Impressoes De Varias Ilhas (Recordings From Macaronesia) [LP]

Goncalo F. Cardoso - Impressoes De Varias Ilhas (Recordings From Macaronesia) [LP]

After impressions of Unguja and Borneo islands, Discrepant's chieftain Gonçalo F. Cardoso continues his sonic travelogue on insularity with Impressões de Várias Ilhas. Literally translated as "impressions from various islands," this third tome dwells on recordings and inspirations from three archipelagos of Macaronésia. Soaking in the sounds and recollections from Azores, Cape Verde and Canary Islands these diaristic endeavors spread throughout a number of real environments, from water caves and black stone beaches and lagoons to small harbors and everyday life scenarios, to project them into this not quite imaginary but not quite real memory haze that goes from a deeply personal impression to a resonating one. Melding raw field recordings with processed ones and synthesized landscapes, Cardoso never falters into sonic tour-ism, conjuring small-ish takes both vivid and dreamy, infused with a sense of wonder that feels both bewildering, com-forting and escapist. The breaking waves of "Bufadeiros de São Vicente" soothing in their irregular pattern, mingling with the lone echoing tones not completely removed from Black Dice's "Beaches & Canyon's" most pensive passages, flow into the underwater ambience and suspended pads of "La Cueva Scuba Livre," as reflections of the same sea crashing in on different lands, nature's psychogeography. Further on, the queasy warm chord and scraping murmurs of "Noite em Rabo de Peixe" mirror their nighttime framing while "Rãs em Xoxo" veers closer to pure musique concréte, crossed by a subdued feeling of unease that lingers in the nostalgia of "Cozido da Caldeira Velha," brimming within the haze of a Boards of Canada vignette. Summoning the past lives and future hauntings of its scenery, "Salinas de Pedra Lume" is like the quiet epic of the album, meandering into the unknown among crackling field recordings, decaying synths and flute-like howls -- or is it howl-like flutes? -- recurring as glimpses from foregone existences, not necessarily Gonçalo's own. 01. Bufadeiros de São Vicente (São Vincente, Cabo Verde)_x000D_ 02. La Cueva Scuba Libre (La Gomera, Canarias)_x000D_ 03. Chá da Gorreana (São Miguel, Açores)_x000D_ 04. Noite em Rabo De Peixe (São Miguel, Açores)_x000D_ 05. Pardelas - Dueto (La Gomera, Canarias)_x000D_ 06. Rãs em Xoxo (Santo Antão, Cabo Verde)_x000D_ 07. El Chat Gracioso (La Graciosa, Canarias)_x000D_ 08. Cozido na Caldeira Velha (São Miguel, Açores)_x000D_ 09. Salinas de Pedra Lume ( Sal, Cabo Verde)_x000D_ 10. Noche en Punta Brava (Tenerife, Canarias)_x000D_ 11. A Lagoa do Combro (São Miguel, Açores)_x000D_ 12. Piedras Húmedas en Castro (Tenerife, Canarias)_x000D_ 13. Digestão nas Furnas (São Miguel, Açores)_x000D_ 14. O Peixe tá Congelado (Santo Antão, Cabo Verde)