On a trip to Rio de Janeiro to record with the noted Brazilian composer Arthur Verocai, who contributed string and horn arrangements for the tropicalia-infused “Get Sun,” Saalfield stayed in the Amazon rainforest for 10 days, and took part in the kambo ritual of wiping frog poison onto her skin to remove the toxins in her body. It also inspired her to embrace the spiritual, already a part of the band’s alchemy.

Through bright textures and sunlit Brazilian rhythms, it scores a trek from darkness to light, providing the soundtrack of what turned into a very personal journey. The band - which includes the bassist Paul Bender, the keyboardist Simon Mavin and the drummer Perrin Moss - incorporated that urgency into “Mood Valiant,” its first album in six years, which came out on Friday. And when you have a massive life scare, it really puts that in perspective.” “Time is an illusion that you have forever, but no one knows how much time they have. “Ultimately, I became obsessed with the concept of impermanence,” Saalfield, 32, said on a video call, speaking from an almost pitch-black room in her home in Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne. Drake was listening, too: In 2017, he sampled a song from the band’s second LP for his playlist “More Life.” The group’s singer and guitarist, Naomi Saalfield, known as Nai Palm, appeared on his follow-up album, “Scorpion.” A few months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Australian band Hiatus Kaiyote emerged in 2013 with an amorphous sound that pulled in rock, funk and soul, and caught the ear of Questlove, Erykah Badu and Q-Tip.

Hiatus kaiyote