FELIPE LION, a poet, singer, and composer born in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and based in São Paulo, immersed himself early on in the artistic world, influenced by the intense cultural life of his family, printers and publishers, who always encouraged his creative curiosity.

He began his journey in the arts, exploring literature, finding in it his first great calling. At the age of 11, he was elected to occupy chair 4 of the Academia Juvenil de Letras – AJL (Young Academy of Letters) in São Paulo, where important figures from the São Paulo literary scene such as Ivan Lessa, Lourenço Diaféria, and Ignácio de Loyola Brandão circulated as mentors and supporters.

As a teenager, he fell in love with classical ballet. He studied with renowned masters such as Aracy Evans, Ilara Lopes, Jorge Peña, and Jane Blauth. He completed his studies with a season in Cuba, where he had contact with Alicia Alonso, one of the founders of the National Ballet of Cuba and a legend in international classical dance.

Upon returning from Havana, he founded, alongside Fernando Fabbri and a group of young idealists, the Ballet Camerata Paulista. The project lasted no more than a couple of years, and Felipe Lion concluded his foray into dance when he was forced to close the company’s doors due to lack of sponsorship and minimal state support. Before that, however, he had a season as a guest dancer in the musical Elas por Ela, starring Marília Pêra.

Lion then redirected his focus to music, successively leading the rock bands Mastiff, Sex Fanzine, and Merlim, which made a mark on the São Paulo alternative scene. Merlim, in particular, collaborated with important producers such as Luiz Carlos Maluly, Reinaldo Barriga, and Kiko Zambianchi, who produced the album A Tempestade in 2008.

Subsequently, a new musical project emerged, the Last Aliens in Rio. Lion, a native of Rio de Janeiro and a lover of bossa nova, couldn’t understand why this genre, so popular in the 1950s and 1960s, had been practically abandoned, and decided to do something about it.

Despite not finding a record label to support him in Brazil, several foreign labels expressed interest in his artistic vision. In 2015, his album Teu Doce Jeito de Dizer Adeus (The Lovely Way You Say Goodbye) was released under the Swedish label Mareld.