Portuguese polymath Nuno Rebelo is as prolific as he is revered. Exploring and innovating since the 80’s, the guitar player, sound explorer, improviser and composer has worked and collaborated in a multitude of projects across a range of fields and forms, including contemporary dance, theatre, cinema, installations and exhibitions.
This May Holuzam is set to release Improvisações Cristalizadas, a double hidden album recorded in 1989-90 which features 21 tracks that “convey a sense of investigative curiosity regarding computer composition”, as the press release describes. In a statement about the upcoming album, the label writes:
“Short electronic pieces composed in 1989-90 using the Atari 1040ST computer with Steinberg Pro24 Software, Two Yamaha Sound Modules (TX81ZX and TG55) and Ensoniq Mirage Sampler with keyboard. The composition method for each piece evolved from a short improvisation on the Mirage keyboard, recorded in MIDI to the computer. Counterpoint permutations (inversion, reversion, inverted reversion, transpositions) were then applied through the software, distributing the variations of the initial improvisation by other timbres. No other musical material was used.”
We’ll have to wait until May 5th for Improvisações Cristalizadas to be out but we can already hear a few transcending cuts on bandcamp. Here’s ‘Dança Das Creaturas Elásticas’ and ‘Tiny Space Ship’.