In search of love

Luedji Luna, 38, caused a stir at the end of the first half of the year by releasing two new albums 18 days apart. In an industry characterized by successive single releases, the singer-songwriter from Bahia dared to release two albums with a collection of original songs that explore the complexities of the search for love.

In Um Mar Pra Cada Um and Antes Que a Terra Acabe, the artist, owner of an engaging voice, continues on her path of making music with sophistication, escaping clichés to talk about feelings and emotional experiences.

"I've been pursuing love for a few projects," says Luedji, in a video interview with CartaCapital. "In Um Mar para Cada Um, this search is explicit in the lyrics. Love is a demand for me. Through it, I'm becoming more human. I have this demand so much that, at a certain point in my life, I believed I wasn't worthy of receiving love."

The second album, she continues, is less intimate: "This record reflects our naked humanity, how far we can go in this search. It's a more earthy record." Both albums have a modern sound aesthetic, with jazzy beats and tones, and those of so-called neo-soul—a genre that emerged in the 1990s and derived from soul.

The singer will perform the launch shows for her two new works at Vivo Rio, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday 9th, and at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo, on Saturday 15th.

The repertoire also includes songs from three previous albums and from the project Luedji Luna Canta Sade, in which she performs the refined songs of the British-Nigerian artist who, like her, has a voice that is both light and intense.

References. One of the albums, Antes Que a Terra Acabe, features collaborations with Seu Jorge, Arthur Verocai, and Alaíde Costa.

Luedji hadn't released an album since 2022, when she released "Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'Água Deluxe," which, despite having a similar name to her 2020 album—Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'Água—also featured new songs. A Sea for Each One concludes the trilogy of searching and investigating love.

Her intense life, both personally and professionally, led her to release two albums so close to each other.

"I was living, performing, being a mother, wrapping up the Deluxe album tour, singing Sade, and in the midst of all this energy, I was preparing a new album," says the artist, who became a mother in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. "Before I knew it, I had so many songs."

She says that Rota, with lyrics and melody written by her, is one of her favorite songs on the album Um Mar para Cada Um. A violin orchestra makes the recording exuberant and enhances verses like "Mysteries are/ Because no one told/ Reveal your secret to me/ I am an empty glass/ To quench your thirst for water/ Love overflows in me/ And some fears, concerns and doubts/ I awaken little by little/ With an open heart I continue.

On the track "4HZ," by Luedji Luna, Gabriel Gaiardo, and Cuca Teixeira, the singer reads a text about reciprocity in love: "This special man isn't giving you anything more than the obvious." The 11th and final track on the album Um Mar para Cada Um is the poem "Baby I Love You," by historian and Black activist Beatriz Nascimento (1942–1995).

On the album Antes Que a Terra Acabe, the opening track Apocalipse, written by her, with the participation of Seu Jorge and Arthur Verocai, and Bonita, the first bossa nova composition written by the singer, with the participation of one of the pioneers of the genre, Alaíde Costa, deserve special mention.

Since her first album, Um Corpo no Mundo (2017), released when she was 30, Luedji has demonstrated her commitment to the cause of women and Black people. Born in Salvador to parents who were civil servants at Petrobras and activists in the Black movement, Luedji grew up in a loving home, but outside of it, she discovered racism.

As soon as she began composing, at age 17, she addressed Black identity and the racism she experienced. Although she graduated in Law, she never practiced law. Her income came from performing in bars in the Bahian capital. In 2015, she moved to São Paulo. Two years later, in addition to releasing her debut album, she created and produced Palavra Preta, a showcase of Black artists in Salvador.

“Before I knew it, I had a lot of songs,” she says, about the double release.

It didn't take long for her work to be recognized. Her first album produced her first hit, "Bath of Leaves." In 2018, she was nominated in the Best New Artist category at the Multishow Brazilian Music Awards. In 2020, she won the Woman's Music Event Awards with "Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'Água," an album that was also nominated for the 2021 Latin Grammy for Best Brazilian Popular Music Album.

Luedji has always been directly involved in the conception of her projects – from creation to execution – and seeks out the broadest possible references, including Brazilian music, English-language music, and Afro-diasporic production.

At the presentation shows for her two new albums, in Rio and São Paulo, Luedji Luna will take the stage with nine musicians, including three backing vocalists, two wind instruments, drums, bass, keyboards, and percussion. This is an atypical lineup, with a larger band than the average for Brazilian artists—another distinguishing characteristic of her work.

"My commitment is to music. Only music matters. The music I want to make needs musicians, jazz, improvisation, solos, the magic that happens there," she says. Each performance, she says, will be unique and will feature different guests each day. "It's going to be a long show, to celebrate my work." And love. •

Published in issue no. 1374 of CartaCapital , on August 13, 2025.

This text appears in the print edition of CartaCapital under the title 'In search of love'