Bahia / Toronto
Track 01 of 08 · ready
Angu, batuque, muamba, fubáCornmeal, Drumbeat, Mayhem, Cornmeal
Angu, batuque, muamba, fubáCornmeal, Drumbeat, Mayhem, Cornmeal
Urucubaca, urucubaca, urucubacaSpell, Spell, Spell
Urucubaca, urucubaca, urucubacaSpell, Spell, Spell
Urucubaca, urucubacaSpell, Spell
Angu, batuque, muamba, fubáCornmeal, Drumbeat, Mayhem, Cornmeal
Angu, batuque, muamba, fubáCornmeal, Drumbeat, Mayhem, Cornmeal
Urucubaca, urucubaca, urucubacaSpell, Spell, Spell
Urucubaca, urucubaca, urucubacaSpell, Spell, Spell
Urucubaca, urucubacaSpell, Spell
Oh mulher, onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Ô mulher, where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Oh mulherOh woman
Oh mulher, ajeita um jeito de me dar um toqueÔ mulher, find a way to give me a sign
Arruma um jegue pra jogar num jóqueiFind a donkey to race at the Jockey
it's not a joke, it's not
it's not a joke, it's not
it's not a joke, it's not
Oh mulher, a mula é sem cabeça no folcloreÔ mulher, in folklore, the mule is headless
O saci só na sacada se sacode com um só péThe Saci on the balcony shimmies on his single foot
Na sacada se sacode com uma perna sóOn the balcony, he shimmies on just one leg
Oh mulher, onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Ô mulher, where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Oh mulherOh woman
Oh mulher, onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Ô mulher, where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Oh mulherOh woman
Vê se me aprende a apreciar um rockSee if you can learn to appreciate some rock
Vê se me deixa de slipknotSee if you can lay off the Slipknot
It's not a joke
It's not, it's not a joke, it's not
it's not a joke, it's not
Na cabeça deu um tiltMy head went tilt
E no coração piripaqueAnd my heart short-circuited
E no relógio é taque-tiqueAnd the clock goes tock-tick
E no relógio é tique-taqueAnd the clock goes tick-tock
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
O táxi já chegou aquiThe taxi is already here
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Oh mulherOh woman
O táxi já chegou aquiThe taxi is already here
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Oh mulherOh woman
A mula é sem cabeça no folcloreIn folklore, the mule is headless
O saci só na sacada se sacode com um só péThe Saci on the balcony shimmies on his single foot
Na sacada se sacode com uma perna sóOn the balcony, he shimmies on just one leg
Ajeita um jeito de me dar um toqueFind a way to give me a sign
Arruma um jegue pra jogar num jóqueiFind a donkey to race at the Jockey
It's not a joke
It's not, it's not a joke,
it's not
it's not a joke, it's not
Oh mulherOh woman
Na cabeça deu um tiltMy head went tilt
E no coração piripaqueAnd my heart short-circuited
E no relógio é taque-tiqueAnd the clock goes tock-tick
E no relógio é tique-taqueAnd the clock goes tick-tock
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
O táxi já chegou aquiThe taxi is already here
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Onde tu tá que não chegou aqui?Where you at that you’re still not here?
Oh mulherOh woman
Dali surgia a Jia-Má.From there arose Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
Dali surgia a Jia-Má.From there arose Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
Dali surgia a Jia-Má.From there arose Jia-Má
Oh, magia... Ahh!Oh, magic... ahh
É Jia-Má.It's Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
Dali surgia a Jia-Má.From there arose Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
Dali surgia a Jia-Má.From there arose Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
Dali surgia a Jia-Má.From there arose Jia-Má
Oh, magia... Ahh!Oh, magic... ahh
É Jia-Má.It's Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
É só beijar o sapo,Just kiss the toad,
Lamber a jia.Lick the frog.
É só beijar o sapo,Just kiss the toad,
Lamber a jia.Lick the frog.
A serenata do sapo só contagia.The toad's serenade just keeps spreading
A serenata do sapo só contagia.The toad's serenade just keeps spreading
É Jia-Má.It's Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
É Jia-Má.It's Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
É Jia-Má.It's Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
É Jia-Má.It's Jia-Má
Oh, magia...Oh, magic...
É só beijar o sapo, lamber a jia.Just kiss the toad, lick the frog
É só beijar o sapo, lamber a jia.Just kiss the toad, lick the frog
A serenata do sapo só contagia.The toad's serenade just keeps spreading
A serenata do sapo só contagia.The toad's serenade just keeps spreading
É só beijar o sapo, lamber a jia.Just kiss the toad, lick the frog
É só beijar o sapo, lamber a jia.Just kiss the toad, lick the frog
A serenata do sapo só contagia.The toad's serenade just keeps spreading
A serenata do sapo só contagia.The toad's serenade just keeps spreading
Holy, holy
I think I can do better, but I'm all right
Holy, holy
There's no way
I can feel at home tonight
What I feel, it's okay
What I do feels right
But I can see, my body let me down
What I do, it's okay
What I feel is all right
But I can see, my body hold me down
Holy, holy
I think I can do better, but I'm all right
Holy, holy
There's no way I can stay at home tonight
What I mean, it's okay
What I mean feels right
But I can see, my body let me down
What I mean, it's okay
What I mean, feels all right
You can doubt me,
but I am loosing time
What I feel, it's okay
What I feels iT's all right
But I can see, my body hold me down
Depressed and stressed, man, I ain’t doing the most
You sent the addy, I ain’t pulled up, ghost
I’ve got the power but the will is low
I’m feeling so jaded, I’m losing my glow
Been doomsurfing, do I go with the flow?
