After several years as the lead vocalist and frontman of Merlim, Felipe Lion decided to embark on a new project during a lull in the band’s activity. Over this time, he had composed a significant number of Bossa Nova songs and wanted to share this work with the public. With the support of a friend, the singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Douglas Capellato, he began an endless series of studio sessions in 2013, recording and re-recording this material. The initial idea was to form a duo, but plans changed when Douglas decided to move to Canada.

In 2014, Lion, using part of the material recorded with Douglas, continued to tinker with the songs, adding and removing instruments, often completely reimagining the arrangements. At this point, the project already had a name, Last Aliens in Rio, and a defined objective: to create something distinct from Bossa Nova, a style Lion had always appreciated but felt was stuck between endlessly emulating his idols and serving as a secondary source for soft versions of international music hits.

Lion then assembled a group of young musicians and completed this first album, which at that point only featured songs written in English. He sent this initial version to various European and American labels. Before long, he received several proposals and ultimately chose the Mareld label (Sweden), affiliated with Substream Music Group, after encouragement from Håkan Ludvigson, its artistic director, to re-record the songs in Portuguese. The name Last Aliens in Rio was kept in English because all involved found it brilliant.

The debut album, Teu Doce Jeito de Dizer Adeus, featuring 10 songs written by Lion – one in collaboration with Douglas Capellato – was released in June 2015, remaining on the list of best-selling jazz albums on iTunes Brazil for several weeks. The album also received good international reception, especially in South Korea and Japan.

The second album from Last Aliens in Rio, Bossa Nova Hotel, was released in September 2016 by the Italian label RNC Music, immediately entering the overall best-selling list on iTunes Brazil. The repertoire is built around Bossa Nova songs in 7/8-time, Lion’s trademark, such as the quintessential Onde Tu Tá? – Lion’s homage to Rio. Another Bossa in 7/8, Musa Urbana, remained on the Jazz and Bossa Nova charts in South Korea for several months.

Índia, released on September 20, 2019, is the album that solidified the musical language of this project and achieved great success, notably due to the hit Índia – Tarde de Sol, even being included in the Café Bossa playlist, one of Spotify’s official playlists.

Almost all the songs from the 3 albums were selected for Jazz and Lounge Music compilations released by labels worldwide, as well as various playlists curated by professionals, like Future Hits (featured on Air France flights), Txai and Maria Bonita (feature on two luxury hotels on the Brazilian cost).

O Sono Dela (2021), the first single following the success of Índia, marked a slight artistic shift for Last Aliens in Rio, introducing elements of electronic music to their jazzy and refined Bossa Nova. Continuing down this path, they released the singles Pétalas Elétricas (2021) and Only Love Can Lead Us (2021). In 2022, they launched three more singles: O Sono Dela – Acoustique, Pétalas Elétricas – Acoustique, and Havana Skies, returning to a more acoustic and jazzy style, which is evident in their latest release, This Silence (2023). 

Recently, Bossa Dos Jardins, the 4th album from Last Aliens in Rio, was released. The album is a collection of singles released over the past two years, along with two new songs, including the title track. The songs from Bossa dos Jardins form the foundation of Last Aliens in Rio new show..