Jared Saltiel is going to eat the world. Antropofagia, literally “cannibalism,” was one of the founding principles of the 1960s Brazilian counter-culture known as Tropicalismo: the devouring of cultures and genres in order to create something totally unique. Though you could draw comparisons to dozens of completely distinct artists spanning decades and continents, New York-based singer-songwriter Jared Saltiel synthesizes his eclectic inspirations into one unforgettable songwriting voice. Driven by a deeply personal artistic vision and an insatiable need to experiment with new styles, his songs are nonetheless grounded in an old-school, straightforward integrity, making his somewhat indulgent musical detours all the more meaningful and rewarding. Beginnings Jared Saltiel grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, studying jazz at an early age, and learning his three central instruments: piano, drums and guitar. Ever the cultural cannibal, he spent a year studying Spanish in Chile, then picked up Portuguese to sing his favorite 60s and 70s MPB songs. As a gifted multi-instrumentalist, he’s collaborated with indie-pop singer-songwriter Charlene Kaye and Brooklyn’s avant-garde punk band Cesspool. And as lead singer and songwriter of the Dirty Birds, he released How the Cause Became the Cure in 2009, a debut album which “molds together all sorts of genres — including jazz, pop, folk and rock — into a wonderfully rich sound, deeply layered but simultaneously subtle” (The Michigan Dai