Cochlea by João Madeira, José Oliveira

Reviews:
"The impro scene in Portugal is quite active, as evidenced by this incision made in 2015 and only now published which features an unusual duo at work, João Madeira on double bass and José Oliveira on percussion. There are two pieces presented, Cochlea Part I of ten minutes and Cochlea Part IItwenty-eight minutes. Obviously it is about radical improvisation, an intense sonic adventure in which the instruments are manipulated to the limit of their possibilities. It is a continuous research, a dense dialogue in which there is not a moment of breath while the sounds are perceived with a certain curiosity by the two, very attentive to what comes out of this project in which the empathy between them is total. A proposal that invites those who appreciate the genre to listen, also unusual for this type of audience." Vittorio, Musiczoom
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"Cochlea" is very nice duo of double bass and percussion.
The music is free improvised, illustrating amazing
technical and emotional possibilities of both artists. It
oscillates between quiet and lyrical fragments, and very
expressive ones. For the most appealing are fragments,
when João is using the bow. The duo 'lays essentially one
trach, "Cochlea", in two mo0vements, however. "Cochlea
Part I" lasts 10 minutes and is a kind of introduction and
warm up for the highlight of the album: a 28 minutes long
"Cochlea Part II", a masterpiece of abstract dialogue and
synergy." Maciej Lewenstein ****

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"Recorded in 2015 and released in 2022 by a Portuguese micro-label as I like them, this double bass (Joao Madeira) and percussion (José Oliveira) duo cultivates busy sound and gestural research by soliciting a diverse assortment of instrumental manipulations, extensive alternative techniques. The body, fingerboard and strings of the double bass are felt, rubbed, muffled, vibrated with an object through the strings or rubbed meticulously on the edge of the bridge. The bow also operates the edges of the cymbals or an accessory pressed onto the skin of a drum. The dialogue between the sounds of Joao and José is so profound that it is almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. One forgets the sound source that resides in the depths of their instruments to concentrate on the sounds themselves, inhabited and invested by the deep awareness of silence and the feeling of their intimate actions. Cochlea Part I is the prelude for ten minutes that seem to be hesitant, tentative, until concentration and mutual listening are established in the trance that brings them together. In Cochlea Part II and its 28 long minutes, the listener, sucked in by their incessant playful activity, follows the slightest contour, the minute details and the anarchic whirling of sounds and strokes that merge as if there were only one musician at work. Unstoppable sonic dynamics. A superb testimony to free improvisation that is at once sharp, cutting and hushed, "refined chamber music" even if the duo introduces itself as Percussive Double Bass and Bastard Percussion. Subscribers to the formidable Portuguese improvised (collective!) scene that has emerged over the last 20 years, Madeira and Oliveira are collective improvisers par excellence. I would remind you of the existence of recorded double bass - percussion duos that are worth a visit: Nisus by John Edwards & Mark Sanders, 13 Definitions of Truth by Peter Kowald and Tatsuya Nakatani, There Must Be A Reason Damon Smith & Jeremy Bryerton and Off Course by Joëlle Léandre and Paul Lovens and I guarantee that this Cochlea is up to the standard of these wonders." Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, orynx-improvandsounds.blogspot.com/

Tracklist

1.	Cochlea Part 1	10:11

2.	Cochlea Part 2	28:04

Credits

released June 2, 2022

All music composed by João Madeira e José Oliveira
Recorded on February, 28th 2015, by João Madeira.
Mixed and Mastered by João Madeira.
Concept Design by Elements Artwork.
Inside photo by José Oliveira.
4DaRecord 2022
4DRCD002

License