profound discussions on color are briefly glimpsed, and a mood of defiance takes over the atmosphere.”

Oruã *Maldição* *(2016-2026)*, K Records 2026

Says bandleader, guitarist and producer Lê Almeida, “This version was recorded in Búzios, on the coast of Rio, during a trip where we enjoyed a sunny day at the beach before recording at Estúdio Terra, surrounded by greenery.”

Oruã will bring their 10-year celebration to the United States next year as performers at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Almeida will be joined by his longtime collaborators João Casaes (synths), Bigu Medine (bass) and Ana Zumpano (drums) onstage for a performance that fans who caught them opening for Built to Spill here in the United States will tell you is a serious trip.

Listen to “Maldição” below and preorder the double vinyl here.