Gaiteiros de Lisboa
Bocas do Inferno
Farol Musica (Portugal)

Gaiteiros de Lisboa start with an interesting conceit, since there are traditionally no "bagpipers of Lisbon" save for themselves. This band is obsessed with the sound of the wind, from the human voice and ancient reeds and flutes, to modern saxophones and industrial-designed instruments of their own concoction. To this they add the drone of the sanfona (hurdy gurdy), local and African percussion and a hunger for pure music, no matter where it takes them. Much of the music on Bocas do Inferno has roots in the vocal traditions of Portugal, with rich, thundering male voices carrying the melodies, tambor rhythms making it dance and a whoosh of bagpipes and reeds that give it both a Medieval feel and an otherworldly confusion.

"Tragulo Magulo"

The Gaiteiros do not seek to be protectors of the tradition. They revel in the disassembling of old songs, the revitalization of the old ways (only logical since the essence of the 'old ways' was one of constant reinvention) and the expression of the personal above all else. They are as much pranksters as artists, looking to unnerve the listener with both visual and aural oddities, whether it's an instrument made of plumbing pipe and household junk or a herky-jerky rendition of Sousa's "Washington Post March" for trumpet, reeds, pipe organ and kazoo. They can be ominous, offering a musical foreboding of bad times ahead, and then just as despair takes hold, they blast out a dance tune that would save the world. On the cusp of the century, they are finding new things to say without abandoning their homestead. - CF

Contact the band: [email protected]