"Based on the idea that cultural creation is enriched by the exchange of knowledge and the crossing of ideas, the project Hysteria held in Porto, Portugal in 2019 aimed to create a space for discussion between the artists involved, in the foreground, and between them and the public. To this end, all contact moments were accompanied and inhabited by a group of artists and onlookers who, through the application, showed their willingness to contribute and observe the creation process. Thus, the participants had the opportunity to see up close the details with which the artists in residence shaped the final object and to understand the strategies used to establish a creative dialogue.
Along with the creation of a space of contact between the creator and the public, Hysteria proposed a look at the production and female creation in today's musical universe, in four fundamental axes, from interpretation to creation.”
Thus describes the Hysteria artistic residency in Portugal that eventually led to a musical collaboration between UK-based experimental musicians Valentina Magaletti (a percussionist and composer who has recorded both solo and in groups such as Tomaga, CZN, and Vanishing Twin) and Marlene Ribeiro (a solo artist as well as core member of psych/noise group Gnod). Self-described as being “tropical concrete,” this resulting album, Due Matte, features tracks that range from feeling quite free jazzy to me to ones that are almost industrial in nature to those quite otherworldly in both their sound and adventurous approach. Overall, this album combines more recognizable sonic elements and even the occasional vocal part with all sorts of things, both acoustic and otherwise, one wouldn’t normally encounter.
In light of (troubling) current events, I found myself imagining that the hypnotic Due Matte captured the very essence of the world circa 2020. In that context, the percussion instruments at the center of almost every track represented the forward motion of time, with the accompanying wide array of fluttering, sputtering, lurching, creaking, and even pleasant tonal elements seeming to reflect the elements of chaos that seem to all the more frequently intrude on modern life and society - as well as the moments of genuine beauty that motivate us all to keep on carrying on in the face of struggle and hardship.
Undoubtedly, Due Matte won’t be to all tastes, but I found it thoroughly engrossing. If you’re game, free your mind and enjoy the premiering track below. The album releases June 11th on the Commando Vanessa label.
