{"product_id":"joao-pimenta-gomes-dois-desertos-new-vinyl","title":"Joao Pimenta Gomes - Dois Desertos (New Vinyl)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecorded in a single day, the album emerged spontaneously during the artist’s stay in Los Angeles, free from a set agenda or preconceived plan. Released by the independent label \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAmor In Sound\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the nine-track record unfolds through a dreamlike soundscape, offering an outsider’s perspective on the metropolis—one that observes the city without the urgency to belong, instead remaining open to its rhythms, textures, and vibrations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThis album was made with a great deal of freedom, guided by encounters. What you hear is a record of what happened in that moment\u003c\/em\u003e,” the artist explains. Produced by Mario Caldato Jr., and featuring musicians Abe Rounds (drums and percussion) and Gabe Noel (double bass and cello), \u003cstrong\u003eDois Desertos\u003c\/strong\u003e offers listeners simple scores, some of them built solely around written harmony.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eThe mixing, also performed live by Caldato Jr., follows the same spirit, with effects and levels shaped in real time and captured directly onto a final two-track master. The cristal baschet, chosen as the project’s central instrument, plays a key role in defining its sonic character. Through manual friction that causes glass rods to resonate against metal plates, producing a sound the artist describes as “\u003cem\u003ea trail, almost like a shadow,\u003c\/em\u003e” the instrument takes on a supporting role, while the double bass and cello carry the melodies. These alternate between original compositions and, in certain cases, passages drawn from traditional fado, approached with an open-ended sensibility. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eInitially conceived under the title Eagle Rock—a reference to the location of the recording studio—the album would eventually take on broader conceptual dimensions. “\u003cem\u003eThe desert is a very beautiful and visual place. Simply saying the word transports us there. It is something you can see, but it also carries the idea of emptiness, a horizon you can never reach, an idea of utopia\u003c\/em\u003e,” João explains. “\u003cem\u003eIn the music I make, this utopia is important. There isn’t exactly a conclusion to the album; it is something that remains in development.\u003c\/em\u003e” In this sense, his new songs unfold as a cohesive whole, with the ultimate reward of listening lying in the possibility of drifting freely and surrendering to the experience. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eInspired by everything a major city can offer in terms of sound and image, \u003cstrong\u003eJoão Pimenta Gomes\u003c\/strong\u003e also draws on cinematic references as he develops this path. The external gaze that shapes \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDois Desertos\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is informed by films such as \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Model Shop\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, directed by French filmmaker Jacques Demy and released at the turn of the 1970s, as well as the essay film \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Plays Itself\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, by Thom Andersen, released in 2003. Both works examine the ways in which the city reveals itself and its atmosphere—whether as an anonymous backdrop or when the city itself becomes the focus. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e“\u003cem\u003eComing from Europe, my impression of Los Angeles is very specific. There is a utopian vision of what the city is supposed to be and of how the people who pass through it live,\u003c\/em\u003e” João says. “\u003cem\u003eThis album engages with cultural references and with the confrontation experienced by someone arriving here for the first time. It is something you see from a distance, and that idea can be very expressive. What interests me is continuing to reflect on what is utopian and how it can be made tangible\u003c\/em\u003e.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eCoinciding with the album’s release, \u003cstrong\u003eJoão Pimenta Gomes\u003c\/strong\u003e will also open his new exhibition, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew Age\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, on October 1 at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon. Conceived as an extension of the ideas explored in the album, the exhibition marks his second presentation at the institution. “\u003cem\u003eThe connection between the exhibition and this album is that both stem from the same instrument, the crystal baschet, and from the same studio practice. In the exhibition, I use the metal ‘petals’ to play with vocal sounds and to perform a new piece I am composing. Everything revolves around this instrument, taking the cristal baschet apart in both contexts,\u003c\/em\u003e” he explains. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eIn the end, \u003cstrong\u003eJoão Pimenta Gomes’\u003c\/strong\u003e new LP offers an immersive listening experience, revealing a more exploratory side of his work while also reflecting the vision of the Amor in Sound record label, which seeks to release original projects in dialogue with different languages of music and contemporary art. Moving between improvisation and composition, between the tangible experience of a city and the image of it shaped from afar, \u003cstrong\u003eDois Desertos\u003c\/strong\u003e transforms encounters and perceptions into sound, remaining open to shifts in perspective and the possibilities of interpretation with each listen. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forced Exposure","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52861891510503,"sku":"AIS-006","price":49.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0094\/8718\/8015\/files\/Joao-Pimenta-Gomes-Dois-Desertos-New-Vinyl.jpg?v=1792296243","url":"https:\/\/www.sonicboommusic.com\/products\/joao-pimenta-gomes-dois-desertos-new-vinyl","provider":"Sonic Boom Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}