Tutafarel is the creative alias of Brazilian-born, Los Angeles–based artist Raphael Rosalen, and Monte Casanova is his debut album.

Raised in the small town of Piracicaba, a few hours from São Paulo, Tutafarel was surrounded by art from an early age, thanks to his academic and painterly mother, who frequently took him to art museums. That early exposure sparked his interest in visual arts, which later extended to film, leading him to earn a BA and MA in Cinema and Media Studies at USC, and he is now completing a PhD at UC Irvine. The album Monte Casanova is part of a larger multimedia project that includes Tutafarel's debut book of the same name and an ongoing TikTok/serialized video series.

Music had always played in the background, but grad school became the turning point — he started writing songs to explore ideas about culture, identity, and desire. His first EP, flaming heaven and perpetual ecstasy, was a love letter to Los Angeles and nightlife romance. That was followed by the double EP FREUD AGAIN.. and FREUD AGAIN AND AGAIN.., a campy, queer-studies-inspired twist on pop music, blending Brazilian and American sounds. Its 2024 release party at O-Town House Gallery also served as a fundraiser for the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Immigration Services.

Now, with Monte Casanova, Tutafarel fully steps into a world he has been creating across different media — one that combines Brazilian rhythms like bossa nova and baile funk with the polished textures of electronic pop and a love for storytelling. His sound palette references artists like Rosalía, PinkPantheress, Frank Ocean, and Julian Casablancas, seamlessly blending masculine and feminine energies. But his inspirations go beyond music and tap into his past experiences working at MoMA and Academy Film Archive. He draws a lot of inspiration from cinema and contemporary video art, noting Doug Aitken and 1980s East Village artists like Klaus Nomi and Kestutis Nakas for his multimedia approaches.

Looking ahead, Tutafarel hopes to bring the Monte Casanova universe to life with an intimate, house-party-style tour. Alongside that, he plans to publish new books outside of this project and begin production on his sophomore album. Just months after the debut’s release, he’ll also complete his PhD in digital media studies, closing one chapter while opening several more.