Late Again, the Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based project of musician Rafael Melo, shares the quietly astute new single All My Exes Moved to the Countryside. The latest offering from his forthcoming EP ‘I Dreamt I Was Awake’ (due out September 4), the track follows previous singles Crazy or Stupid and If You Have A Bridge (I’m Buying).
Inspired by a simple truth from Late Again’s own life, All My Exes Moved to the Countryside transforms personal circumstance into something unexpectedly universal. Minimalist melodies and bucolic bossa nova chords underscore the song’s quiet tension.
“Ultimately it’s about the inability to give into a simpler life,” shares Late Again. “Even when a big part of me wishes I could.”
The accompanying visualizer was created by visual artist Gabriel Rollinos (Tame Impala, Toro y Moi, Metronomy), and sees Late Again strumming the song in an idyllic field of green.
Listen to “All My Exes Moved to the Countryside”
About the EP
With ‘I Dreamt I Was Awake’, a newfound confidence emerges as Late Again doubles down on his observational writing style. Across six intricately structured tracks, the EP explores the gap between the life you imagine and the one you’re actually living, and the strange ways people learn to make peace with that distance. Self-aware, sometimes funny, and always subtly critical, the songs fluctuate between tenderness and irony, minimalism and chaos, and the hyper-personal and universal.
Recorded at Studio G (Brooklyn) and Evil Twin (São Paulo), the EP features drums from Thiago Dom (Kimbra, Duda Beat), bass from John Lisi (Twin Brother, John Roseboro), engineering from Nelson Espinal (Mdou Moctar, YHWH Nailgun, Sessa), and mixing from Heal Mura, Melo’s long-term Brazilian collaborator.
Born and raised on the coast of São Paulo, Late Again sonically sits at the intersection of North American indie pop and obscure Brazilian bossa nova references, with a hint of dreamlike film soundscapes and Japanese 80s grooves. Since his debut in April 2024, he’s picked up support from Billboard, Remezcla, Northern Transmissions, JazzTimes, Galore, Grimy Goods, TrebleZine and more, and collaborated with creative trailblazers including Brazilian jazz maestro Arthur Verocai (BADBADNOTGOOD, MF Doom, Gal Costa) and experimental visual artist Gabriel Rollinos.
With a multi-hyphenate career spanning award-winning films and bestselling indie video games, Rafael Melo’s work through Late Again expands the boundaries of his music beyond sound itself, in an effort to tell his stories in whatever medium it takes.
‘I Dreamt I Was Awake’ EP track list
- To Stop The Time
- If You Have A Bridge (I’m Buying)
- Crazy or Stupid
- My Sore Throat
- All My Exes Moved to the Countryside
- Every Time I Take Sudafed
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