Sintonia by Femke Smit & Mike del Ferro

Sintonia - Songs from Brazil
Sintonia means tuning - two musicians carefully adjusting voice and piano, rhythm and phrasing, becoming one.

Sintonia means harmony - like minds and new insights blending effortlessly.

Sintonia means agreement - the silent understanding that makes music breathe, the alignment of personal experiences distilled into song.

Sintonia means theme music - a feeling, a moment in time, a spirit, each song, a chapter in the story.
Thus, the Portuguese word sintonia carries many meanings. Here, Sintonia is more than a title. It is the thread connecting Jorge Amado and Dorival Caymmi’s storytelling with the lesser-known treasures of Jobim, Buarque, and Nascimento, and the dialogue between Mike del Ferro’s piano and Femke Smit’s voice, giving these songs new life.

“The handsome fisherman was taken
by the mermaid of the sea.
He made his bed as a bridegroom
in the lap of Iemanjá.”

The haunting poetry of Dorival Caymmi’s 'É doce morrer no mar' sets the tone for this album. Written in 1941 with novelist Jorge Amado, the song belongs to the canções praieiras tradition of Bahia—music steeped in the lives of fishermen, the power of the ocean, and the presence of Iemanjá, the Afro-Brazilian sea goddess. Caymmi’s imagery captures both devotion and danger: love, longing, and loss flowing together in one eternal tide.
In the hands of Femke Smit and Mike del Ferro, “É doce morrer no mar” becomes a guiding metaphor. Their interpretation, while honoring the song’s original spirit, saudade, loss and devotion, opens a new dialogue between voice and piano. Even for listeners unfamiliar with Portuguese, their emotional performance draws you into Caymmi’s timeless sense of longing.

Femke Smit is from the Netherlands, but her musical homeland is unmistakably Brazil. She shares that passion with jazz pianist Mike del Ferro. When they met for the first time in Rio de Janeiro in April 2023, the spark was immediate. Their shared background in classical music, both are children of opera singers, combined with a deep grounding in jazz and rhythm-based music, formed fertile ground for this meeting of hearts.
From that encounter grew Sintonia - Songs from Brazil. At its heart lies a love for the lesser-known corners of the Brazilian repertoire. Femke and Mike are drawn to musical deep cuts, the B-sides and overlooked gems of composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, and Milton Nascimento. These intimate treasures reveal some of the most poetic and touching songs in the Brazilian songbook.

Mike’s lyrical, expressive piano and Femke’s warm, nuanced phrasing create a dialogue that transcends language. The listener is drawn into the saudade, the poetry, and the luminous melancholy that define Brazilian song.

Their sintonia is more than a shared love of Brazilian music, it is a heartfelt connection: between two musicians, between tradition and innovation. At its core lies the same poetic truth sung by Caymmi: the sea, like music, can carry us away, leaving behind beauty, longing and the quiet recognition of life’s fragile sweetness.

Tracklist

1.	Manhã de Carnaval	6:50

2.	Casaco Marrom	2:38

3.	É doce morrer no mar	5:16

4.	Encontros e despedidas	4:33

5.	Folhetim	3:31

6.	Olha Maria	6:34

7.	Outra Vez	4:02

8.	Luiza	3:10

9.	Beatriz	4:36

Credits

released November 12, 2025

Femke Smit - vocal
Mike del Ferro – piano
Recording, mixing, and mastering: Frans de Rond
Producers: Peter Bjørnild & Frans de Rond

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