Síria’s “Boa-Língua” reviewed by Neural

Boa-Língua in Portuguese literally means “good tongue”. This expression is often used in contrast to “bad tongue” that is “small talk”. For his second album Siria used structures of his former work, Cuspo. She used them as organising principle for the structure (9 songs in one sequence, the final one being a repetition) and length of the tracks, after collecting several different recordings of rehearsals. The whole result is a refined form of musicality, with the vocals in the foreground and a mix of various experiments. These might make us think of a world-music or ethnic approach, but they also display a passion for improvisation and electroacoustics. The repertoire of the album is made by different versions of traditional songs. They include a version of an Azeri song and two original versions, one in Turkish and the other in Portuguese, and two other unreleased songs where the vocal does not take the form of words. Within the catalogue of Crónica Electrónica, this production might seem atypical, but this independent media-label usually performs an elegant eclecticism. While listening, the different pieces of the puzzle come together. Later, the tracks were mastered by the specialist Miguel Carvalhais, who, along with Pedro Tudela, produced a remix of the second track, “Nos Montes”. That is not the only example of artistic convergence. “Canção do Gato” is a version of a song recorded by Tiago Pereira from A Música Portuguesa a Gostar Dela Própria. “Senhora dos Remédios” is a version of a song performed by Catarina Chitas and has a sample from Maile Colbert. “Belgian Shepherd” is a remix of a song by Rui P. Andrade from his album All Lovers Go To Heaven. “Ay Işığında” is a version of a song performed by Nərminə Məmmədova. “For Ghédalia” and “Boa-Língua” both have recordings from Los Niños Muertos, André Tasso and Bruno Humberto. Overall, this is a complex but lovable production, which a broader audience than the usual followers of electronicmusic and audio art can deeply appreciate. Aurelio Cianciotta

via Neural