On October 14, internationally acclaimed ensemble Seffarine will release Abaraz ⴰⴱⴰⴵⴰⵣ, an ambitious new album inspired by the cultural crossroads of Morocco's southern desert frontier. Blending Moroccan, Amazigh, West African, Andalusi, and flamenco influences, the recording follows the group's debut and expands its exploration of the historical pathways that have connected North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and the wider African continent for centuries.

Led by Moroccan vocalist Lamiae Naki and American flamenco guitarist, oud player and composer Nat Hulskamp, Seffarine creates original contemporary music rooted in deep musical traditions while forging new connections between them. Their debut album focused on the centuries-long exchange between North Africa and southern Spain, recorded in Jerez de la Frontera with some of flamenco's most celebrated artists. With Abaraz, Seffarine follows those same historical currents farther south, exploring the Saharan crossroads that have long connected Morocco with West Africa, while continuing its longstanding dialogue between Moroccan and flamenco traditions.

The album takes its name from Abaraz, a place on the edge of the oasis town of Mhamid in southeastern Morocco, where trans-Saharan caravans once arrived after crossing the desert. For generations, this meeting point connected Amazigh communities, Arab nomads, Jewish communities, Gnawa of West African origin, and travelers moving between North Africa and the Sahel. Another Abaraz, known as Abarajou, exists at the opposite end of the historic route, near Timbuktu, symbolizing the cultural exchange that flourished across the Sahara for centuries.

"Mhamid is literally the end of the road," says Naki. "For me, it was also a return to part of my family's story. Although I grew up in Fes, my roots are in the far south. The music there reflects the many cultures that have met in the desert for generations."

Naki's own heritage, combining Amazigh and West African ancestry, helped shape the direction of the project. Seeking to engage directly with the living traditions of the region, Seffarine traveled to Mhamid for an artistic residency at a local music school dedicated to preserving the diverse musical cultures of the Draa Valley.

There, the group collaborated with local musicians and recorded performances with artists whose traditions are increasingly threatened by environmental and economic pressures. One of the school's promising young singers appears on two tracks, creating a direct connection between generations and communities.

"The story we kept hearing was about continuity and interruption," says Hulskamp. "The elders still carry these traditions, and the children are eager to learn them. But much of the working-age population has had to leave in search of opportunity as the oasis becomes harder to sustain. We felt a responsibility to document and celebrate what is still thriving there."

The residency also produced countless moments of informal exchange beyond the recording sessions. Each evening, musicians gathered on the roof of the village music school, where cooler desert air invited hours of spontaneous music-making that stretched late into the night. Among those joining the sessions were young female students from the school, two of whom later appeared on the album, collaborations that became one of the project's most meaningful outcomes.

"Some of the most important moments weren't during the formal recording sessions," says Hulskamp. "They happened after dinner on the rooftop, when everyone simply started playing. Nobody was thinking about making an album, we were just sharing music."

The Draa River, once Morocco's largest river system, has largely disappeared before reaching the region, while increasing desertification continues to reshape daily life. During filming in Mhamid, Seffarine and Spanish videographer Pablo Macias captured striking images of historic kasbahs slowly being reclaimed by sand, visual testimony to a changing landscape that will form part of an immersive multimedia presentation accompanying the album.

Brazilian-born artist and songwriter Frederico7 announces the release of Brasileirôu (Lion’s Lair Records), a new 12-song album rooted in Brazilian soul, rhythm, and lived poetry. Created between Austin and Brazil, the record represents the culmination of a twenty-five-year artistic journey exploring identity, belonging, nature, and the enduring dialogue between two cultures.

Produced and mixed by Latin Grammy winner Beto Martinez at Lechehouse Music, with arrangements and orchestration by Latin Grammy winner Pedro Dom, Brasileirôu brings together Brazilian percussion maestro Luiz Coutinho and an extraordinary community of musicians from Austin and Brazil in a work shaped by deep listening, friendship, and artistic trust.

Where Frederico7’s acclaimed 2019 album Exótico Americano explored life between cultures and the experience of immigration, Brasileirôu comes from a more integrated place. Rather than asking where he belongs, the new album reflects an artist who has learned to carry Brazil within himself wherever life leads.

Many of the songs were written over nearly two decades. Though born during different seasons of life, they gradually revealed themselves to be chapters of the same conversation, exploring belonging, ancestry, memory, resilience, longing, joy, healing, and transformation.

The title itself arrived unexpectedly during a return trip to Brazil with his wife and creative partner, visual artist Vivienne J. Forte. After years away because of life, finances, and the pandemic, the couple returned to the forests, waterfalls, beaches, and landscapes that shaped Frederico’s childhood.

“I didn’t invent the title,” says Frederico7. “It felt more like recognition than creation.”

“Brasileirôu’ literally suggests becoming Brazilianized, but for me it means something much deeper. It’s a state of being. A way of moving through the world with warmth, resilience, creativity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to keep dancing with life despite its challenges.”

Rather than recreating traditional Brazilian music or pursuing fusion for its own sake, Brasileirôu allows Brazilian musical thought to naturally converse with soul, jazz, chamber music, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, and contemporary songwriting. The result is a record that feels deeply rooted while remaining unmistakably personal.

The project was brought to life through a successful grassroots campaign supported by more than 200 backers and years of community-building across Austin’s Brazilian cultural scene. Alongside his recording career, Frederico7 has spent the last decade producing and curating events such as SouthAmericano, Brazil Nights, and Tropicália Nights, while also working in public art and arts education to strengthen cultural connections throughout the Americas.

The album’s visual identity was created by Vivienne J. Forte, whose original paintings expand the music into a symbolic landscape populated by the pantera, Oxumaré, cavalo branco, beija-flor, rivers, forests, sun, and moon, inviting listeners into what Frederico describes as “a musical portal.”

Frederico7’s previous release, Exótico Americano, reached #1 on the North American Independent Radio Chart (World Music) and received coverage from Rolling Stone en Español, Jazz Weekly, PRI’s The World, and numerous international outlets.

With Brasileirôu, Frederico7 hopes to continue building cultural bridges through touring, festivals, performing arts centers, educational programs, and collaborations throughout the Americas and beyond.