My name is Diego Dutra. I’m from Brazil, and I’ve been living in Canada for the past three years. Music has always been around me, never in a formal way, but always lingering nearby.

I grew up in Belo Horizonte, a city filled with music. From learning to sing every song on the Beatles’ 1 album when I was three, to going to rodas de samba with my mom and bars with live music with my dad, I saw and heard my city breathing music.

I learned how to listen.

Eventually, I learned how to rock ’n’ roll. I spent years playing in a rock band called Mineiros da Lua. After countless shows, recording sessions, rehearsals, and arguments, I can confidently say that’s where I learned what music means to me. Being in a band taught me how to work through doubt and lean on your ego even when confidence is nowhere to be found. It taught me how to finish songs you kind of hate, because you might end up loving them.

This solo project began after I moved. There was no plan. It started as a “what if” and I later found out it was really an option. I had to do it.

It’s the first time I’m releasing music under my own name, and the first time I’m singing in English. I sing in English with a Portuguese intention. Writing in a different language puts me in a sweet spot where I can relate deeply to what I’m writing while still detaching just enough to enjoy it.

I wrote and produced everything myself, alone in my studio. Not because I wanted control, but because I needed the songs to stay fragile for as long as possible, and to evolve the way they needed to.

Most ideas come quickly, but then they sit and rust for a while, until they become what they want to be. My process is a little messy, and so are my songs.

feelings&shit is my first EP. It has seven songs, released one by one, each accompanied by a live session. The songs explore boredom, envy, hope, getting older, longing, and the fear and desire of change.

They’re intimate but not small.

Inspired by Bon Iver’s vocal stacking, Dijon’s chaotic production, Jeff Buckley’s intimacy, Boogarins’ psychedelia, and Milton Nascimento’s harmonies.

Made from the bottom of my heart.

I hope you enjoy it.