Deafkids

The Brazilian duo Deafkids? Hard to put into words! Electronic sounds collide with an unrelenting Latin American punk spirit.

Deafkids have their roots in the Brazilian underground, where musical and aesthetic conventions are consistently challenged. Formed in 2010 in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the duo have been releasing music on the US label Neurot Recordings since 2017. Multi-instrumentalists Douglas Leal (vocals, guitar, electronics, sampler, percussion, artwork, etc.) and Marian Sarine (drums, percussion, electronics, bass) combine the raw spirit of noise and punk with complex rhythms from around the world and electronic experimentation.

This is clearly evident in the track ‘CICATRIZES’, the first single from their new album Cicatrizes Do Futuro (translated as ‘Scars of the Future’, May 2026). The foundation consists of powerful, pulsating 808 bass drums, percussion in the guaguancó rhythm and a classy D-beat, over which an relentless acid house bassline, walls of distorted guitars and distorted screams are layered. The band writes about the song: “The lyrics of CICATRIZES are like an eyewitness account of a world in collapse.”

Music as an outlet to release the feverish, dreamlike tension of the present day: Deafkids are THE go-to band for this.