Detonautas taps Milton Cunha for “Vampira” single

Milton Cunha opens Detonautas’ “Vampira,” out Feb 6, teasing a March album blending electronic grooves, folklore imagery, and Carnival flair.Detonautas returns with “Vampira,” a new single that leans into experimentation: rock and pop collide with electronic beats, while vampire folklore fuels the song’s cinematic storyline. Released on Feb 6, the track doubles as the first clear preview of the band’s next album, slated for March.Milton Cunha’s guest appearance sets the tone right away. He opens the song with a spoken intro that amplifies the track’s theatrical edge, framing “Vampira” as a character-driven piece. The central figure is a woman who seduces, fascinates, and unnerves—an emblem of freedom, mystery, and transgression.

A sharper pop lens, same core identity

Produced by Pablo Bispo and Ruxell—hitmakers in Brazil’s contemporary pop scene—“Vampira” embraces a provocative pop sheen while keeping Detonautas’ signature bite. The band frames this as a natural extension of a career built on shifting shades of rock, sometimes sounding unexpected on first listen, then clicking once it’s absorbed into their own vocabulary.

“‘Vampira’ is an ironic, seductive, provocative song. It’s about a character who charms and scares at the same time, because she’s uncontrollable and pulls men out of their comfort zone. It’s a metaphor for a masculine imaginary that fears women who refuse to be dominated.”

Tico Santa Cruz frames the track as more than a supernatural tale. The “vampire” becomes a metaphor: a mirror held up to the discomfort some men feel when faced with women who won’t accept control. In that tension, irony becomes the hook—and the glossy production turns the message into something danceable and immediate.

A song that shaped the upcoming album

Detonautas says “Vampira” arrived early in the writing process and helped define the record’s aesthetic universe. The March album is designed so each track feels like an “episode,” with its own identity, cinematic language, and a pop-forward lens on what Tico calls a “deep Brazil.”

Why a February release matters

Dropping the single right before Carnival is part of the concept. Tico points to a “beautiful irony” in the timing and cites how Brazilian rock has long brushed up against Carnival energy—he mentions Rita Lee as a touchstone. In “Vampira,” that playful, psychedelic, Carnival-like pulse is reframed through electronics and character storytelling.The release follows “Potinho de Veneno” and strengthens the direction of the new era: more pop, more visual, more performative—without losing the band’s rock backbone.Photo: Pedro Hansen