Song You Need to Know: João Selva, ‘Cadê Você’

“Cadê Você” is a fizzy slice of funk from the Brazilian-born, France-based singer-songwriter João Selva, a masterful nod to anthems like Marcos Valle’s “Estrelar” and Sandra de Sá’s “Pela Cidade.” 

The bass, courtesy of producer Bruno Patchworks, is crucial here: He plays plump, descending lines, like a happy drunk wobbling down a staircase. (Speed this riff up and it would be a formidable in a house music context — think of something like Roy Davis Jr.’s “Moving Up.”) Selva and Patchworks add clomping drums, scraps of rhythm guitar, a creeping, high synthesizer line that wouldn’t be out of place in a G-Funk record, and the peppiest of horn sections. Selva’s singing is soft and layered, as if he wandered off stage to whisper in your ear while his band funks it up in the distance. 

“Cadê Você” appears on Navegar, which came out in April. The album was kickstarted by a trip that Selva and Patchworks made to Brazil in late 2019; like “Cadê Você,” “Meu Mundo,” “Devagar,” and “Tudo Vai Dar Pe” are heady and groove-focused.

Selva made music with a variety of partners for years before meeting Patchworks in 2016. The singer launched his solo career with Natureza the following year. 

Find a playlist of all of our recent Songs You Need to Know selections on Spotify.