Brazilian, New York–based actress, producer, writer, and songwriter Stella Rea has always had music in her blood. 

As the daughter of Arrigo Barnabé, the Brazilian musician and actor central to the country’s vanguard movement with the critically acclaimed album Clara Crocodilo and its radical embrace of twelve-tone technique and atonality, Stella was raised around this uncompromising approach to composition and creative independence.

Now, after more than a decade of songwriting that began at age twelve, Rea introduces herself as a recording artist with her debut single, “Smoke All of Me.” Jazzy, smooth, and quietly intoxicating, the track lures listeners in.

True to her independent, DIY spirit, Rea initially planned to direct the video herself. But while songwriting is an introspective, solitary process for her, she realized the accompanying visual needed to be something else entirely.

Co-produced with Charles Mueller, the track threads Brazilian influences (mainly MPB and bossa nova) through pop and indie rock, carried by intimate, emotionally direct lyrics that land like mantras.

Originally written in isolation during the pandemic, “Smoke All of Me” resurfaced years later and was handpicked as Stella’s first official single—less a beginning than a homecoming. 

“I wrote this song when I was 21 in quarantine, at a time when most of my close friends were in serious, committed relationships with the people who would later become their spouses, and I was contemplating this ever-present melancholia I seem to have,” Rea shares.

“For a really long time, it became one of my favorites because I just thought it was so… fun. That’s one of the reasons I brought it into the studio—another was that everything else I’d been writing in recent years felt like part of a body of work, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable just letting those songs be.”

To mark the release, Rea also unveils an independent music video. Made on a shoestring, and true to her indie spirit, it was created with a four-person crew of friends and fellow creatives, directed by her collaborator, filmmaker Deana Taheri. In contrast to the solitude of the song’s origin, the project was brought to life through collaboration: shared effort, and a small circle of talented people making something out of limited resources.

“Smoke All Of Me,” moves with romantic restlessness and emotional clarity, tracing the pull of someone who lingers even as life keeps moving.

“Smoke All Of Me” is out March 4, 2026. 

STELLA REA BIO:

Brazilian, New York–based actress, producer, writer, and songwriter Stella Rea grew up immersed in Brazil’s independent music world—surrounded by artists committed to work that was fearless, experimental, and underground. As the daughter of Arrigo Barnabé, the Brazilian musician and actor central to the country’s vanguard movement with the critically acclaimed album Clara Crocodilo and its radical embrace of twelve tone technique and atonality – Stella was raised around this uncompromising approach to composition and creative independence. This instilled in her an early understanding of art as both rigorous and deeply connected to the artist—an ethos that continues to inform her work across disciplines.

At age 12, she began writing songs in English and continued through her teenage years, but initially pursued acting as her primary career. Over time, her practice expanded into producing and directing, ultimately leading her back to writing—and therefore songwriting—with a sharper sense of self and voice. After more than a decade of writing largely in private, her music now emerges as a fully realized extension of that journey.

Stella’s sound lives at the intersection of Brazilian musical traditions—most notably MPB and bossa nova—with pop and indie rock, balancing warmth with restraint. Her lyrics are intimate and emotionally direct, pairing poetic imagery with conversational honesty. Repeating lines often anchor her songs, landing like mantras: simple, insistent, and quietly transformative.

Now based in New York City, Stella Rea is an independent artist actively building her catalog. Her debut single, “Smoke All of Me,” marks the beginning of a new chapter, with a full-length album slated for release later this year.