Flicks, no chicks, man, I need a new go
Or, do I just need a new show?
(Let’s switch up the flow)
Pas évident de rester motivéIt’s not easy to stay motivated
Quand les graines du blues ont été cultivéesWhen the seeds of the blues have been sown
Mais un peu de rythme peut relancer la choseBut a little rhythm can get things going again
Des pas de confiance pour sentir l’osmoseConfident steps to feel the connection
L’inspiration est bioInspiration is organic
La nature nous rappelleNature reminds us
La vie c’est phasesLife comes in phases
De belles et moins bellesBeautiful ones and less beautiful ones
Qu’on embrasse tous pour se sentir entierWe embrace them all to feel whole
Demande à JERAsk JER
Comment elle l’gèreHow she handles it
Holy, holy
Holy, holy
Holy, holy
Vem cá, morena, vem cá olharCome here, sweet girl, come look
Vem cá, morena, vem cá olharCome here, sweet girl, come look
O coro comendo, a palha cheirandoThe crowd’s on fire, the straw is smelling
Talagada na goela queimandoA shot down the throat burning
Na beira do bote, você se sacodeBy the edge of the boat you shake
Menina faceira, tum dum dum dumCoquettish girl — tum dum dum dum
Parece até que tomou uma péaLooks like you even took a beating
De comigo-ninguém-podeFrom a “Touch-Me-Not” plant
O sereno caindo, o cenário sambandoThe drizzle falling, the scene dancing
Quero ver o canário cantarI want to hear the canary sing
Morena, me dêSweet girl, give me
Morena, me dáSweet girl, give me
Morena, me dê MDMASweet girl, give me MDMA
Desapareça, antes que eu te esqueça,Disappear, before I forget you
Que é pra eu deixar um pedaço meu frio.So I can leave a cold piece of me behind
Desapareça, antes que você deseje ficarDisappear, before you wish to stay
Mais tempo que o tempo que eu previ pra não te amar.Longer than the time I foresaw not to love you
Desapareça, antes que eu te esqueçaDisappear, before I forget you
E que não dê mais pra voltar atrás.And there’s no way back anymore.
Desapareça, antes que você deseje ficarDisappear, before you wish to stay
Mais tempo que o tempo que eu previ pra não te amar.Longer than the time I foresaw not to love you
E eu que não sei o que falta pra completarAnd I don’t know what’s missing to complete
Essa ausência de mim que já passa das 10:30.This absence of me that’s already past 10:30
E eu que chorei sem mostrar a lágrima que cai,And I cried without showing the tear that falls,
Que é pra você se lembrar do sorriso meu.For you to remember my smile
Desapareça, antes que você deseje ficarDisappear, before you wish to stay
Um pouco mais pra eu sanar.A little longer so I can heal
Rai din din, don donRai din din don don
Rai din din, don donRai din din don don
Rai din din, don donRai din din don don
Caio no samba, olho de bambaI fall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Caio no samba, olho de bambaI fall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Caio no samba, olho no bambaI fall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou no banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
É doido como uma nota sônica rosaIt’s crazy like a sonic rose note
É doido como uma nota sônica rosaIt’s crazy like a sonic rose note
É doido como uma nota sônica rosaIt’s crazy like a sonic rose note
Caio no samba, olho de bambaI fall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Caio no samba, olho de bambaI fall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Caio no samba, olho no bambaI fall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou no banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
É doido como uma nota sônica rosaIt’s crazy like a sonic rose note
É doido como uma nota sônica rosaIt’s crazy like a sonic rose note
É doido como uma nota sônica rosaIt’s crazy like a sonic rose note
Cai no samba, olho no bambaFall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Cai no samba, olho no bambaFall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Cai no samba, olho no bambaFall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Cai no samba, olho no bambaFall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Cai no samba, olho no bambaFall into samba, eyes on the hotshot
Eu vou de banda à LapaI go by band to Lapa
Quero sentir o seu corpo,I want to feel your body
Atrito com o meu,Friction with mine
Como se fosseAs if it were
O último som.The last sound
Suas cordas vocais,Your vocal cords
Saindo pelas suas nasais,Coming out through your nasals
Sentindo a presença das suas mãos.Feeling the presence of your hands
Me faz esquecerMake me forget
Daquela dor que doía, masThat pain that hurt but
Que agora faz crescerThat now makes grow
Um pedaço de mim em você.A piece of me in you
Quero sentir o seu corpo,I want to feel your body
Atrito com o meu,Friction with mine
Como se fosse o último som.As if it were the last sound
Quero sentir o seu corpo,I want to feel your body
Atrito com o meu,Friction with mine
Como se fosse o último som.As if it were the last sound
The album
It’s Not a Joke is JER’s eight-track debut album, arriving October 30, 2026 on INFR Records. Born in Bahia and based in Toronto, the Brazilian-Canadian artist and producer brings places, voices and collaborators from both sides of that journey into the same room. This is not a record that smooths those differences away: atabaques and hand percussion meet drum programming, synth bass and treated voices; guitar and saxophone leave space for the grain of an electronic texture.
