In this world of certainties, it’s delicious when you don’t yet know exactly what you want to be. Humana Taranja embody this now, both because of the age of their five members and because of the moment they are at in their career, a second full-length, a year after their first (‘Zafira’, 2023), which was born after a few years of life on stage and EPs. Made up of Guilherme Firmino (guitar and vocals), David Yala (guitar), Filipa da Silva Pina (keyboard and vocals), Marta Inverno (bass) and Afonso Ferreira (drums), Humana Taranja sound like various things and, while they sound like those things, they also fluctuate between genres, whether it’s emotional, youthful rock or feverish indie pop.
It’s all part of coming of age, the freedom of still being able to decide what you want – and how you want to do it – without fear of strangers. Humana Tananja’s rock is unexpected, it moves with that disproportionate charge of adolescent emotions, that even though those years have passed, ‘EUDAEMONIA’, the album they released in October 2024 and will present at Zé dos Bois, is the release of an accumulation of years. These are ideas that are trapped in themselves, in the incredible sensation that this is all being naive, but that it really has to be that way, because being so is a process and it’s one that you have to show, especially when you want to take these instruments and make music like this. There’s something here that’s permanently burning and demands that it not be extinguished, because that’s the only way to experience the fullness of this state. Humana Tananja know that all of this is temporary, that this kind of therapy journey that is this album is a time-limited passage. And they are making the most of this time, with lyrics that declare this existence and a blend of voices that often emphasises the contrasts of all these sensations. They know it’s temporary, and so do we, because the now never repeats itself. This is a beautiful stage for a band like this. AS