words: Raquel Pinheiro; photos: Renato Cruz Santos/Cultura em Expansão
A week ago me and my colleagues from Grupo Operário do Ruído, a parte experimental-exploratory-avant ensemble connect to Sonoscopia were in the depths of our Open Rehearsal, after months of hours long reharsals.
Being part of the group has been a very interesting experience. I elected the electric guitar as my main instrument, in itself a challenge. I’m far more familiar with an electric bass than with an electric guitar. Most of my other instruments are as peculiar and unique as Grupo Operário do Ruído: a couple of plastic beads necklaces, a children’s melodica, mismatched drum sticks, empty spices bottles, and more, and our claribones, what I call our odd purpose build mix of trombone and clarinet.
Many instruments we use were build on previous years of the existence of Grupo Operário do Ruído, some like my guitar, the traditional drums, the tambourine are convencional. My use of the electric guitar is anything but convencional. We’re often asked what we do, what we play. We’re still working on the musical piece directed by António Serginho and Carlos Guerreiro, to which we all contribute.
I would say we’re much close to an orchestra than a rock band. The musical, sound, and other approaches are wide. As you can see on the photos we do not use staves. There are structured rhythm parts, solo and free style parts, corporal movement, a bit of singing. Each of us, one more than others depending of what we play, swap our instruments, according to the section we’re playing.
None of the above explains much other than a little of the mechanics of this year in Grupo Operário do Ruído. It’s not easy to explain as it is a sound experience composed of a million details.
I’ve been asked if I felt nervous playing in front of an audience. I didn’t. I didn’t even notice the audience that surrounded us. We’re concentrated on what we’re playing as well as in the hand instructions of António Serginho tailor made for us, and therefore different than standard conductor instructions.
Come and see me and my colleagues from GOR – Grupo Operário do Ruído – a large experimental-exploratory-avant ensemble – on our Open Reharsal, Friday, 13 at Associação de Moradores da Bouça in Porto, 9:30pm. Entry is free (2 tickets per person, at the door, from 8:30pm).
I’ll be on electric guitar, prepared, bass like or otherwise, and, most likely, on a few peculiar instruments too.
A little over one year ago my friend Dana suggested me Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I have now been writing The Morning Pages, an integral part of the book that is meant to be carried on.
Dana recommending me The Artist’s Way wasn’t so much because I was artistically blocked. I was composing, playing, painting, writing poems and more at the time. More because I wasn’t going to physical places I wanted to go. My feet, my body, seemed glued. In early 2022 I was invited by a friend to go and spend time with him. I truly wanted to, but couldn’t move.
Maybe summer (2022) would be it. It wasn’t. Summer 2022 brought a big musical piece, appeared literally when I woke up, name, concept, the names of several tracks all there. I turned my laptop on, opened Audacity and start cresting the sounds that, for me, translated the names of the tracks.
Out of the blue, as a coincidence, that Julia Cameron just like my friend Ed call synchronicity, Francisco (Silva – The June Carriers/Velho Homem/Old Jerusalem) start sending small guitar lines for me to hear the sound of his new guitar, an electric one (in Old Jerusalem life, Francisco was known for playing acoustic). He didn’t knew I was composing, I didn’t knew he had the Mustang. “What if I put some of those guitar lines on my tracks?” And so I did and what was electronic start become, and end up, electro-acoustic.
That same summer another friend turned 50. Until the eve of his birthday I didn’t knew he played (guitar), he didn’t knew I played (bass). There was going to be a band in which he was playing covers. I said I would go and play bass. And I did. I had played with them before, had never played on stage, hadn’t played bass in about 18.5 years until a few months before, no rehearsal. Just get there, they were already playing when I arrived, pick the house bass and go for it. It was great.
A few days later I was at the jams that were held at the place of the birthday party. This time, it was tricky to get the house bass. A woman playing electric? Seems not (it turned out is wasn’t just a woman playing electric, but not being from the proper musical background. I stayed there, observing, until I spotted an approachable musician, a saxophonist. We both played together, by the end of the jam. Total improv. He would wonderfully fit the saxophone wherever it was required. The next week he brough a jazz guitarist that gave me four 7th arpeggios to practice to play with them one week later. And so it was.And then it stopped. But I got a fabulous saxophonist for my music I didn’t even knew I needed. That summer I also started painting on canvas.
I didn’t went to stay with my friend. Autumn, Winter came. I didn’t went to go see my friend. It’s 2023. I want to go see someone play abroad. My feet remain glued. Dana, aware of what has been written so far and more, told me about The Artist’s Way. I read it, did all the exercises – some may, at first glance seem silly and childish, but aren’t – begin writing The Morning Pages.
I start venturing into short distance travels by train. Stayed overnight with a recent acquaintance. And with a different friend for a few weeks, carrying a ton of notebooks, my guitar, the digital copy of The Artists Way. It was the first time I spend a number of weeks with an electric guitar as my only instrument. It was a thrill.
Over two years since he invited me, I still haven’t went to see the friend that asked over in early 2022 – there is a little more to the story than my feet being glued the floor. As in, my feet were glued to the floor, but something else, my heart, was glued too. Under his shyness, my friend is adventurous, passionate, intense, larger than life, has deep emotions, loves love, passion and life. I share some of those things, but don’t deal well with deep, bubbling emotions. Open my heart again? Run the risk of heartbreak? Probably not. One day it will (re)happen.
But The Morning Pages have been there for me, so has he who keeps telling me to write for others to read. I write a lot on my journal(s), notebooks, The Morning Pages, to him.
I’ve recommended The Artist’s Way to a few people. Some already read it, did the exercises and wrote The Morning Pages for a while. Others bought the book and are still to read it, do the exercises and immerse themselves in The Morning Pages. My Morning Pages aren’t always in the morning, but I’ve been writing the three pages everyday. Matt, another friend, thinks it is quite the commitment to be writing The Morning Pages for a year.
Early this year I went to a vero circuit/guitar pedal building wokshop. A nice distortion/fuzz pedal both for guitar and bass was build. The last time I had soldered I was 13 or 14. Afterwards, home, I painted and customized the pedal box. Some of the materials, like the sparkling dust and the stars were part of a number of things from The Artist’s Way exercises. The rest is acrylic paint and glossy nail varnish and coat.
I’ve recently become a member of Grupo Operário do Ruído (Workers Noise Group) an ensemble of noise(s) and rhythm from Sonoscopia that will have its public presentation December 8th at Conservatório de Música do Porto. We have a staggering amount of rehearsals and a few workshops. Grupo Operário do Ruído is far less leftfield for me than what can be called life narration writing. To an extent I do that with my poems, but it is very different. I’ve also taken a short trip by metro to the seaside north of Porto that included seeing a small intimate concert friends had put up.
In fairness, I move across very different social groups. So much so that now Beatriz, one of my fellow members of Grupo Operário do Ruído (GOR) asked if her fellow GOR members would be interested in being part of her group of guests in a performance she is part of called Sonópolis. Sonópolis is to be presented at Sala Suggia, the orchestra room, at Casa da Música, July 7th. I’m in!
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 