Gabriel Da Rosa emerged this year with his exciting revived mark of traditional samba and bossa nova. He's a native of Cruz Alta, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and currently resides in L.A. He joined the Stones Throw roster in 2022 after bonding with the label founder, artist and DJ Peanut Butter Wolf, over their shared love of Brazilian music, and began writing his own bossa with collaborator Pedro Dom. Released on 29th August was his first single, 'Jasmim parte 1', a song about the enchanted feelings of first meeting someone but having doubts about whether the connection will last. In Portuguese, he sings, “uncertainty that scares me, but nothing’s what i got, the choice then is to believe, that in this dream I will live.”. His second single, 'Bandida', arrived on 22nd November - a musically uplifting song that uses traditional Brazilian instruments such as the squeaky-sounding cuíca and nylon-strung acoustic guitar. We come to learn that the lyrics are about loneliness which makes 'Bandida' a precious teaching - we can find joy in loneliness, and being surrounded by people doesn't necessarily mean that we are present or connected. Connection and joy must come from ourselves first and foremost. We can't wait to see what 2023 brings for Gabriel Da Rosa...hopefully a UK tour if we're lucky! -Ellie Rose-Davies