Name: Rafael Melo aka Late Again
Nationality: Brazilian, USA-based
Occupation: Guitarist, songwriter, vocalist
Current release: Late Again's I Dreamt I Was Awake EP is out September 4th 2026.
Recommendations on the topic of sound: Make sure to watch Hermeto Pascoal's The Water Eyed Boy. Hermeto's story as a whole is the most powerful source on sound I can think of.

If you enjoyed this Late Again interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, and bandcamp.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening?

I often see randomly scripted scenes. Sometimes it's a fictional scenario, sometimes it teleports me back to the moment that song got burned into my brain.

I actually have a playlist for that - I put together all the songs I know that transport me somewhere, in chronological order ever since I was three. There are like 400 tracks. It starts with a lullaby my grandma used to sing to me. It's called time machine for mildly neurodivergent people.

I really think everyone should make a playlist like that.

Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

My eyes are usually open when I'm listening to music. But they're in screensaver mode.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

With headphones, a song feels like the protagonist and the world around you is its music video. With a sound system, the world feels like the protagonist and the song is its soundtrack.

Both very valid.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

Since this is an interview specifically about sound, we gotta talk about Hermeto Pascoal.



Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

The sound of dangling keys coupled with footsteps in leather shoes makes me feel like I'm 14 again and my dad just got home after a workday.

It triggers an instant feeling of guilt for being on my stupid phone instead of studying for whatever I should be studying for at twice that age.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

I've always found it intriguing how sirens sound so different in different countries.

In São Paulo they're nonlinear, in New York they're crazy loud, in Paris they're weirdly soft, in Tokyo they're modest somehow.

It probably says a lot about our cultures.

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

A few years ago I ended up at the Cathedral of Brasilia. It's an accidental whispering gallery designed by the modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer. The acoustics are crazy.



Even crazier to think he only wanted to make something visually pretty and the sound phenomenon was actually an accident. There's probably some lesson to be learned here.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

I have a very loud whistle and lately I've been really enjoying using it at 3am in a huge-ass empty subway station in New York.

I might have to record something there.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

It feels more like assembling a jigsaw puzzle to me.

I don't necessarily feel like I'm the one crafting the pieces, though I don't know where exactly they come from. I feel like my role is to figure out the picture that was sitting there all along.

How important is sound for our overall well-being and in how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?

Well, I can have an overstimulation meltdown from hanging for 20 minutes in a shopping mall.

I guess to me the problem is not the loudness, but the intention behind the noise. It's the same reason I loathe overhead lighting in a living room. I guess we forget how innate and biological our relationship with sound is. Like any other biological trigger, it can lead to severe stress or deep joy and it says a lot about us.

Of course, in the dystopic world we live in there are several other priorities we need to figure out before soundproofing malls. But planting more trees and getting better acoustics in the city as a bonus wouldn't hurt.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?

Cicadas at 6pm. Heavy rain hitting the mud. The swoosh cars make when you pass by them on a two-way road with a sliver of an open window.

I guess the last one is human-made but it definitely feels like a happy accident.

Many animals communicate through sound. Based either on experience or intuition, do you feel as though interspecies communication is possible and important? Is there a creative element to it, would you say?  

I think it's not only possible but also scientifically proven. Any way to connect with the world around you sounds important to me.

And I guess when you're trying to make up a language to talk to a being with no proper vocal cords you can only find common ground if you're a bit creative.

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

I really needed to read this as I've been constantly reckless about my ears.

Wearing more earbuds and sunscreen are my new year's resolutions.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

Silence makes sound special and sound makes silence special to me. The feeling of withdrawal from one of them when I'm overwhelmed by the other makes both more meaningful when experienced intentionally.

The world needs contrast and maybe we need one to crave the other.