Portuguese composer Tiago Sousa’s 33 minutes of Samsara take us down an aural passageway through life to death to rebirth to life to death to rebirth, each milestone audible in delicate upper-register phrases or left-hand block chords or accelerating swells through emotional ivory territories.
Tiny Mix Tapes
The delicate melodic opening of “Samsara II” demonstrates Sousa’s ability to write and perform phrases that might appeal to mass audiences. Even though he doesn’t stay in this arena for long, the un-damage is done, and one begins to listen with new ears. Sousa rises to a flourish and descends to a lilt, imitating the cycle. Mid-piece, he nearly stops. There’s plenty of time to complete the journey, or no time at all, or time has no relevance. Sousa toys with momentum and tempo in such a fashion as to draw the listener close. Can anything new be said with the same 88 keys? Apparently, yes.
Richard Allen, A Closer Listen
Sophisticated and emotive solo piano composition. Portuguese composer and pianist Tiago Sousa follows his 2011 album Walden Pond’s Monk with his first solo piano record: Samsara. While Walden Pond’s Monk featured Sousa on piano accompanied by clarinet and percussion players, Samsara allows the playing of Sousa to take center stage. Samsara is an intricate record, built on a complex narrative that’s anchored on this oriental philosophical concept – a bold and emotive piece that stands through its carefully managed balance between opposites.
Boomkat
A beginning observation would be that this music is very filmic—dark, reflective, reminiscent of Erik Satie at times, but somehow more free and intuitive. Sousa’s piano melodies weave in and out of the piece like inner thoughts flowing in a natural setting, and he mimics this beloved state remarkably well—some ideas fleeting, some latched onto and developed for however long, then discarded.
Foxydigitalis, Travis Bird
What is pertinent throughout Sousa’s playing is his talent for melodic curveballs fusing with speeded up/slowed down piano power, forced towards the clouds and cutting through to space. The only thing keeping these melodies down is the inherent gravity, and confluence of ideas, making sense before realms of post-listening philosophy.
Fluid Radio
Another one of those incredible records that appears out of nowhere and absolutely floors us – housed in a sublime vinyl edition printed up in an extremely limited run – fans of Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick, Rachels, Max Richter or The Necks – DO NOT MISS!!!!!
Boomkat
With Insonia, Tiago Sousa cements his place as one of the most distinct voices to emerge out of the current wellspring of piano driven minimalism.
The Silent Ballet, Andrew Whitaker
Walden Pond’s Monk is a quietly crafted and affecting appreciation of Henry David Thoreau built mainly around Sousa’s understated and fluid approach to solo piano work, complemented by the clarinet of Ricardo Ribeiro and the percussion of Baltazar Molina
The Liminal, Matt Poacher
Tracks like “Pendulo” owes a great deal to the minimalism of Satie while the liberal use of the sustaining pedal on trawling arpeggios in “Reflexo” also pays its dues to the French masters of the time. For the most part though, Sousa is a success in telling a narrative in his own musical language. (…)
Towards the end of Walden, Thoreau concludes on the essential drive in man to break away from the pack: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
And it’s clear that Sousa keeps to his own pace, independent from any current thought on how the music industry ought to work.
Icrates, Arjun Harindranath
Tiago Sousa é um dos músicos mais originais do nosso tempo. Em Samsara, parte da ideia da filosofia budista para, entregue ao piano, pela primeira vez a solo, prosseguir o seu percurso de descoberta. Manifesto íntimos trespassado pelas convulsões do presente.
Mário Lopes, Ipsilon
Com edição da Immune Recordings, Walden Pond’s Monk, compost sob influência directa do idealismo e espírito revolucionário do poeta, pensador e filósofo Henry David Thoreau, Tiago Sousa está onde devia estar: a escrever música complexa mas com resultados que espelham uma enorme beleza e inteligência na composição
André Gomes, Bodyspace
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Transhumance on YouFM
11-11-2013
Interview with Portuguese piano composer Tiago Sousa, who will be presenting his album “Samsara”
Listen [eng]
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apARTES
1-10-2013
A alma musical de Tiago Sousa esteve sempre dividida entre o improviso próprio de um artífice autodidacta, de rédeas livres, e o pragmatismo técnico de um executante culto nos ideários eruditos. [LER]
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Tiny Mix Tapes
21-06-2013
I lean back and let this one float over me — solo piano, hovering somewhere between dissonance and enlightenment,
Read [eng]
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iCrates
30-05-2013
There is birth, there is death and then there is rebirth. Tiago Sousa comes full circle with his latest LP; the solo-piano tone poem Samsara.
