“Não Volto Mais”: Bruna Foss `27 releases debut single

Bruna Foss `27 stands in front of a railway tunnel in Curitiba, guitar in hand. She gives one last forlorn look at the camera and walks away, balancing on rail lines, until she is swallowed by the darkness. These images are centred in the visualizer, available on Foss’s Instagram and Youtube, for “Não Volto Mais,” Foss’ beautifully melancholic new single.

“Não Volto Mais,” which translates to “I’m Not Coming Back,” is a goodbye note to Brazil, old relationships, and past lives. It captures the dichotomous nature of farewells, remembering the good memories and the bad.

Foss said that the narrative of the song could be encapsulated as such: “Remember how beautiful it was, but don’t forget how painful it was too.”

“Não Volto Mais” is deeply inspired by the music Foss grew up listening to, from bossa nova to indie pop and contemporary pop. Foss referred to Brazilian artists like Jovem Dionísio, Carol Biazin and ANAVITÓRIA as her musical inspirations, as well as American artists like Madison Cunningham and Billie Eilish.

Foss wrote the song in December 2023, during her first winter break back in Brazil. She recorded a demo in the summer of 2024. In the fall that same year, she recorded the song’s final version at Grinnell, working with her girlfriend Madeline Church `27, who contributed the violin instrumentation to the record, and producer Hayden Suarez-Davis `25.

Ever since her grandfather bought her first guitar at the age of six, Foss recalled, music had been a part of her life. In later years, she played the bass guitar, the piano, drums, the flute and the viola, but the guitar remained her first love. During the pandemic, she started singing. By 2022, she was posting covers on TikTok and Instagram, and has since garnered nearly 400,000 followers combined on both platforms.

In discussing her substantial online audience, Foss said, “It taught me to filter through negative comments, and the importance of having a broad repertoire and evolving as a musician.”

Foss acknowledged that her time with the Latin American Ensemble at Grinnell shaped both her skills and her perspective on music. Foss said Gabriel Espinosa, the Ensemble’s conductor, was a specific inspiration to her.

“He is my primary mentor,” said Foss. “He helped me be sure that I wanted to be a musician.” On campus, Foss and Church are members of the indie-rock outfit Deer April, which performed at the Grinnellian in 2024 and 2025.

“I definitely feel more comfortable performing with other people because the attention is not only on me,” said Foss. “But when I perform by myself and I can be at my most vulnerable, and people are just watching me and they come out of that feeling fulfilled, that’s a different level of reward.”

“Bossa nova can be very introspective, and very, very vulnerable,” said Foss. “It’s a genre that has transformed throughout the years. When I’m playing the rhythm in ‘Não Volto Mais,’ it’s the same feeling as playing bossa nova.”

“Não Volto Mais” is the first original song Foss has released, and she has been developing and recording fresh material in Grinnell.

Foss is currently working on releasing two new songs. The first, “Don’t Change Your Mind,” is a duet with Church, which they have already performed a few times at Grinnell. The second song, still untitled, continues the narrative of “Não Volto Mais,” which was co-written with Church this summer.

“Working with her really expands my inspirations,” said Foss about their songwriting partnership. “We have very similar taste in music. She knew more Brazilian artists than me when we met.” “There’s no competition either,” said Church.

“I love to make my own music, but I don’t share the ambition of being a recording artist as a profession, and I love helping her and supporting her.” For Foss and Church, engaging with the queer community is a fundamental aspect of their artistic identity. Foss pointed to Carol Biazin, a queer Brazilian singer-songwriter, as an important inspiration in this regard. While Foss, through her visualizers and her image, has explicitly tried to “make sure that people know that I’m lesbian,” her music refers to this aspect more subtly.

Foss intends to pursue music professionally in the United States, while also working in music marketing. Working at Freesound, said Foss, taught her how live music worked.

“The pre-production, the post-production, it taught me everything I know now about instruments and working with other musicians,” she said. The experience she gained from Freesound and an internship at mtheory, a music marketing and strategy development company, helped her develop a greater appreciation for the practical aspects of the music business.

“Não Volto Mais” is available on all digital platforms.