DEAFKIDS was formed in 2010 in the industrial city of Volta Redonda/Rio de Janeiro. The band’s first iteration was a solo idea by Douglas, delivering a fuzz-soaked blend of crust/d-beat, before Marcelo was added on bass and Robinho on drums, then replaced by Mariano. Over nine years, nine releases, many extensive tours across Brazil and Europe and more than 400 shows – DEAFKIDS remains steadfast onto a path that leads to sonic mind decontrol.

Each of the band’s releases have explored a different take on the hypnotic rhythms that comprise D-beat: the full-throttle noise assault of 2012’s ​Six Heretic Anthems for the Deaf EP; the cavernous, off-the-rails hardcore and apocalyptic monoliths that comprised 2014’s The Upper Hand​ LP, theEP ​Over the Days/Somewhat Damaged (​ recorded and released digitally in 2014, but released as a 7” in 2018) and the 2016/2017’s critically acclaimed 10” EP ‘​Configuração do Lamento.​’

As the band moved to live together in São Paulo, composing and creating as a full unit, DEAFKIDS began to blend each member’s musical and aesthetic taste with a common interest in mesmerizing grooves and psychedelic rhythms from around the globe. This turned the band even further on it’s sonic edge. The resulting process was the mind-abusing, lingering repetition of 2015’s split with USA’s Timekiller, the cathartic energy discharge of the trio’s live performances and the wild, psychedelic absurdity that is ​Configuração do Lamento, their first release on legendary Neurot Recordings, their current label. The band has played in many renowned and well-known festivals, both in Brazil and beyond, such as Bananada (BRA), Coquetel Molotov (BRA) Festival DoSol (BRA), Supersonic Festival (UK), Obscene Extreme (CZ), Punk Illegal (SWE) and has shared the stage with labelmates from Neurosis in concerts in Brazil and Europe, as well as playing with heavyweight acts like Eyehategod, Avskum, Varukers, Converge and Wolves in the Throne Room.

2019 witnesses the release of their newest creation – ​Metaprogramação ​LP, which takes their sonic exploration beyond anything they previously reached. The band will tour Europe for the fourth time, along with compatriotes from Rakta. This tour will feature concerts in acclaimed festivals such as Roadburn (NL) – where the band will play both a solo concert and a collaboration set with PETBRICK (UK/BR), SWR Barrosselas MetalFest (POR) and Donau Festival (AU). The band also leaves for its first North-American tour, across the U.S and Canada.

DEAFKIDS produces overwhelming, sensory-driven dirges that carry a Brazilian (and Latin American) imprint. It is a legitimate bastard child of the colonial chaos — trapped here and there — between both complementary and opposing worldviews, trying to balance the intensity and conflicted nature of colonization and of the human condition.

The band has received critical acclaim, with outlets like The Wire noting that “The act of venturing away from genre restrictions is by no means guaranteed to bring out the best in a hardcore band, but when it comes off it can be exhilarating. The second album by Brazilian trio DEAFKIDS is a fine example of expanded horizons done right.”, and The Quietus, praising their usage of unorthodox influences, by saying “Brazil’s DEAFKIDS are one of those bands buoyed by a mystic kind of momentum, a ceaselessness whose source lies in some vital, but unknown spring.

Their music is a glorious cacophony, a mixture of pummelling Gnod-esque cataclysms and the traditional sounds of their native Brazil and Latin America; it’s a brutal blend of hardcore punk, experimental noise, and a pumping rhythmic vein with its roots in African and Indian polyrhythm”.

Decibel Magazine stated “If you’re looking for some seriously talented percussion blended with noisy experimentation and true punk attitude, Deafkids needs to be the next thing you hear.”
Roadburn, as they added Deafkids to their 2019 roster, favoured the band’s path, noting “(…)It’s been a steady rise, and a truly deserved one, because even in its more obscure beginnings, Deaf Kids already hit on something completely unique and pioneering. The base ingredient of raw and violent punk/d-beat has always coexisted naturally with heavy psychedelia, harsh noise and pounding rhythms that clearly give away their South American roots and influences. Unable to stagnate, the formula has been refined and rebuilt over each release, and last year’s cathartic, kaleidoscopic ​Configuração Do Lamento​ record is their crowning achievement… so far. ”

Steve Von Till, while addressing the band’s addition to Neurot Recordings’ roster, said “​I first read about DEAFKIDS when I saw a headline from Cvlt Nation that read, ‘This Band Sounds Like No Other!’ My cynical nature believed that to be a tall order, so I decided to call their bluff and clicked on the stream… MIND BLOWN. I was not prepared for how much I would love this record. Raw, powerful, and explosive heavy psych. I think I listened to it three times in a row right then and there. I played it for my bandmates the first time we were all in a room together and we all agreed, ‘We need to put out a DEAFKIDS record.’​”, and after Neurosis joint gigs th the band both in Brazil and for a small tour in Europe, stated “​DEAFKIDS is one of the most exciting bands I have heard in a very long time. They are a unique psychoactive journey of Brazilian polyrhythmic percussion, hypnotic chanting, and aggressive repetitive raw punk all echoing out from another dimension. Having had the blessed opportunity to play several shows with them in Europe and Brazil I can say that without a doubt, they are something new and mind blowing created from something old and primal. Their youthful energy is contagious and their wisdom and deep knowledge of sound is beyond their years. Although raging and distorted, these sounds are medicinal, like some sort of sonic Ayahuasca. You have to surrender to it to find out where it is leading you. We are so lucky and proud to be able to work together with them and release their insane sounds in our corner of the universe. They are beautiful people making beautiful noise.​”