ARRE

Final Chapter

ARRE encloses the true essence of the collective’s musical aspirations.

This album presents a set of 10 themes, ranging from straightforward vocal polyphonic progressive traditional songs to lush, rich instrumental musical landscapes poised for cinematographical use.

Released in October 2022, it serves as a fair and righteous tribute to the band’s evolution over more than 20 years of musical togetherness, rehearsals, tours and concerts, and merrily wraps up this creational endeavour.

Towards the essence
ARRE is a closing album. However, it was not conceived as such.

It had been almost ten years since the 2006′ “Veículo Climatizado”. The band had significantly matured in defining its musical aesthetics while expanding its instrumental resourcefulness.

Although using traditional repertoire as a starting point, the musicians soon realized their music was being weaved in a Progressive loom. They did not feel bound to any influential constraint or genre restriction.

More often than not, initial ideas (much like patchwork) turned into long and vast soundtracks. Even though these wouldn’t work too well on stage, they would find their way into this album.

Each musician unleashed their multi-instrumental potential to the fullest, allowing the instruments to feature and not the musician that makes them sing. Since musical instruments don’t play themselves, musician and instrument merge into one.

After 20 years, much like a “library of sounds”, the musicians became comfortable knowing what to expect from each other. When someone suggested a mandolin, on everyone’s mind, they were already hearing Daniel. When a bouzouki sounded, Nuno was being heard. Gonçalo would shout through a bagpipe.

The band had come full circle.

arRE

arrefole
“ARRE”
Indie label, 2022

D. Pereira |  G. Cruz | J. Conceição | N. Flores | R. Ferreira

Production | Mix: Nuno Flores
Master: Helder Costa
Audio capture done by Helder Costa & Nuno Flores

All music composed, arranged & performed by arrefole

ITINERARY

Journeying through arrefole country…

For the collective, an album is always a journey. A musical voyage. A trip through the arrefole country. Each song is a stop. A point of interest. A town. A city. A scenery. A highlight. But this time, instead of the Metro, the listener travels in their own personal vehicle, self-paced, staying until pleased.

The journey starts at Pandeiro, a thriving historic town, now modern and upbeat, where you can sample most of the country’s musical delicacies.

Moving inland, you reach Weekend, a nomadic settlement where travellers usually stop to replenish themselves, relaxing during the day and feasting into the night. Make sure to stay for at least one entire weekend.

Not far away, and sitting on a blistering hot steep hillside overseeing a wide valley, is Calma. What are those voices? Echos of the medieval city that shelters in the shade.

At Maus Hábitos, you waltz into a cosy small town, young and fresh, where life is simple and merry, and you don’t sense the passing of time.

Upon reaching Azeitona, you find a rural yet electrifying village where thousands work the surrounding fields, labouring their way through orchards and olive trees. Make sure to try the sweet olive oil.

Approaching Passinhos Longos, you quickly sense leaving the countryside and moving into a groovy urban city with wide streets. Night follows day, as crowded pubs give away to calm, empty squares and early morning traffic.

At this point in the journey, you may need to swap your vehicle’s Rechargeable Battery. Please refer to your vehicle’s user manual.

Near the border, you find Murinheira, a joyful migrating community from Maus Hábitos, which evolved under the influence of its more urban and progressive surroundings.

After the border crossing, you might feel you are ending your journey. However, you must not leave without visiting Assim. This picturesque city re-enacts past battles that defined the course of the history of a long-forgotten nation. It is definitely worth it to stay for a few days and see what happens next.

Finally, and just a short drive away from Assim, you arrive at Arre. It might not seem like a typical town. Where are the houses, shops, and government buildings? Yes, Arre is just a civic centre, a town square. However, in this towering settlement, there is always talk and discussion in the public forum, allowing for just laws to be passed and consciences to be awakened.

