In addition to playing drums for Constantina, Brazilian percussionist & sound artist Daniel Nunes maintains an experimental solo project under the alias of LISE which is centered around the use of electroacoustic music, synthesized melodies, and organic noises to create intricate mosaics of sound that provide a unique listening experience as well as engage in dialogues with performative and visual art forms.
His newest excursion is framed as a “memory album” in the form of sound collages recorded between the years 2012 to 2021 in different cities such as Belo Horizonte and Ribeirão Preto(Brazil), Porto (Portugal), and Valparaíso (Chile). The title chosen for it invites a dual interpretation rooted in two languages that serves as the thematic backdrop for its journey pieced together from field recordings, synthesizer, and guitar.
Taken from the Spanish language, the expression ‘a mares’ alludes to the overflow of tears in a state of extreme sadness. The title can also be interpreted in Portuguese, referring to the movements of the sea.
Arguably the album’s pièce de résistance of the album, “Limite (além-mares)” closes the proceedings with a sharper narrative and musical focus. The track is inspired by the landmark 1931 avant-garde film ‘Limite‘ which was restored in 2010 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and by Cinemateca Brasileira in collaboration with the Mário Peixoto Archive and by the Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles. Centering on a man and two women lost at sea whose pasts unfolding through flashbacks to the music of such composers as Satie, Debussy, and Stravinsky and featuring experimental photographic techniques, the film is described as a “silent masterpiece” that traces the anguish and frailties of human existence.
Doing justice to such poetic inspiration, Nunes paints a lush, immersive soundscape for the piece and invites the collaboration of musician & cultural producer Anderson do Pife who contributes the poignant central melody played on the traditional viola de repente. In advance of the album’s release, you can enjoy an exclusive preview of “Limite (além-mares)” in a video edited by Nunes using images from the film.
Links: Bandcamp | LPC Records | LISE
a mares will be the released December 9, 2021 by La Petite Chambre Records. The album was mixed by Daniel Nunes in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and mastered by Joaquim Prado at Panda Studio in Maceió, Brazil and features cover art & collage by Junior Cruz, aka Calma Collage.
Stationary Travels 