In a matinee in November 2022, after a handful of concerts in Spain, Hetta returned to their hometown, Montijo, and shared the stage of Sociedade Filarmónica 1º de Dezembro with fellow countrymen Linger, Hisou and Putas Bêbadas. This interests us because their debut EP, Headlights (released in May’22), was recorded at Cafetra’s studio in Bairro Alto by Leonardo Bindilatti and Miguel Abras (respectively, Putas’ drummer and bassist-vocalist), and it is in this studio that Hetta’s bassist, Simão Simões, usually rehearses with Maria Reis’ band (where he is also bassist) and with Pedro Sousa in their exploratory duo collaborations. Besides this relationship with Bairro Alto, when the Rescaldo festival brought them to ZDB, he highlighted a “triangulation” of Hetta with New York and Tokyo, referring to their affiliation in the global post-hardcore, something that, by the way, had already been announced in Nagasaki Skateboarding (2014-2017), a band that included Hetta’s drummer and guitarist, João Portalegre and João Pires. According to the 2021 A Colina festival, Hetta managed to start from math-rock, screamo and other “too intellectualized” subgenres to arrive at something “pure and violent”: the constant stop-starts and corrosive smashes, together with the fact that the vocalist, Alex Domingos, insistently ventures into the audience, gives the feeling that danger is imminent; in fact, the last time they played at ZDB, we witnessed the most aggressive mosh pit of the post-pandemic Aquarius. AR

Heroic, tragic, sinister and pathetic… In Japanese there is a word that combines all these qualities simultaneously, hisou, and who carries this banner at the forefront is Alexandre Fernandes, a rocker from Cacém whose Fender Mustang, according to a rumor in the Lisbon underground, was one of the factors responsible for the introduction of limiters in several venues in the capital. From his solo project, Sun Blossoms, he brought Alexandre Rendeiro (Alek Rein), who is still the bassist here, and from Black Moss, a project he formed with the rhythm section of Cave Story, he brought drummer Ricardo “Caguincha” Mendes. In the last few months the trio recorded at Scratch Built their first and very ferocious EP, currently being mixed by Gonçalo Formiga from Cave Story and with release scheduled for 2023. AR

A “power noise” ensemble featuring Pedro Melo Alves and João Valinho on both drums, Gonçalo Almeida on electric bass and João Almeida on the input mixer. Pedro Melo Alves (Catacombe, In Igma Ensemble, Luís Vicente Trio, Pedro Melo Alves’ Omniae Large Ensemble, etc.), drummer and composer prominent in the avant-garde music scene, has been a regular presence at Aquário ZDB through his Conundrum cycle, a series of concerts where he challenges various musicians to an improvisational performance, in duo, without any a priori planning. João Valinho (Diceros, Ensemble MIA, Free Pantone Trio, HYPER.OBJECT, etc.), drummer and percussionist coming from the plastic arts, philosophy and black metal, unavoidable subject in the contemporary interdisciplinarity, counts with his participation in more than twenty records. Gonçalo Almeida (Lama trio, Albatre, Hydra Ensemble, Ritual Habitual, The Attic, Cement Shoes, Ikizukuri, etc.), Portuguese bassist living in Rotterdam and actively involved in the dynamization of modern jazz, freejazz and improvised music in general. João Almeida (Garfo, HYPER.OBJECT, Peachfuzz, LUMP, etc.), young Portuguese trumpet player recognized for his technical development and resourcefulness in improvised music and exploratory jazz. The four are Sonitus Missarum, a troubled incursion through sonic-genre landscapes where the fecundating qualities of noise are exalted. AR