Limosa limosa

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS690, Lisbon 2020

1. I - 47'06''

IKB

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola

Miguel Mira - Cello

Hernâni Faustino - Double Bass

Bruno Parrinha - Clarinet & Bass Clarinet

Nuno Torres - Alto Saxophone

Maria Radich - Voice

Abdul Moimême - Electric Guitar & Objects

Carlos Santos - Computer

João Valinho - Percussion & Piano

André Abreu - Drums

Recorded November 2020, Lisbon

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/limosa-limosa

Reviews

This time IKB appears as a tentet, maybe limited due to the covid restrictions? I do not know, but music is even more convincing: the usual dominance of alternative sounds and fake music, is replaces by a wonderfully peaceful co-existence with clearly identifiable acoustic and electric sounds generated by the members of the tentet. The track last 47 minutes and builds up the drama and tension slowly and gradually, to become quite expressive and emotional in the final parts. The final final is actually  wonderfully quiet and delicate. Wonderful music, c'est ça!!!. Maciej Lewenstein

IKB, a ten-piece reductionist electroacoustic ensemble of strings, reeds, guitar, computer, percussion, piano, drums & objects, continues their exploration of exotic animal species with this 2020 live performance at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon, Portugal, detailing the long-billed shore bird Limosa through intricate, restrained and remarkable expression. Squidco

Helium

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS689, Lisbon 2020

1. I - 43'41''

ISOTOPE ENSEMBLE

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola

Miguel Mira - Cello

Luis Vicente - Trumpet

Paulo Chagas - Flute & Oboe

Bruno Parrinha - Clarinet & Bass Clarinet

Nuno Torres - Alto Saxophone

José Lencastre - Alto Saxophone

Luis Lopes - Acoustic Guitar

Jorge Nuno - Acoustic Guitar

Abdul Moimême - Electric Guitar & Objects

Tiago Varela - Fan Organ

Carlos Santos - Synthesizer & Computer

André Abreu - Drums

Recorded November 2020, Lisbon

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/helium

Reviews

Recorded, similarly as "Limosa limosa" of IKB,  by Miguel Azguime in November 2020 at O'Culto da Ajuda during the CSFest XIV. The Isotope Ensemble consists this time of 13 musicians, so has a, more or less, standard size. The personnel is notable for including, in addition to usual suspects,  such stars like Luís Vicenre, José Lencastre, and 

Luís Lopes. The nearly 44 minutes long track starts very quietly with long, minimalistic phrases. Slowly the whole ensemble rises like the sun in a forest. the fragmented  sound come from all sides: they can be identifies more or less, but they build as a whole an effect of XXIst century symphonic, orchestral music, filling the whole space, the whole universe. In the middle one can hear a beautiful conversation of the reeds and the trumpet. Both guitars do amazing. stupendous job. In the final part Luís Vicente has his time, creating absolutely incredible effects with the trumpet. The following alto statements by José and Nuno are also magisterial. Another masterpiece from the Rodrigues factory, no better to say exclusive manufacture! Maciej Lewenstein

With an ensemble of adept improvisers including Luis Vicente on trumpet, Nuno Torres, Jose Lencastre and Bruno Parrinha on reeds, Luis Lopes on guitar, &c, Creative Sources leader and violist Ernesto Rodrigues' Isotope Ensemble examines the element "Helium" in a monumental 44-minute electroacoustic improvisation recorded live at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon. Squidco

Immobility and Movement (bonus tracks)

Creative Sources Recordings – CS DIGITAL, Lisbon 2020

1. Trio 1 - 08'09''

2. Trio 4 - 08'36''

Bertrand Denzler - Tenor Saxophone

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola

Abdul Moimême - Electric Guitar & Objects

Recorded June 2019, Lisbon
Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/immobility-and-movement-bonus-tracks

Reviews

Musique Placide

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS688, Lisbon 2020

UNE OMBRE DU BONHEUR

le silence parfait

profond et solitaire

d'un langage mystérieux

par élans envolé

le chaud rayon endormi

d'une douce verdure

coule sur le ruisseau

enlacé au brouillard

parmi le vent étonné

serein, humble et tendre

une étrange chorégraphie

s’inclina sous ses pas

(pause)

au-delà des mers inconnues

je démarre mon vol de nouveau

là bas, sous le ciel anonyme

le rayon effleure sa couleur

Ernesto Rodrigues, July 2020

1. Une ombre du bonheur - 36'43''

STRING THEORY

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola 

Maria do Mar - Violin

Miguel Mira - Cello

Yu Lin Humm - Cello

Miguel Ivo Cruz - Viola da Gamba

Bernardo Alvares - Double Bass

Luisa Gonçalves - Piano 

Carlos Santos - Zither & Objects

Luis Lopes - Acoustic Guitar

Flak - Acoustic Guitar

Pedro Bicho - Acoustic Guitar

Abdul Moimême - 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Banjo & Objects