Angu begins with the sound and language of Bahia, its atabaques and voices set against fractured beats. The title track turns a playful phrase into an insistent question, while Jia Má gives a song by Uyatã Rayra a dense, physical setting. Holy moves between gospel-inflected urgency and cold digital sound; MDMA pushes the guitars and beat harder. Desapareça then makes room for guitar, oud and silence. Rosa Sônica began with Bruno Capinan marking out a rhythm while JER found a melody, and opens into trombone and synth.
The sequence ends with Último Som: two drummers, May Akanuma’s saxophone and an ending that does not force a resolution. Across the album, JER’s voice and production hold the acoustic and the processed close enough to change one another. The movement from Angu’s crowded opening to that final open space gives the record its shape, without asking either Bahia or Toronto to stand in for the other.
Track by track
The album opens with the language of Bahia: angu, batuque, fubá, urucubaca. Iuri Passos’s atabaques drive the track, joined by Antonio Neves on trombone and flutes, Pupillo on beats, and João Leão on keys. An excerpt from Roberto Pires’s 1961 film A Grande Feira becomes part of the recording.
A woman who hasn't arrived. A donkey at the races. The headless mule, the Saci, Slipknot. Uyatã Rayra’s lyrics move from one unlikely image to the next, held together by a chorus that keeps asking the same question. JER delivers the words over Pupillo’s beats, guitar, percussion and Felipe Guedes’s Rhodes.
A frog, a kiss, a little magic. Uyatã Rayra’s Jia Má has a chorus built to stay in your head. JER’s recording puts Chibatinha’s guitar alongside Pedro Dantas’s bass, Tuta and Ícaro Sá’s percussion, Pupillo’s beats and João Leão’s synths. The song keeps its mischief; the bass gives it teeth.
Holy features Borelson alongside JER, over synth bass, guitar and electronic beats. Vivian Kuczynski co-produced the track with JER and João Leão, contributing guitars, synthesizers and beats. The repeated invocation of “Holy” sits beside lyrics about wanting more, feeling out of place and trying to make peace with oneself.
Chibatinha’s distorted guitar cuts against Pupillo’s beats and João Leão’s synth bass. Xequerê percussion by Claudia Matias, Ediane Augusto Gonçalo and Maria do Carmo Pacheco adds another pulse. Written by Uyatã Rayra, MDMA is driven as much by the quick turns of its Portuguese lyrics as by its instrumentation.
“Disappear before I forget you.” JER’s lyric is direct, and the recording leaves it room. Guitar and oud move alongside João Leão’s spare keyboards and effects, with JER’s voice at the centre. A quieter arrangement than much of the album, though the words are no less forceful.
JER and Bruno Capinan share the writing on Rosa Sônica. Its rolling syllables and melodic phrases meet Antonio Neves’s trombone, Léo Mendes’s guitar, Pupillo’s beats and João Leão’s synthesizers. The trombone stands out against the electronic arrangement, giving the song a sound of its own.
Thomas Harres and Dhaivat Jani play drums, João Leão handles keys, bass and beats, and May Akanuma plays saxophone. On an album full of words, percussion and restless rhythms, Último Som leaves its closing moments to the saxophone. The record ends without insisting on a grand finale.
Press assets
Biography
JER is a singer, songwriter, producer and multidisciplinary artist from Bahia, Brazil, based in Toronto. Working across music, technology and visual art, she moves freely between songwriting and sonic experimentation. She has performed at Calgary Folk Music Festival, TD Toronto Jazz Festival and TD Music Hall.
Her eight-track debut album, It’s Not a Joke, arrives October 30, 2026 on INFR Records. Co-produced by JER and João Leão, it features Chibatinha, Antonio Neves, Ícaro Sá and Thomas Harres, whose collective credits include work with Marisa Monte, BaianaSystem and Gal Costa. The album was mixed by Arcade Fire collaborator Mark Lawson and mastered by Grammy winner Justin Gray.
JER and João Leão produced all eight tracks; Vivian Kuczynski co-produced Holy.
Lead single dossier
The lyric places the Saci and the Mula sem Cabeça alongside everyday expressions for a racing heart, a head that goes tilt and the ticking of a clock.
The lyric plays with sounds such as toque, jóquei and joke. The image of a donkey at a racecourse adds to the humour.
The translations keep “Ô mulher”, the Portuguese call repeated in the chorus.
The Saci is a mischievous, one-legged Black character from Brazilian folklore, usually shown wearing a red cap. The repeated S sounds in the verse are part of its rhythm.
The Mula sem Cabeça, or Headless Mule, is a figure from Brazilian folklore: a woman cursed to become a headless mule, often depicted with fire where her head would be.