Fernando Pessoa and Portugal

Fernando Pessoa is arguably the most celebrated Portuguese poet of the 20th century. “Álvaro de Campos” was one of his various heteronyms.
The author created an entire life for this alter-ego:
Born in Tavira (Portugal) on October 15th 1980, Álvaro de Campos would have studied mechanical engineering and finally graduated in naval engineering in Glasgow.

After a journey through Ireland, Campos sailed to the far East and wrote his poem “Opiário” in the Suez Canal.
He worked in England at “Barrow-in-Furness”, a town in Cumbria, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1922).

Unemployed, Campos returned to Lisbon in 1926, where he has lived ever since.

Since Pessoa never gave an end to the life of Campos, he would have survived the author, who passed in November 1935.

The  poem

Álvaro de Campos,
circa 1930

Arre, that so many are so few!
Arre, that so many beasts are so few people!
Arre, that the Portugal you see is just this!
Let it be seen the Portugal that they won’t let you see!
Let it be seen, that is the one
Portugal!
Period.

Now begins the Manifesto:

Arre!
Arre!

Listen here:
ARRRRRE!

Arre, que tanto é muito pouco!
Arre, que tanta besta é muito pouca gente!
Arre, que o Portugal que se vê é só isto!
Deixem ver o Portugal que não deixam ver!
Deixem que se veja, que esse é que é
Portugal!
Ponto.

Agora começa o Manifesto:

Arre!
Arre!

Oiçam bem:
ARRRRRE!

Arre is still current

Almost 100 years after, Pessoa’s exasperation, expressed in much of his work,  may still make sense when we think of Portuguese folk music today.

In fact, one may argue that European Folk music at large still suffers from a form of discrimination, that fortunately is no longer tolerated in most areas of our modern societies.

Traditional indigenous cultures and immaterial heritage have been protected under European Union law. However, mainstream media appears to paint across European countries and their regions, a picture of a homogenous globalized, monotone mosaic that simply is not true.

Farewell
Concert

Maia, 2022

At the Festival de Música Folk da Maia, the band made their final live performance, showcasing the new album while visiting old songs from their repertoire.

 

 

 

It served as a farewell concert and one last moment of fraternizing with their most faithful fans, sharing their music and memories of over 20 years of playing together.

Here are some highlights of the concert…

Antena 1 | National Radio Support

This album was supported by “Antena 1”, the Portuguese Public Radio Station, with the badge of  “Um disco Antena 1”.

It recognizes the collective’s career (since 2006) as one of the most influential bands of Portuguese contemporary folk music.

The band was invited for a 1h radio interview, where Nuno tour-guided the audience through most of the songs, sharing thoughts and trivia about how the album came to be. The interview was in Portuguese and you can hear it fully here.

International Portuguese Music Awards 2023 Nominee

The band was nominated for the International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) 2023 in the category “Traditional” with the song “Pandeiro”.

A great way of wrapping this project’s curriculum with another public and international recognition of the band’s musical quality and potential for worldwide broadcasting, as a fair representation of our culture, tradition and modernity.  

Pandeiro

by Arrefole | ARRE

O FIM?

A vida terrena é feita de experiências
De pensamentos.
De sentimentos.
De acções.
Experienciamos a dualidade
Para que ao voltar à unicidade
Nos deleitemos na sua magnificência.

A experiência acaba
Mas o sentimento fica.
Gravado na alma eterna.

A ilusão da separação
Perene neste mundo material
Esbate-se quando as almas se encontram.

As nossas encontram-se na Música
Em co-Criação Divina.
E os véus da ilusão desaparecem.
E somos novamente Um.

The end?

Earthly life is made of experiences
Of thoughts.
Of feelings.
Of actions..
We experience duality
Such that when returning to unity
We bask in its magnificence.

The experience ends
But the sentiment remains.
Carved in the eternal soul.

The illusion of separation
Perennial in this material plane
Fades when souls reunite.

Our souls unite in Music
In Divine co-Creation.
And the veils of illusion disappear.
And we are again One.