Part of a (very) loose but somewhat like-minded kaleidoscope where one can trace something like a Portuguese hauntology, centered around labels like Russian Library or Prisma Sonora Records, Alexandre Centeio joins Discrepant with the surefire release of Panorama. A multi-instrumentalist and sound artist based in Porto, Centeio -- who is also part of Stellarays and The Murmurous Playground -- delivers his second album under his own name after 2022's Movanta. Signaling a departure from the intimate synth driven beautifully soothing landscapes of Movanta while still working within a realm where space and memory play a significant part of both escapism and connection, Panorama opens itself up to a "surrealistic soundscape filled with real and dreamt sound," perfectly illustrated by Ruca Bourbon's artwork. A sonic fiction conjured from a variety of sources -- hand drums, disembodied voices, scraps of unknown realities, skewed loops, oneiric collages, flutes, spectral synths -- that float freely between disruption and continuity but within their own internal logic. A very particular and hallucinatory one at that. Collapsing notions of time and geography in an aural canvas totally aligned with Discrepant's ethos. Panorama indeed.
© 2021 bentcrayonrecords.com, llc.
