It is the work of an irreverent young man from the island of Faial, which mixes several sound components with contemporary traditional music. With a background in classical guitar at the conservatory of music and marketing, this musician's repertoire revisits several themes of the Azores for a more popular component. An experience that does not stop here. Pedro Lucas has a second album in the pipeline for release next year.
What is the concept behind this album?
Peter Lucas: It started with an Azorean who is the musician Carlos Medeiros. A couple years ago I returned to the Azores and watched a live concert of this musician and fell in love with the disc. I could hear it constantly and one day decided to play with one of the songs with the kind of musical language that I used at the time, the digital, with computers and synthesizers. I liked the first result of this experience I decided to revisit the album in full, hence the play with words. Throughout the process, has been adding other topics, in addition to the four original Carlos Medeiros songs, I researched many songbooks collections of traditional music Azores.
In undertaking this work did you had the notion that it would be innovative and therefore might not be well accepted?
PL: It was not groundbreaking; this kind of sounds has been reinvented by classical composers for centuries. I do not think I was creating a new concept. My approach already existed. I knew there would be traditionalists who would get a little upset with my work, but I also knew that a large majority also gets something from the traditional repertoire, works it's and gives it life so to speak.
What was the public acceptance, outside the islands?
PL: So far it has been great. I think the experience doesn't troubles me much parts from a traditional aspect to another universe that is popular music and it somehow helps. Whatever the origin, from Tras-os-Montes to the Algarve, the music always manages to say anything to the Portuguese, regardless of the region, because despite the specific nature, always reaches the people.
What is the next step, the concerts?
PL: The album was out in November of last year. Throughout 2011we played a bit of the country. We have been to Tavira from Santo Tirso. We were playing across the continent, but also played in Madeira and the Azores. The next step would be a complete concert. Make a small national tour, featuring special guests such as Carlos and Zeca Medeiros. Two musicians who perform with us always in the Azores, but there have been no opportunity to take them to the mainland. I am developing a new album, I want to debut in September of 2012.
This project also focuses on the musical repertoire Azores?
PL: Yes, but there is a question if I will address my other themes in the repertoire of traditional Portuguese and Madeira music, for example. The new songs that I'm revisiting are all of the Azores. I try to find other records of collections which did not have access at the time and have plenty of raw materials of good quality to develop.
Where do you find these records? You had some of them? They came from the family and you had access?
PL: No. The record of Carlos Medeiros, despite being difficult to access, is a relatively well-known musician in the traditional media. He has recorded with the brigade Victor Jara and played with other musicians. The record collection that I used on the first CD came to my hands through friends. It was one of nineties, a sound technician who went to the island of Terceira, Flores and Corvo to collect the traditional repertoire. Carlos Medeiros, in turn, lent me a record of Artur Santos, of the fifties, a musical collection that focused on the island of Sao Miguel. There is a very large collection in the Azores, from the 40's of Radio Club de Angra and the wings of the Atlantic. All have a rather large musical heritage that I still cannot access.
But you want to access this material to give you a better idea for this second album?
PL: No, for now I'll concentrate my attention on this work of Artur Santos but it is a small part. I will use canonical themes, say, the national musical world, I already know. Do not base my work on just one record. I am searching, researching. There is a possibility of working with collections that are current enough that are being recorded at this time, not by me but from others who are building a very large database, including not only audio but also in video. I am possibly going to do something about it. I search multiple sources.
