ambient / experimental
In the vast world of music, and mostly in its experimental regions, heaps of bands and artists go unnoticed by the general population. Only a handful of people go to their concerts and buy their albums while the press ignores them completely in favor of bands that everybody already knows. That where Merchants Of Air come in. We are bold enough to say that we are different. We are not "press". We are fans and we are explorers and apparently, the world is starting to realize that. I mean, when a band from the far south of Brazil reaches out to us to ask for a review because nobody else seems to care, we check it out immediately.
Amao Quartet is an electronic guitar quartet from Porto Alegre. Unlike a city like Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre only has a small underground music scene and an even smaller experimental/free jazz community. Yet, still there is talent to be found, talent that dares to do things differently, which is exactly what Amao Quartet does. On this album, they show four instrumental and (mainly) improved tracks where jazz, ambient and avant garde minimalism seem to go hand in hand. On first listen, you can indeed hear the organic nature of improvised music. Drones, soundscapes and noises make up most of the opener 'O.U.a.T.i.Po.A' and '0002'. The latter also comes up with strums, just to assure you that there are guitars at work.
The music is minimal and definitely not suited for people who want normal song structures - or sounds. Like I said, it's free jazz and you'll have to get used to it. I personally like closer 'Terremoto' the most. It differs from its predecessors by being a long drone ambient track with a gloomy atmosphere, which is obviously why it's my favorite. In all, this is an interesting first work from four people who like to think out of the box. I can only applaud that. I'm curious where Amao Quartet will end up on future releases but for now I recommend checking this out. It's a unique piece of music.
Serge
Amao Quartet is an electronic guitar quartet from Porto Alegre. Unlike a city like Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre only has a small underground music scene and an even smaller experimental/free jazz community. Yet, still there is talent to be found, talent that dares to do things differently, which is exactly what Amao Quartet does. On this album, they show four instrumental and (mainly) improved tracks where jazz, ambient and avant garde minimalism seem to go hand in hand. On first listen, you can indeed hear the organic nature of improvised music. Drones, soundscapes and noises make up most of the opener 'O.U.a.T.i.Po.A' and '0002'. The latter also comes up with strums, just to assure you that there are guitars at work.
The music is minimal and definitely not suited for people who want normal song structures - or sounds. Like I said, it's free jazz and you'll have to get used to it. I personally like closer 'Terremoto' the most. It differs from its predecessors by being a long drone ambient track with a gloomy atmosphere, which is obviously why it's my favorite. In all, this is an interesting first work from four people who like to think out of the box. I can only applaud that. I'm curious where Amao Quartet will end up on future releases but for now I recommend checking this out. It's a unique piece of music.
Serge
