Monday 20 March 2017, 7.30pm
Prodigious Portuguese acoustic guitarist Norberto Lobo returns to OTO for a solo set, following the release of new album Muxama on three:four records.
Absolutely mindblowing acoustic guitar player from Lisbon. His 28 years of life have been completely immersed in the most joyous of relationships with music and sound. He’s done his profound reading of the most auspicious and melancholic melodies (a place where Steve Reich, Jim O’Rourke, Paulinho da Viola and Carlos Paredes all make sense together unto one existence), has been deeply enriched by the harmonic depth & richness of the samba/bossa heritage (which he knows by heart), and his composition in both short and longer-form is nothing short of remarkable – a sense of structure, narrative and storytelling complete by a total absence of any tics or theatrical antics, in which every turn is revised and remade for maximum fascination for both musician and audience. That and he has one of the best left-hands around - for a right-hand guitar player. Jack Rose and Ben Chasny said so. His fans include Gary Lucas, Naná Vasconcelos and the tragically defunct Llasa de Sela. We’re yet to meet a single human being who is less that astounded by this man’s music. Living proof that the boldest aesthetical moves are 100% compatible with complete social communion.
"Norberto Lobo is a mind-bending musician, strangely and effortlessly modulating psychedelic ideas to the guitar. But what is wonderful about Fornalha is how he puts all of this to work to wonder about how we hear one thing following another (montage) and how these horizontal shifts can alter our perceptions. The record moves through the listening spaces like a New Orleans processional gathering and dropping sounds, as it winds through different chambers. Bowed guitars that sound more like bright cellos, a prepared guitar that sounds like a dry plastic lute and some sweet vocal oohing reminiscent of Brian Eno’s fried-orchestral singing in Gavin Bryars’ ensemble “1,2, 1-2-3-4” make up some of this processional band." - Eric Chenaux on new album 'Fornalha'
Performing new work, “The Disruptive Forest” for solo bass clarinet.
Playing bass clarinet, various saxophones, and other unusual woodwind instruments Chris splits his time between the UK where he lives and Canada. He has toured internationally with Cold Specks, Timber Timbre, Guillemots, and Fyfe Dangerfield and regularly accompanies songwriters such as Little Annie, Baby Dee, Devon Sproule, and Edd Donovan. His practice extends from popular music to theatre, experimental and improvised performances and he has appeared on over sixty commercial recordings. Recently Chris has started to release a series of albums under his own name.
