Arcada Pendular by Madeira / "Zíngaro"

Carlos "Zíngaro" - violin
João Madeira - double bass

Reviews:
'We have heard the Lisbon double bassist João Madeira several times in the galaxy of Rodrigues father and son, Ernesto, the violist and Guilherme the cellist as in this superb pearl, Chaos , CD published by Creative Sources, We also find him in No Strings Attached and Hoya on the same label, always with Ernesto Rodrigues, but also Hernani Faustino, Daniel Levin …. Last year, 4DARecords , João's label, had published an excellent successful trio of violinist Carlos Zingaro and percussionist Sofia Borges with this singular double bass player: Trismariz . Convinced by their exchanges and sharing a whole philosophy of improvisation and a sonic and emotional territory as a true extensible common denominator, Zingaro and Madeira came together to deliver this beautiful encounter to the height, and even more, of the associations of this violinist, pioneer of contemporary improvisation, with double bassists such as Joëlle Léandre, Kent Carter, Simon H Fell, … or with cellists Fred Lonberg-Holm and Peggy Lee.
For those who are not convinced of the art of this Portuguese violinist, just dive into this fabulous document of an extraordinary solo performance by Carlos Zingaro : Live at Mosteiro De Santa Clara A Velha (Cipsela). It is the top like Phil Wachsmann, Malcolm Goldstein and Harald Kimmig. And I love this pendulum arcade, the movement of the bow guided by a magic pendulum, that of Philémon Cyclône in search of treasures buried across the strings, searching in the middle of a lunar terrain, siliceous or granitic, dry as a stick in the distant and low shadow of the Pyramids at sunset. Surfaces covered with micro-mushrooms and multicolored mosses as can be seen on the cover of the digipack, work of Carlos… under which invisible magnetic attractions guide the dance steps of these two tightrope walkers of the violin and the double bass, the small and the large of this family of instruments of violins which are only associated at their finest within their siblings: violin, viola, cello and double bass. Music of research, of multiform and moving instrumental actions that resemble exploration, of expressive gestures, of sonic introspections that distance themselves, each at its own pace, come together in angular, spiral, moiré or fractured counterpoints, or contradict each other, each running off on its own, pretending not to care about the other's concerns, but bringing them a subtle question, an oblique energy, or the conclusion that is long overdue. It is not a question of technical unpacking, but rather a spread out in a graphic panorama, striated, undulatory, abstract and expressionist as much as pointillist or impressionist,... cubist, tachist, Turner, Delaunay, Kandinsky, Klee, de Kooning, Pollock, Richter, Frankenthaler or my friend the designer André Dael and his imaginary landscapes. It is deeply sincere while using multiple techniques of bow rubbing, harmonics, string and woody vibrations, skidding, percussion, diffractions, amalgams, frenzies, ecstasies or meditations, reflections, paranormal telepathic moments. The suggested imagination goes beyond the faculty of imagination and the notion of dialogue by the grace of their inner simplicity open to the present moment and their rebellious playful inclinations. Beyond this notion of dialogue, we navigate and wander in the ocean of automatic writing, the limbo of waking dreams and this insatiable curiosity that is never quite satisfied with an apparent success, preferring risk, the unknown, clearing the way... To be placed on a shelf alongside the duos of Barre Phillips and Malcolm Goldstein, Philipp Wachsmann and Teppo Hauta-Aho or the String Trio of Harald Kimmig, Alfred Zimmerlin and Daniel Studer.'
Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, orynx-improvandsounds.blogspot.com/

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'Carlos Zingaro is a Portuguese violinist and electronic musician. Classically trained in the 1950s and 1960s he has been a busy performer ever since and has appeared on over fifty recordings. He’s worked with Derek Bailey’s Company, Joëlle Léandre, Simon Fell, Mark Sanders and many others. He’s joined on Arcada Pendular (‘Pendulum Arcade’) by bassist João Madeira. Heavily involved in free improvisation since 2012, during the pandemic Madeira set up Quartet Exquis: ‘fascinated by the Surrealists, [he] derived the idea for this project as a musical equivalent of Cadavre Exquis. When the lock-down caused by Covid-19 ravaged the live music scene, he invited three musicians to join … with him to implement this experiment. All four of the quartet are experienced improvisers. … [They] began with each member making a solo recording, and then sending that in turn to each of the other three. Each player responded to the solos, without knowing the response of the other two, and then sent back their own individual track to … Madeira, who assembled the four pieces of music together’.
Arcada Pendular was – more conventionally – recorded in 2023 at the Convento da Madre de Deus da Verderena, Barreiro, Portugal. Unlike FUEL, with it’s suggestions of folk music, this is improvised music with its roots more in the classical avant-garde. Fragments of violin melody are broken by wide leaps and sul ponticello scribbles. Rhythms are so free as to be impossible to notate. (One of the great things about improvised music is the way it can undermine all the assumptions embedded in the classical tradition that limit the musical possibilities to the limitations of a notation system. The system evolved to serve the music, not to straitjacket it).
There are eleven tracks in all. Eleven wide-ranging conversations, all intense, rooted in the present moment and, as it should be, totally preoccupied with what’s going to happen next. I don’t know if they were recorded in the order they are presented, but the last builds up to a final dramatic gesture that underlined the feeling I had that this music is really quite special. It left me wanting to listen again from the beginning.' Dominic Rivron, internationaltimes.it
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'Portuguese veteran violinist Carlos «Zíngaro» Alves and the generation younger double bass player João Madeira have been collaborating regularly in recent years, but Arcada Pendular is their debut duo album, recorded within the centuries-old walls of the Convent of Madre de Deus da Verderena in Barreiro, now a local art center, in August 2023. «Zíngaro» did the cover watercolor artwork, and Madeira recorded, mixed, mastered, produced, and released the album via his label.
Arcada Pendular offers eleven intimate pieces that stress the idiomatic freedom of these gifted string players and improvisers as well as their insistence on continuing to experiment with timbres and shifting dynamics, and expand their sonic palette. Obviously, extended bowing and percussive techniques are part of the duo’s dynamics, and both «Zigaro» and Madeira cleverly use the unique acoustic qualities of the old space. This duo relies on deep listening and a deep sensibility of form and structure that transform the spontaneous, emphatic improvisations into concise, instant compositions.
The album sounds like a long, open, and deep conversation between two close friends who share their most inner thoughts, experiences, and lessons. «Zingaro» and Madeira sound as if they had a lot of urgent issues to share. Together, this chamber duo sounds as a greater, richer whole, determined to deepen this stimulating collaboration and keep enriching their ongoing conversations.' Eyal Hareuveni, salt-peanuts.eu
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'This time, after a series of trio and quartet encounters, Carlos Zingaro on violin and Joao Madeira on double bass meet and record as a duo at the Convento da Madre de Deus in Verderena, Barreiro, with its unmistakable acoustics.
It's a must-hear encounter, a total improvisation that immediately strikes with the tangle of string sounds coupled with the intensity they express at every moment.
The acoustics of the venue add something special, reverberations that fuse with the sounds, also part of the ritual celebrated between the two instruments.
The avant-garde presents itself here, rich in emotion, with numerous instrumental techniques put to the service of total communication.
It's a truly beautiful album, one of those that endure, a meeting not to be forgotten.' Vittorio Loconte, kathodik.org
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Musician, Composer.

João Madeira has been totally committed to discovering new processes of creating and composing music, whilst, at the same time, exploring new concepts of musical performance.
Soundcloud upload with constant activity! Follow!
“A Fábrica de Nada”, 2005, and “A Máquina Hamlet”, 2020 - “Parece que o Mundo”, 2018, (contemporary dance).

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