On August 16, Brazilian singer-songwriter and Berklee graduate Luiza Girardello celebrated the release of her debut album, “World Ablaze.” At a small listening party in Brooklyn, guests were treated to her uniquely styled fusion of jazz, traditional Brazilian rhythms, and modern alternative rock.

“The party took place in a bar called Crystal Lake Brooklyn in Williamsburg,” she says.  “I had made videos and lyric visualizers to accompany the album, so I really wanted a place where we could play the music and actually watch everything together. And they have this cozy little back room that’s beautifully decorated and just has a really nice atmosphere, so it felt kind of perfect.”

“Brooklyn is also where I have chosen to build this current phase of my life, and I thought it made sense to have the release party close to home.”

Although the listening party was a celebration of an artistic milestone, the atmosphere wasn’t unlike that of a family gathering.

“I wanted the party to feel very intimate, and the audience was mostly made up of close friends and family. It just so happens that a lot of my friends and family also happen to be artists, as well,” she says. “I asked a close friend, Aliel Velez, also an amazing singer-songwriter, if she could go around and film some quick interviews with the guests and ask about their experience and perception of the album and video.”

Girardello’s work includes songs in both English and Portuguese, and she wanted to make sure every guest could fully appreciate the meaning of each.

“I wanted to have a format that made the meaning of the songs accessible to whoever spoke only one or the other,” she says. “I decided to do that by having videos with captions in both languages. In between a few of the songs, I would pause and say a few words about the song, its meaning, the recording process, or the choices I made for the videos themselves.”

In addition to sharing her full album, Girardello also introduced a preview of an upcoming release and another creative first.

“The last song of the album is ‘Drunk on You,’ which is also the song for which I made my first ever professionally shot music video,” she says. “I wanted to offer a sneak peek into it before its official debut on August 21.”

The choice of “Drunk on You” for her first music video was a deliberate one. “The title of the album comes from the first line of the second verse of the song,” Girardello explains. “It felt appropriate to consider that as a title song, even though that's not literally what it is.”

The listening party wasn’t just about the presentation. After the music video preview, the event moved seamlessly into an informal Q&A session. Girardello and her guests discussed the creative process behind the album, her musical references and influences, and the experience as a whole.

Creating an album as a solo artist can feel like an intensely personal venture. But for Girardello, the listening party was about much more than showing off her work. It was about the deeply human connection that music so often inspires.

“The fact that this album wasn't thought out to be an album in its conception makes it so that there are so many different universes that coexist in it,” she reflects. “My hope is that even if someone doesn't relate to the sum of all of these universes, they'll still find a small piece of a world in there that they can relate to and make their own.”