Recorded November 2020, Lisbon

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/musique-placide

Reviews

Recorded by Miguel Azguime in November 2020 at O'Culto da Ajuda during the Creative Sources Festival XIV, is for me the most beautiful and equilibrated album of String Theory. As always there is only one track, "Une ombre du bonheur", lasting this time 37 minutes.  The music was inspired by the poem of Ernesto of the same title, "Une hombre du bonheur”. Maciej Lewenstein

The 8-piece String Theory ensemble directed by violist Ernesto Rodrigues performs a beautiful and subtle work inspired by a poem written by Rodrigues, "Une Ombre Du Bonheur", realized through viola, violin, cellos, viola de gamba, double bass, piano, zither and objects, a stunningly beautiful and deceptively tranquil work of exceptional detail and dexterous execution. Squidco

Immobility and Movement

CD - Creative Sources Recordings – CS679, Lisbon 2020

1. I - 36'02''

2. II - 19'28''

Bertrand Denzler - Tenor Saxophone

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola

Abdul Moimême - Electric Guitar & Objects

Recorded June 2019, Lisbon
Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/immobility-and-movement

Reviews

An exquisite and mysterious album of free improvisation merging acoustic and subtle electroacoustic elements, from the trio of Bertrand Denzler on tenor saxophone, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Abdul Moimeme on electric guitar & objects, recording in the studio for this extensive work in four parts that transitions between moments of transfixing sound and cautious motion. Squidco

"Immobility and Movement" has a similar concept: it is a trio with Ernesto and Abdul "supporting" a tenor saxophonist, Bertrand Dentzler. It is indeed to some extend

true, but the album is in fact more balanced: the contributions of the tenor, the viola and the electric guitar are on equal footing. In this sense the music is more globally organizing soundscapes and the end effect is more novel and exploratory: a XXIst century free improvised John Cage/Giacinto Scelsi music... Maciej Lewenstein

The use of speech to outline unorthodox acoustic processes has turned into an authentic constraint for this writer. As decades pass through recordings and performances that capitalize on the less explicit attributes of timbre, one grows an immediate awareness of implications that remain unique depending on the subject's susceptibility. In practice, certain sounds provide answers to questions that were never really asked because, to some extent, we had guessed that the primary universal laws revolve around the varying vibrational combinations of matter.

What's truly useful to say to someone who might not detect what you just detected? One must be prepared for something that is there in evidence, but which many refuse to acknowledge. However, those who are into substance simply keep probing the ground (or rather, the air), using an instrument for emissions that disclose the presence of a pulsating core. Bertrand Denzler (tenor sax), Ernesto Rodrigues (viola) and Abdul Moimême (electric guitar and objects) belong in this field of instrumental connection. What they engendered here is a spirit>body>sound cascade that yielded results worthy of profound respect.

Aided by the very title we identify a consistency with what happens at various levels of interplay, including the focus of the involved parties. We clearly envision the immense potential that simmers within the human envelope, while also noticing the oscillation of dynamics from near-zero to serendipitous intensities. What the three manage to elaborate when their telepathic conjunction occurs is nothing short of remarkable. This improvisation comprises countless hints of intuitive comprehension, embellished by nuances of resonance sometimes inscrutable, elsewhere absolutely transparent. Music of subtle conflicts disseminated across a beautiful togetherness, explicating a modicum of knowledge as the freedom of spontaneousness is left to those who hate finely articulated platitudes.

The painful realization that it is impossible to express and do much more than time allows often causes a stasis of action. This stagnation may save precious mental energies, yet it is still dangerous, as it can lead to a lengthy standstill of the entire system. Restoring the fighting stance, in that case, is an arduous task. In such challenging moments for the maintenance of the inner balance, an album like Immobility And Movement is a small lifesaver. It needs tranquility, but it stimulates activity. Massimo Ricci (The Squid’s Ear)