Sabrina Malheiros was born in 1979 in Niteroi, a suburb of Rio De Janeiro. From an extremely early age Sabrina Malheiros displayed a prodigious talent for music, as a preschooler she was already experimenting on the piano and by the age of five she was attending a music conservatory; at 7 years old she had completed her first studio recording. While most kids were playing games she preferred to hang out at recording sessions with some of the greats of Brazilian music including Tim Maia, Raul Seixas and Ivan Lins, giving her unparalleled first hand knowledge of the Brazilian music scene. By the time she was a teenager she formed her own soul outfit, Zitrip, and sung vocals in a reggae group before going on to form the duo Superágua which resulted in a performance at the Tim Festival in Rio, Brazil’s most important music festival. She was then invited to record by UFO in Japan which alerted an international audience to her talent, before being snapped up by Far Our Recordings.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that music was a natural choice for Sabrina, it was all around. Her grandfather played with Sergio Mendes and father, Alex Malheiros is one of the founding members of the legendary Azymuth. The musical influences at home were varied, ‘You could hear a bit of everything lots of jazz, bossa nova and folk music. Even from a young age I adored Bossa Nova. According to my dad, who had a recording Studio, I wanted to start recording very early on; he has got recordings of me singing when I was Just 3 years old. My family already knew that I was destined to become a singer; it was the right path for me. When I was 7 my dad recorded a track for his second solo album and it was my first official recording in a studio, Sonoviso, in Rio. I am sure I never thought of any other career but when I was 11 I recorded with Azymuth, then things started becoming more serious.’
Sabrina chose to play guitar and decided to enroll at the Vila-Lobos School of music in Rio de Janeiro. ‘The classes were often very theoretical but the best part of the experience was swapping knowledge with other musicians I met there. This introduced new ideas to me. There were workshops from percussion to choral. It was a very productive time for me and gave me a chance to participate more fully in the musical scene in Rio, which led to new projects, recordings and even the idea for my first record with Far Out Recordings. Joe Davis (the founder of Far Out) was there to record an album with my dad but the idea started to transform into one for my own album when he discovered that I too wrote music. One day we were listening to the records on Far Out Recordings and I loved the sound of Viper Squad and that’s how we came up with the idea of bringing Daniel out to produce the album.’
Apart from the formal side of Sabrina’s musical education, there was also a hugely inform element which was perhaps even more important in shaping her style, ‘My dad recorded with lots of Brazilian artists including the likes of Tim Maia, Raul Seixas, Ivan Lins, Brazuka and Simone – I had the chance to meet some of them and also the musicians who played on the recording. I think being able to observe these people allowed me to absorb a bit of their musical energy. It’s not just about recording but also observing other musicians, that’s what my dad always taught me. He plays guitar really well and I learnt a lot observing him even these days. I have been greatly influenced by the way he plays, apart from the formal studies it was from my dad that I really learnt to play, there is a lot of his musicality in me. He also said he had a great musical affinity with me and it is good to keep receiving this influence and it is even better that nowadays I can even make music with him.’
Her next lead vocal role came when she was 19 years old on the track ‘Pôr do Sol’ taken from the acclaimed Japanese Acid Jazz act United Future Organisation’s fifth album ‘V’ (Exceptional Records). This followed a year later with a second guest appearance with Azymuth, this time singing lead vocals on a track her father wrote for her ‘Papa.' Also that year she was invited by the pianist Marvio Ciribelli to record some songs for a movie soundtrack he was composing ‘A Terceira Morte de Joaquim Bolívar,' produced by the acclaimed Brazilian film director Ciribelli. Sabrina recorded four songs for the film, including the lead track with Paulo Williams, ‘Dancing in Rio.'
In 2002 Sabrina Malheiros was asked to perform on a track ‘Superágua’ produced by famous Brazilian, DJ/Producers, DJ Jonas & Ulisses Cappelletti. Described as a slice of Balearic bliss the track was licensed to many chill-out compilations worldwide; along with this Reverberations Recordings also licensed the track and turned into a dance floor monster. That same year Sabrina began recording tracks for what would become her debut album ‘Equilibria.' “I tried to select and create songs that would show all the musical influences I had received throughout my life,” adds Sabrina. Supported by an outstanding cast of players including all of Azymuth, Kiko Continentino, Sidinho Moreira, Renato Franco, Leo Gandelman and Zé Carlos, the album was finished in January 2004. Sabrina also recorded her third outing with Azymuth, dueting alongside the legendary Roberto Menescal for ‘Pra Zé,' taken from their recent ‘Brazilian Soul’ album. Later that year the debut single from ‘Equilibria,' ‘Estação Verão’ was released with a remix by Kenny Dope. It was the best-selling 12” for Far Out Recordings this side of the Millenium and featured on the Kenny Dope Presents ‘Brazilika’ album that celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Far Out Recordings. ‘Equilibria’ was released in 2005 and was Sabrina’s first debut album for Far Out Recordings, it was written by herself and her father. The album was long awaited and the critics were waiting to see what the daughter of a legend could come up with! The album achieved great success and was a combination of brilliant songwriting and contemporary electronics and beats.
Sabrina went on to make her UK debut appearance performing at the Jazz Café in May 2005. This was followed by many live performances and gigs which were all well received. In 2006 Far Out Recordings decided to release ‘Vibrasons’ which was a CD full of remixes and varied versions of Sabrina’s songs; Sabrina felt that the album had given a new life to some of her songs. After releasing singles from her best-selling debut Sabrina came out with ‘New Morning’ her third album for Far Out Recordings. She wanted the album to have a more organic vibe thus resulting in a soulful blend of bossa, disco and house. As expected the album played host to various well known Brazilian musicians; her musical journey was taking off and she wasn’t the only one along for the ride. After the great success of ‘New morning’ Far Out Recordings decided to release a deluxe edition in 2009, the songs were re-worked and some previously un-released material was added. It was a stunning re-work and received positive feedback and press coverage.
Sabrina Malheiros is a prominent artist for Far Out Recordings, her history is entwined with ours through Joe’s relationship with her father and Azymuth. We know that the future is bright for this multi-talented singer/songwriter; there is a lot more to come.
Discography (all with Far Out Recordings)
2009 – New Morning (Deluxe Edition)
2008 – New Morning
2006 – Vibrasons
2005 – Equilibria