Read [eng]
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A closer listen
08-05-2013
Can anything new be said with the same 88 keys? Apparently, yes.
Read [eng]
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Esec TV
01-05-2013
Reportagem sobre concerto em Coimbra
Ver [pt]
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Fluid Radio
05-2013
The rock solid grooves of Tiago Sousa’s “Samsara” never get placated far from improvisation in its purest form.
Read [eng]
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Boomkat
04-2013
Sophisticated and emotive solo piano composition.
Red [eng]
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Portugália
23-04-2013
Entrevista de Henrique Amaro
Ouvir [pt]
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Canal 180
04-2013
Criadores.
Ver [PT]
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Ad Hoc
04-2013
Immune Recordings is one of the most eclectic and unsung experimental labels to emerge in the last decade.
Read [eng]
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Experimedia
06-04-2013
A rich, penetrating silence can give instruments a clean canvas to work upon, but if illuminated properly it can also create nuanced tension and give an unmistakable depth to recordings.
Read [eng]
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Disco Digital
04-2013
Tiago Sousa entrega-se à filosofia oriental num álbum de relação com o piano em que desconstrói o ciclo natural de vida.
Ler [pt]
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Diário de Notícias
03-04-2013
O profundo intimismo do piano de Tiago Sousa
Ler [pt]
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BandCom
30-03-2013
Tiago Sousa @ Gallery Hostel: REPORTAGEM
Ler [pt]
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Santos da Casa
14-03-2013
Entrevista no Santos da Casa, RUC
Ouvir [pt]
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Ponto Alternativo
10-03-2013
Tiago Sousa levou ao Laboratório Chimico as suas experiências. Resultando disso, uma apresentação imaculada e emocionante de “Samsara”.
Ler [pt]
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Flur
09-03-2013
Music Store Mailing List
Ler [pt]
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Ípsilon
09-03-2013
A Voz que se Liberta deste Piano
Ler [pt 01 02]
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Actual
09-03-2013
A Chave da Utopia
Ler [pt 01 02 03]
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Bodyspace
09-03-2013
Um piano aberto ao mundo.
Ler [pt]
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Ponto Alternativo
09-03-2013
Samsara polariza ideias dicotómicas
Ler [pt]
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Público On Line
08-03-2013
O piano de Tiago Sousa na rota de “Samsara”
Video [pt]
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Antena 1
08-03-2013
O piano de Tiago Sousa na rota de “Samsara”
Ouvir [pt]
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Mesa de Mistura
08-03-2013
A nossa vida está nas mãos de Tiago Sousa
Ler [pt]
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Diário de Notícias
08-03-2013
Tiago Sousa sem medo do desconhecido
Ler [pt]
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Jazz World Quest
01-03-2013
Webzine
Read [eng]
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Diário de Notícias
14-07-2012
Article about Coro das Vontades
Read [pt]
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Jornal I
14-07-2012
Article about Coro das Vontades
Read [pt]
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Ípsilon
13-07-2012
Article about Coro das Vontades
Read [pt]
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iCrates
12-07-2012
Review on Insónia
Read [eng]
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DIF Magazine
July 2012
Article about Coro das Vontades
Read [pt]
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Jornal Pedal
April-2012
Cicleculture magazine
read [pt]
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Ponto Alternativo
22-03-2012
Music webzine
read [pt]
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Lisbon Cycle Chic
16-03-2012
Cicleculture Site
read [pt]
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Público
17-02-2012
Article about Coro das Vontadse
read [pt]
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Diário Digital
16-01-2012
Article about Coro das Vontadse
read [pt]
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The Liminal
28-09-2011
Review on The Liminal
read [eng]
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Toca e Foge
28-07-2011
Toca e Foge dedicado ao disco Walden Pond’s Monk
ver [pt]
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Bodyspace
15-06-2011
Review on Walden Pond’s Monk
ler [pt]
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Canal 180
16-05-2011
Magazine
ver [pt]
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Bodyspace
15-05-2011
Entrevista por Nuno Catarino
Ler [pt]
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Elle
05-2011
entrevista por Inês Fonseca Santos
ler [pt]
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Ípsilon
29-04-2011
Artigo por Gonçalo Frota ler [pt]
Review por Gonçalo Frota ler [pt]
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Audiodrome
25-04-2011
Review by Fabrizio Garau
read [it]
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Foxydigitalis
25-04-2011
Review by Travis Bird
read [eng]
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Disco Digital
