Composer, teacher, and performer, working mainly at the intersection between acoustic and electronic instruments - Daniel Martinho is in the spotlight at mic.pt in December.
Read more
Upon first listening, two characteristics are noticeable in Time Poem #1 and #2: an emphasis on rhythm and a kind of timbral hybridism, in which the boundaries between instruments and electronics are blurred.
Although this emphasis on rhythmic, metric, and timbral aspects is common in Carlos Guedes' music, it manifests itself differently in the two pieces. The first uses the so-called “Risset rhythms,” explored by composer Jean-Claude Risset; these are rhythms that create the illusion that the tempo is constantly accelerating or decelerating (in Time Poem #1, the effect is accelerando).
The second piece explores the so-called “Euclidean rhythms,” theorized by Godfried Toussaint (2005); in these rhythms, the attacks are distributed as evenly as possible across a given metric grid, often producing rhythms that are almost (but not entirely) regular.
Timbral hybridism is particularly evident in the second piece, in which synthetic sounds merge and blend with instrumental sounds, often making it difficult for the listener to determine whether what they are hearing is acoustic or electronic.
The pieces reveal affinities with different styles and languages. On a more superficial level, they may recall Steve Reich—but how could this be avoided with marimbas playing ostinatos in diatonic harmony? A more subtle reference is to 1970s progressive rock, an allusion suggested by the timbres of analog synthesizers, as well as by certain gestures that evoke rock riffs.
Moreover, this exploration of “old” synthetic sounds (also linked to science fiction films of the 1950s and 1960s) is associated with an aesthetic that the composer himself calls “retro-futuristic” and which can be heard in recent electronic compositions such as The Infected City and In Search of a New Hope (2020).
An even more important influence is that of certain non-European music. Not only are Euclidean rhythms typical of African, Afro-Cuban, and Brazilian music, but both pieces also consciously explore rhythmic aspects of Carnatic music (from southern India).
A professor at New York University Abu Dhabi since 2013, Carlos Guedes works daily in an extremely multicultural musical context. In his own words, he has sought to “evolve musically by absorbing and better understanding aspects of other cultures.”
