IN CONVERSATION WITH: CARLA BOREGAS (RAKTA) and M. TAKARA ON THEIR LATEST ALBUM ‘LINHA D’ÁGUA’

Alongside their recent debut album "Linha D'Água" released by @ddesmontaa (Brazil) and Bokeh Versions (UK), Brazilian experimental psychedelic duo @carlaboregas and @mtakarara have been playing since 2018, creating a truly collaborative sound. Filled with more abstract improvisations that mix drums and percussion with synthesizers and electronic effects, the album "Linha D'Água" is the result of interactions at local gigs in Brazil on a 2019 tour.

"It's really about creating an initial atmosphere, but being open to going where it takes us"

Mauricio comes from the independent music scene in Sao Paulo, which was involved in punk and hardcore in the 90s. Mauricio began to develop his style. An explorer of rhythmic regions and tireless lover of electronics of all kinds, he plays drums/percussion in the bands Hurtmold, São Paulo Underground (with trumpeter Rob Mazurek from Chicago) and Rakta. He has performed at major festivals such as Sonar, SXSW, Saalfelden Jazz, Belgrade Jazz Festival, Club Transmediale, Jazz Fest Berlin, etc. Takara is a very prolific musician in the improvisational and experimental music scene of São Paulo.

Carla Boregas co-founded the cross-genre group Rakta in 2011, and since then has been very active in Brazil and abroad with several solo projects and collaborations in music and sound art, as well as music for dance and theater. She is also part of the transdisciplinary duo Fronte Violeta.

After meeting at Estudio FitaCrepe in Sao Paulo, where Carla was performing a drone piece, the two artists began going into the studio regularly.

"From then on, it's really about creating an initial atmosphere, but being open to where it takes us," Mauricio says.

Where did you guys meet and when did you decide to collaborate musically?

C: We met in São Paulo (our hometown) and decided to collaborate after Maurício saw me playing a drone piece at a Estudio FitaCrepe.

M: From there we started playing more and more regularly together , which grew into the duo we have now

Tell us a little bit about your musical backgrounds...

M: We both come from the independent music scene in São Paulo, which is somehow related to the punk/hardcore scene. In the late 90's I started playing with a lot of different artists and that really expanded the styles of music I was involved with.

How did you learn to improvise and what does that mean to you?

C: Coming from a self-taught background, I believe improvisation has always been a way to discover "the next step" in my artistic practice. A nice thing I heard these days from a neuroscientist about improvising together: "Making music together initiates social bonding through the release of oxytocin".

M: I think improvisation is at the core of pretty much all artistic creations, it's just that we often use it only as an exercise and not as an end in itself. I remember as a kid I loved to improvise while playing instruments.... This naturally became more and more important to me as a musical (and social) avenue. Improvising is a great way to meet and interact with other people without having to go through the time-consuming process of forming a band, rehearsing, and everything else, which is also great. Improvising is a great way to know and communicate to other people without having to go through the more time demanding process of making a band, rehearsals and everything, which is great too. I also think when you improvise you really need to be present and listening at the moment, which is a great exercise.

Are there any specific movements or eras in music history that inspire you?

C: There’s a lot. But I’d say that the present inspires me more.

M: I think pretty much all eras have inspiring music. But yeah, just listening to what’s happening now is always the biggest motivation…

'Linha D'Água' reminds me a bit of ambient music and the drums slowly sneak into the music and then the electronic music sneaks into the drums. The dynamic changes from song to song and yet has a distinct feel to it where you both seem to bring in music that fits perfectly. Can you give us a tour of the album?

C: After playing live for 2 years, mostly improvising, we decided to go to the studio and record. So Linha D’Água is the result of these 2 years of practice and sharing.

M: The album came a lot from playing live and improvising over miniature ideas. We recorded it pretty much in a “live in studio” situation which reinforced even more that feel[ing]. It’s really about creating an initial atmosphere but being open to go wherever it takes us.

Do you have a particular listening situation in mind for this album? In my opinion, if you take your time and give the album and the music space, there is a lot to discover. In general, I think it has a very specific and unique flow that keeps you focused on the music. Was that something you had in mind?

C: All the record process was kind of a flow. So I think this makes the record feel like it too. It was first released in digital format at DESMONTA on the first day of quarantine in Brazil. We felt quite weird about releasing an album in the middle of a worldwide crisis. But in the end I think this album can be a good companion for private moments at home.

There are foley's in it. The water Linha d'Água. This is Fantastic !!!! Do you record it yourself and is there a symbolic meaning in the saying of Linda d'Agua?

C: We recorded it in the studio, actually one day I arrived home and I was playing the melody of this song and Mauricio was grabbing some water. And he said that water sounds will fit this. Linha D´Àgua (that can be translated as Water Line) was a name that I already had in my mind before we did the record, meaning many different things It can be the eye line, the horizon with the sea, but I also like to think that a water line is a border/division where fluidity occurs and things mix. In a way it connects with the processes of this album, in most of the songs Mauricio plays the drums and triggers the sounds that I manipulate on the synthesizer, blurring the division between who plays what.

One last question. How is the recording going? Are you working in the same studio or are you doing it overdub?

C : We just finished the recordings of what will be our second album. We went to record at the same studio (El Rocha) and mostly did it live with few overdubs.

M: The new record was a little more composed at home and in practice spaces because it was mostly done during the pandemic. But the recording process was very similar to Linha d’ Água.

What book are you reading at the moment that you can recommend to us? We at NSNS read a lot.

C: Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino :)

M: “Your brain on music” by Daniel Levitin , and “Quarto de despejo” by Carolina Maria de Jesus

What's next for the two of you? Will you be touring with the album this summer?

C: We’ll be spending the next following months in Berlin and playing some concerts around Europe.

M: Hit us up if you want to book us ;)