19-04-2011
Review de Davide Vasconcelos
ler [pt]
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Expresso
16-04-2011
Review de Ricardo Saló
ler [pt]
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Sound N Vision
14-04-2011
review a Walden Pond’s Monk por Nuno Galopim
ler [pt]
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Diário de Notícias
09-04-2011
review de João Moço a Walden Pond’s Monk
ler [pt]
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Ponto Alternativo
06-04-2011
Reportagem sobre o Clubbing de dia 2 de Abril, Casa da Música
ler [pt]
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Diário de Notícias
02-04-2011
Reportagem sobre Walden Pond’s Monk por João Moço
ler [pt]
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Canal q – A Rede
31-03-2011
reportagem sobre walden pond’s monk, ver [pt]
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Jornal I
26-03-2011
reportagem, ler [pt]
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Ípsilon
25-03-2011
Destaque concerto de Lançamento de Walden Pond’s Monk
ler [pt]
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Câmara Clara
25-03-2011
diário câmara clara, ver [pt]
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Ponto Alternativo
22-03-2011
entrevista, ler [pt]
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Fala Com Ela, Rádio Radar
17-03-2011
Entrevista a Inês Meneses
Ouvir [pt]
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Discofonia, Rádio Europa
14-03-2011
Entrevista a Mafalda Costa, programa Discofonia (Rádio Europa)
Primeira Parte
Segunda Parte
[pt]
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Blitz
03-2011
Review on Walden Pond’s Monk
Ler [pt]
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Ípsilon
26-11-2010
Reportagem sobre o Barreiro
Ler [pt]
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A Rede (Canal Q)
18-10-2010
Entrevista de Ana Markl
Ver [pt]
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Ípsilon
15-10-2010
Notícia sobre o novo disco
Ler [pt]
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Echo Online
23-05-2010
Oettinger Villa concert’s Review
Read [De]
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Popnews
15-05-2010
Les Concerts du Séptieme Ciel; concert at Paris review
read [fr]
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Feedback Música
20-02-2010
Review ao concerto do Teatro Maria Matos
Ler [pt]
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Diário de Notícias
22-02-2010
Review ao concerto do Teatro Maria Matos
Ler [pt]
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The Silent Ballet, Webzine
28-02-2010
Insónia Review
Read [eng]
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Rádio Europa – www.radioeuropa.fm
15-02-2010
Entrevista para o programa Discofonia
ouvir > 1ª parte / 2ª parte [pt]
(para download, se n conseguirem fazer stream, clicar com o botão direito do rato e escolher “Save Link As”)
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Fluid Radio – www.fluid-radio.co.uk
14-02-2010
Mix Tape by Jeremy Bible (Experimedia – Label/Distro) – Winter I Love You But It’s Time To Go
listen > [eng]
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Expresso
23-01-2010
Review a Insónia por Ricardo Saló
Ler
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disco digital – discodigital.sapo.pt
15-12-2009
ler > review a Insónia [pt]
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diário de notícias – www.dn.pt
15-12-2009
ler > review a Insónia [pt]
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diário de notícias – www.dn.pt
14-12-2009
ler 01 ler 02
artigo escrito por Nuno Galopim [pt]
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bodyspace – www.bodyspace.net
07/12/2009
ler > top discos de 2009 [pt]
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boomkat – www.boomkat.com
12/2009
read > Insónia reviewed [eng]
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flur – www.flur.pt
04/12/2009
ler > review na newsletter da loja Flur. [pt]
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ípsilon – ipsilon.publico.pt
27/11/2009
ler > crítica a Insónia [pt]
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bodyspace – www.bodyspace.net
27/06/2008
ler > review on the western lands [pt]
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cotonete – www.cotonete.clix.pt
19/06/2008
ler > sobre concerto com Shannon Wright [pt]
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ípsilon – ipsilon.publico.pt
30/04/2008
ler > review on the western lands [pt]
ipsilon.publico.pt
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foxy digitalis – http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/
20/4/2008
read > review on the western lands [eng]
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Phlow Magazine – http://phlow-magazine.com
2007
read > review on the western lands [eng]
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rascunho – www.rascunho.net
2006
ler > review on crepúsculo [pt]
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um – www.umjornal.com
19/10/2006
“Um piano às vezes com gravações de campo. Uma estupenda viagem em cinco andamentos, contemplativa, inquieta, melódica, geométrica, modernista”
Jorge Manuel Lopes
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bodyspace – www.bodyspace.net
30/11/2006
ler > entrevista [pt]
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a trompa – www.atrompa.net
09/05/2007
ler > crítica a noite/nuit [pt]