What an incredible trip I’ve just been on.
No drugs. No planes, no trains. Just me, my headphones, and the winding path of choro. Brazil’s unsung spirit of sound.
I’ve loved Brazilian music for years—bossa nova, samba, the classics. That bittersweet sway of João Gilberto, the fire of Elza Soares. But choro? I didn’t know your game, you wild, shape-shifting, folk-jazz beast. You came out of nowhere like a clever old friend I never knew I had.
If you read my last blog, you know we’d just tumbled into the deep well of Kar Kar—Boubacar Traoré. (If not, go check that out. Worth the detour.)
It was like the sun, the soil, and the air all started singing at once. Like somebody turned a cobblestone alley into a jazz club in full daylight. Like I was being chased through Rio by a melody that knew my secrets. It felt like reading the heroic adventures of someone you wish you were, while their theme song played in real time.
Also? It somehow felt like a video game.
(It's giving Song of Storms (Zelda: Ocarina of Time) mixed with Corridors of Time (Chrono Trigger))
Cue the drum roll.
The song that cracked my skull open?
"Manduvi."
I’m telling you—if this blog ever becomes a docu-series, that’s the theme song. No question. I can already see the opening credits: me, suitcase in hand, dodging motorbikes in Marrakesh, sipping yerba mate in Buenos Aires, crying in a club in Naples. All of it, soundtracked by Manduvi—a melody so alive it feels like it’s walking beside you.
And the best part? It’s not just a single.
There’s a whole damn album.
Here’s the kicker: these guys have, like, 1,500 followers combined.
Now, I don’t care about clout metrics. Follower count has jack to do with how "good" music is. But come on. These folks are a revolution waiting to be noticed.
Mark my penny-worth words: they’re gonna blow.
There’s not much on these guys—not yet. I had to dig. No big articles. No PR spin. Just fragments. A couple live videos, some Bandcamp liner notes, a handful of Portuguese interviews with the charm of auto-translated captions.
That’s half the joy though, isn’t it?
Falling down the rabbit hole. Piecing together the story from whispers and chords. It's almost like that's the whole point. But I could be wrong. how would I know, I'm just the writer.
Let's talk about Choro first, then Tunes and Ramon.
Choro
Brazil’s unsung hero—an old-school musical shape-shifter born in the late 19th century. It’s the sound of Rio’s cobblestone streets meeting the soul of European salon music and African rhythms.
Imagine a mix of mandolins, guitars, cavaquinhos (tiny stringed instruments), and flutes weaving melodies that can be both heartbreakingly nostalgic and wild with joy. It’s a conversation between instruments—a push and pull of syncopated rhythms and flowing counterpoint.
Choro isn’t just a genre—it’s a feeling, a lifestyle. It’s the soundtrack of Brazilian cafés, street corners, and roda sessions, where musicians gather in circles to trade riffs, stories, and history. Much like how jazz musicians "trade".
It’s the heartbeat behind samba and bossa nova, the foundation for so much Brazilian music you probably know but didn’t realize traces back to choro. Choro is Brazil’s original jam session.
Alright, now that you know the heartbeat of choro and the magic of the roda, let me introduce you to the two players bringing this tradition into the now.
Tiago Tunes and Victor Ramon
Tiago started young, picking up the bandolim in Brazil, chasing the ghosts of legends like Jacob do Bandolim (listen to "Lamentos" & "Murmurando") while carving out his own bright, precise voice. Victor grew up surrounded by the rhythms of São Paulo’s café rodas, teaching and playing with a warmth and discipline that makes every note count.
Their paths crossed at a São Paulo roda—where music isn’t just played, it’s shared—and the conversation that started there became the track “Manduvi.”
This isn’t just a duet—it’s a dialogue between two storytellers. The whole album is a journey. What a feeling!
Side note, they have an incredible photographer @vanpapillo on Instagram.
(pictured are Tiago Tunes (R) and Victor Ramon (L) via Instagram
Manduvi
This track has an ethereal magic stitched into every note—or maybe it’s just that these two are killer players and their producer’s a straight-up wizard. Tiago’s bandolim darts like sunlight flickering through leaves, while Victor’s guitar grounds everything with warm, steady rhythms.
They play this song like an intimate conversation between old friends who’ve mapped every twist and turn of the road they’ve walked together.
There’s a timelessness here—rooted deep in tradition but pulsing with a fresh, almost secret intimacy, like a whispered confidence shared just between you and the music.
Then BAM—the percussive breakdown hits in the middle, where rhythm steps out front and center. The strings pull back just enough for your ears to throb raw and feel alive. It’s earthy, urgent, primal—a moment that drags you to the core of choro’s heartbeat before the melody crashes back in like a hurricane’s force. No, I’m not talking about an intimate escapade… it's just THAT good and I'm excited.
Oh, I should probably give you this: https://youtu.be/kUZc0pVuaV8?si=X5044Omg76VZob3M
Enjoy
Tucanuçu
I tried hunting down some reviews of Tucanuçu, but, spoiler: they’re mostly in Portuguese. So with a little help from Google Translate and my own creative spins, here’s a snippet from Correio Braziliense:
"Two instruments take center stage on the album—the 10-string mandolin, wielded by Tiago Tunes, and the 10-string guitar, handled by Victor Ramon. Backing them up is percussionist Mariano Toniatti from Brasília, whose rhythms pulse through every track. You’ll also hear other guitars weaving in, adding layers to the mix.
The album’s name nods to the toco toucan, Brazil’s most famous toucan species—a fitting symbol for a project that’s colorful, bold, and unmistakably Brazilian. According to the artists, Tucanuçu was born from “the need and desire to materialize the artists’ compositions.”
It’s a record that feels like a conversation between tradition and fresh expression, told through strings, rhythms, and a little bit of toucan spirit. There are some fantastic featured artists and unexpected surprises, but I’m not in the business of spoiling. Hell, I’m not in business at all—I’m basically a frog on a hot rock, having a schmag, basking in rays by the water, simply vibing with this album.
You can go listen to it yourself.
Toucan-Approved Thoughts
This is direct from their collaborated Instagram post. Well, translated first...
That was 11 weeks ago. How did I get so lucky? Sometimes the timing of the universe feels straight-up divine.
It looks like Manduvi is making its rounds. Maybe it landed on a playlist, or snuck into some genre algorithm thingy—I don’t know how this stuff works, I just follow the sound.
Most of the other tracks on the album are sitting around a thousand plays, and Manduvi? As of today (6/12/25), it’s clocking in at 89K.
Now, I don’t give a flying frick about metrics. But they do help trace how music travels, how it catches on, how it breathes across borders.
And for the record—I use YouTube Music. Not that it matters (it does—I don’t have YouTube ads).
I haven't gone deep enough to find their TikTok's or anything, so here are their Instagram's:
@tunes.tiago @victor8ramon
Pulling back the curtain again—just a little. Because I still believe there’s real magic out there. Music with soul and sweat and centuries tucked inside it. Stuff that catches you off guard, that stirs something ancient in your bones even if you don’t know the words.
You might not have found Tucanuçu or Manduvi on your own. But now you have. That’s the whole point of this thing: to share the wonders hiding just past the algorithm’s edge.
Go listen to Tucanuçu! Let it spin while you’re cooking, walking, laying in the grass doing nothing at all. Let it find you. Let it soundtrack your life. Thanks for reading, and for letting me bring you along into this little corner of the world.
From the edges of sound and story—stay curious, stay open, and stay tuned in. - Berly
If you dug this post, feel free to tip the scribbler: Venmo https://venmo.com/u/berlyd
Listen to today's tune here: Manduvi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PniCelYa3c8
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