Pedro Tudela native from Viseu, Portugal and now based in Porto is a many-sided artist with more than 20 years of trajectory in the plastic, audiovisual music field. He was creative of two programs of alternative music, founded the project multimedia Mute Life Dept. and he was Co-founder of the Crónica Electronica imprint and the multimedia project @c+Lia alongside Miguel Carvalhais and Lia and he's member of Beat Map Trio, also in company with Carvalhais and Joao Cruz. At the moment he is art teacher at the University of Porto and is hosting and exhibition 'Sobres' at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Serralves in Porto. He's last album 'Là Où Je Dors' [Crónica Electronica, 2003] has dose of minimalism, glitch and concrete music. Of his music and projects Pedro Tudela speaks to us in this interview that can be front door to know Portuguese artists. More info. at virose.pt/tudela and at cronicaelectronica

It has been a big surprise when I read in your discography that you participated as Free And... on the "Borderline" dark wave compilation released on the Simbiose portuguese label in the early 90's. Besides in the late 80's you were already graduated in fine arts, doing several exhibitions, author of two radio programmes, and later on founder of the Mute Life multimedia collective and member of Virose art collective. In what sense this background is a good approach in order to do your music? "All the stages of the work have their time and place in the background of the experience, the way one drives it also bears immediate and future consequences. The sound matter began to take shape by the time of my exhibition 'Mute… Life', that was when I decided to definitively introduce sound in my artistic projects. The outcome of this, besides the exhibition / installation, was a project of performance, soundtracks and other forms of close contacts between image and sound. Because it was a project that was born from a specific project, its name changed according to the action it developed. Later we concluded that naming the project as a department of its initial motivation - hence, Mute... Life Dept. - would be the most correct option. The music I produce today, either with the @c+Lia project or solo, is growing with the addition of all the background experiences and the conceptual connections to the plastic art's work. Sometimes I split both activities, but as I do not explore a schizophrenic atitude towards my work, or even a double or triple identity, I assume that all is connected and related and can be influenced or influence other works. In reality, since virose.pt, with it's artistic actions, until Crónica, with releases which cross connect different artists, collectives have been, so far, wonderful laboratories of work and life."

How did you get into electrónic music?

"My connection to electronic music began with a more or less contemplative attitude and grew through the enormous will of relating it with the musical practice. I shared it showing and choosing the radio shows, discussions and performances. With friends and machines it became possible to create, produce, and relate the contemplative attitude and thus make it become a finally active one."

Textures are a very important element in your music, like the 'Rasgao.aif' track on the 'On Paper' Crónica Electronica compilation [2003] when you take out some adhesive sticking on some cardboard.

"I never ignores concrete music, but I also never had a particular fondness towards the idea of composing it (connected or not with my artistic work). Curiously the outcome and the way most of my work sounds when embedded with audio can have some apparently formal relationships with concrete music, but in reality, that connection is not existing, neither technically, nor conceptually. My generation lived concrete music as a piece of recent history."

One of my favorites tracks of your album 'Là Où Je Dors' is 'Scarecrow'. It has a similar mood with Rapoon's music with its eastern culture feelings. The atmosphere in this cut is deep and very cinematic. Could you please explain us the dance choreography that inspired you specifically for this track?

"All dancers got together on stage trying to trigger actions and memories from all the cast. They crossed knowledges and experiences from dreams that grew into a big melting pot of suggestions and sensations. It is maybe the coreographical moment that is more united and loose at the same time... a strange relationship from one's personal identity, when one is sleeping. The cinematographic sensation one gets is maybe the inevitable relationship towards the origin of the sound in my work, that was always connected with the image!"

Could you please tell us about the new project you are involved?

"Besides several works with @c+lia (new cd 'v3' was just released in Crónica) and assorted exhibitions, I am just concluding a new project for the Contemporary Art Museum of Serralves, in Porto. It is called ‘Sobre’ and it's an installation that once again involves countless matters among which is also, obviously, the sound, as a fundamental piece of the work. Included in the same program I have scheduled a performance with AGF (Germany) and the release of a solo CD included in the exhibition catalogue."

Translated by MC