Over the past few years (not that many, really), Tomé Silva has presented himself in various ways, ranging from a passion for dance music to a fascination with alienating rhythms, or—at the time when many first heard his name—as a producer, when he contributed to Maria Reis’ ‘Suspiro…’ and later joined her band as a drummer. Now there’s Na Sobreda, a new solo album that clearly reveals a fascination with the unexpected. Calm and light in appearance, it’s astute and complex in its arrangements and, above all, in the ideas it effortlessly weaves together at different moments within the songs.
Take the opening track, Amigo/Coragem, in which, at a certain point towards the end, it breaks away from the concept of a song and enters a process of repetition, where one hears ‘Falta-me coragem’ (‘I lack courage’), which ties in with the repetitive elements of dance music that Tomé has experimented with in the past and even with ideas from certain contemporary music, as seen in the way the percussion begins to take on a life of its own whilst accompanying the repeated words; or, for example, how the saxophone murmurs in Máquina do Tempo, becoming another voice speaking over the musician’s shoulder. It does work, certainly, but it has the effect of catching our attention, making us think about how these arrangements are always seeking something new, as if they didn’t want to repeat any single idea. They certainly don’t lack courage.
In Sobreda and Tomé Silva, there is that kind of courage found only in a certain immaturity – though this immaturity isn’t quite immaturity, merely an eagerness to put a whole host of things out there, where the soul takes precedence over any logic or rationality. Yet within that immaturity, there is a great deal of maturity in Tomé’s music. More than just knowing how to do things, there is a knowing of where one wants to go with them. And these things, these arrangements, are the work of grown-ups, created by those who are still growing, without fear of making mistakes. And Tomé gets it right, time and time again. Na Sobreda makes us feel that miracle which is knowing how to be young.
AS

Tapete Mágico is a magnetic strip that runs from Almada to Mem Martins.