É você

“É você” is one of those songs that sticks in your memory without warning. There isn’t a single chord that sounds formulaic, nor lyrics that are exhausted in the first listen. The trio Tribalistas —Marisa Monte, Arnaldo Antunes and Carlinhos Brown— achieved something rare here: a melody that seems simple but, upon closer listening, reveals hidden layers. The track is built on a rhythm that oscillates between organic and calculated, as if time itself breathes to the beat of the intertwined voices. It’s no coincidence that, upon hearing it, many feel they’ve known it before, even if it’s the first time they’re listening.

The song was born the same moment the supergroup Tribalistas formed, in 2002, after years of scattered collaborations among its members. Marisa Monte, Arnaldo Antunes and Carlinhos Brown had been crossing paths for decades: from when, in 1989, Marisa covered Comida by Titãs —where Antunes was the leader— to when, in 1991, he wrote songs for her album Mais. The distance between Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador made it difficult for the three to meet, but when they did, the result was an album that, without promotion or interviews, sold 1.5 million copies in Brazil and reached the top of the charts. É você was one of those tracks that, though not the main single, ended up being a magnet for listeners, as if it knew exactly how to stay in their heads.