Mawazine sessions: Flavia Coelho explores her Brazilian roots for new album

World music star Flavia Coelho shook things up by packing her bags in 2006 and left Rio de Janeiro in search of inspiration and adventure.

Flavia Coelho performs at the Mawazine festival in Morocco last month. Courtesy Youness Hamiddine

For Flavia Coelho, the comfort of home became stifling. To shake things up, the Brazilian ­singer-songwriter packed her bags in 2006 and left Rio de ­Janeiro in search of inspiration and ­adventure.

“It was a different time. I was a singer only. I couldn’t play the guitar and all I did was perform covers,” she says, at the recent Mawazine festival in Morocco.

“I had a very good time there in Brazil, but I was feeling a little bit too comfortable. I felt too protected. So I decided I had to make a change and travel.”

A sentimentalist at heart, the 34-year-old chose the French capital to follow the footsteps of her heroes.

“I didn’t have any real plans,” she admits.

“I just wanted to go and see something different. So I thought I should go to France because all my music idols either lived or spent some time there; people such as Salif Keita and Miles Davis.”

The change of scenery worked wonders for Coelho’s creativity. Hooking up with local players, the cover songs eventually made way for originals.

More impressively, Coelho also managed to use the time to learn the guitar. Judging from her performances where she effortlessly unleashes a variety of big riffs, tasty blues licks and rapid flamenco strumming, she’s a natural.

After writing more than a dozen songs, Coelho entered the studio to record her 2011 debut Bossa Muffin; one of the year's most-­acclaimed world-music albums, with its dazzling, sun-kissed collection of Portuguese-sung tracks blending boss nova and ­reggae rhythms.

The international attention resulted in an almost non-stop touring schedule, including a career-defining slot at the Womad festival in the United Kingdom in 2013.

Ironically, Coelho explains all the air miles accrued and new cultures encountered inspired her to delve deeper into her homeland's musical culture when working on the new ­album, the recently released Mundo Meu.

“The first album I think had a very warm sound. It was basically me trying to capture that feeling of discovery when moving from one country to another,” she says.

"Now, with Mundo Meu, I am talking about the streets, the favelas and the neighbourhoods of Brazil." Indeed Mundo Meu is a heady mix of styles ranging from hip-hop, funk, rock-steady and dub. Coelho explains the mix wasn't just for variety's sake – instead, it reflects the Brazilian sound.

“A lot of times, people think Brazilian music is mostly bossa nova or samba,” she says.

“These are great things, too, but there is so much more than that. We have a large rock and metal scene, hip-hop and reggae are also very big as well. We love exploring and listening to all kinds of music.”

That curiosity is apparent throughout: Power of Money is sprightly, with gypsy and Balkan folk arrangements. Pai de Santo incorporates flamenco guitars with African percussion, while the vibrant Fora da Lei sounds like Coelho and her band indulging in a care-free jam session on a street corner.

With the new killer tunes and an electrifying live show – that has Coelho strutting around the stage in Prince-liked gilded trousers and frenziedly banging on a set of Brazilian drums – it is no wonder the music press are declaring that it’s a matter of time before she breaks into the ­mainstream.

Although the attention is exciting, Coelho says for now she wants to focus on playing to as many people as she can. This year has already found her gigging in far-flung locations such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Reunion Island.

One stop she is looking forward to, however, is going back home.

“Can you believe that I have yet to perform with my band back in Brazil?” she asks, shaking her head.

“I have been so busy that I didn’t get there yet. Till then, I enjoy meeting Brazilians after nearly every show. One thing about us, we like to travel and we are everywhere.”

Mundo Meu by Flavia Coelho is out now

Next week we chat to Syrian pop diva Assala about her new album and the upcoming final season of her hit television talk show Sola