Gala Drop - Music of the Fourth World

NG=Nelson Gomes

AS=Alfonso Simões

To start, we'd love for you to explain to the Italian audience how (when and why) you formed the band?

NG: Gala Drop was born towards the end of 2004. Tiago (Miranda, ed.) and I already knew each other for a year. Why? Because of the shared passion for music that binds us, and because we wanted to develop something together. Later, when Alfonso (Simões, ed.) joined us, everything became clearer about the directions to take and what we wanted from our music. At present, Gala Drop is made up of four people: Guilherme (Gonçalves, ed.), who took part in the recording of the album, is now a permanent member of the band.

"Gala Drop" is a great record and has a truly original sound. What are your influences? In the review I mentioned Cluster, Jamaican dub, Soul Jazz Records (and consequently 80s mutant disco) and the progressive synth sound of French bands like Heldon and Urban Sax. Do you feel influenced by these acts?

NG: Thanks. This record is a healthy mix of ideas and influences we had in mind. You can definitely find a huge amount and variety of sources and sonic resources as you move from song to song. Some of the things you mention aren't among our influences, but it's always nice to see that people hear the music in different ways.

AS: I'd love to be able to acknowledge them all (for instance, I've only listened to Urban Sax once or twice, so I can't say they influenced me). What I'm about to say is probably a cliché, but I guess I've been influenced by all the music I've listened to in my life.

Do you feel that Brazilian music (tropicalismo in particular) is part of your sound?

AS: Yes, a lot. In Portugal, Brazilian music is all around us; they sing in our mother tongue, so it's easy to relate to those songs. Personally, I grew up listening to Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Gal Costa, etc. (whether I liked it or not, it was on the radio all day). I don't listen to much Brazilian music these days, but Jorge Ben is among my favourite musicians.

NG: I think Brazilian music has a huge influence here in Portugal, but we all try to reject that, as you probably know.

How would you describe your music? I noticed a contrast, because behind the tribal sound and exotic arrangements, it seems to me there's a hidden urban unease typical of metropolitan life. Can you confirm that impression?

NG: I see space, echo, flowing melodies, rhythms, percussive drumming, layers of synth and organ, and then happiness and space and echo.

AS: I get what you mean, but we make music for the people who listen to it. If someone likes it, that makes us happy.

The sound of percussion and drums is an important part of your music. Do the percussive patterns come before or after the other sound elements?

AS: Usually they come after, even though our music is percussive in every element. Some of the starting points for our compositions (samples, loops) are often rhythmic, other times not, but either way we try to play so that our music is percussive throughout.

Can you describe your compositional process? What's the driver?

AS: Our instinct?

“Ital”, “Ubongo” and “Dabum” are absolutely alien songs. It's as if they were conceived as mini-suites rather than pop songs…

AS: Like I just told you, we play according to the instinct of the moment. We don't think in terms of making songs that are more or less pop.

What about “Holy Heads”? It's a great track, but it's perhaps the most conventional one. It reminds me of Animal Collective…

AS: I can't really tell you whether it's more conventional or not, but if you say it reminds you of Animal Collective I'm glad, because they're a great band.

“Frog Scene” could be an Arthur Russell dance track, Dinosaur L version.

NG: I can't really say, it's hard for us to make this kind of comparison, but I can tell you that Arthur Russell is my favourite dance artist/producer.

“Crystals” is also a beautiful track, but far removed from the sound of other Portuguese productions. But how does your music relate to traditional Portuguese music?

AS: That's a really interesting question, but one that requires serious thought. I think our music is "Portuguese" insofar as all of us were born in Portugal. I'm not trying to make traditional Portuguese music specifically (like fado, for instance, which is one of the few entirely Portuguese musical idioms), just as I'm not trying to make American, African or any other kind of roots music. I'd genuinely be happy if someone called our music universal, but I do believe our Portuguese nationality (and the fact that we live in Lisbon in particular) deeply affects the way we create music; the people, the climate, the music that's been made here before us all inevitably shape what we do.

Portuguese avant music has a solid tradition, given the presence of important artists like Nuno Canavarro, Rafael Toral, David Maranha/Osso Exótico. Do you feel influenced by this tradition, and in what way?

AS: Yes, a lot. Some of the people you mentioned are actually very close to me right now. If you asked me to rank my ten favourite Portuguese musicians, I'm sure those three would be right at the top of the list.

What was Rafael Toral's contribution to the sonic makeup of Gala Drop?

AS: He was hugely important in making sure our music was produced to the best possible standard, and therefore credible as a fully rounded musical product.

Do you currently listen to house and techno?

NG: More than you might imagine.

What about the Portuguese avant-rock scene? It seems to me there are two main hubs, Lisbon and Porto, a lot of great bands (Loosers, Tropa Macaca, Frango, Dopo etc.) and a few important labels and net labels…

AS: I can't really say whether there's truly a Portuguese avant-rock scene, but there are definitely a number of people doing interesting things. To the bands you mentioned I'd add Caveira, Aquaparque and One Might Add.

NG: I'd also like to add a few great Portuguese acts, not necessarily avant-rock, like Photonz, Slight Delay, Tiago, Norberto Lobo, Coclea, Calhau! and António Contador.

Are you already working on another album?

AS: We're working on a 12" that will come out this year, and we already have a bunch of new songs that will be part of our next album, planned for 2010.

What do you do outside of music?

NG: For the past two years I've been working as a musical promoter here in Lisbon, under the name Filho Único, with my business partner and friend Pedro Gomes. Before that we worked for three years at a place called ZBD (a modern art gallery located in the center of Barrio Alto, in the old part of Lisbon, ed.). Afonso and André Abel (of Aquaparque and Tropa Macaca) joined the team recently.

AS: Besides the work I do with Nelson, I'm involved in booking and organizing European tours for mostly American bands and artists. I also work as a roadie for a Portuguese rock band that some friends of mine play in.

What are you listening to these days?

NG: weird disco e house music. Gruppi: Aquaparque, Slight Delay/Tiago, Ariel Pink, Blues Control, Kurt Vile, The Strange Boys, Animal Collective, Black Dice, Black Meteoric Star (aka Gavin Russom)…

AS: Right now I'm listening to VH1 Classic (an American music television network, ed.), it's great! I don't have a favorite band at the moment. My all-time favorites are probably Can.

If I'm not mistaken, Loosers also played with Valerio Cosi. Do you know (and like) any Italian musicians?

AS: Valerio's music is really great, and I also like Stefano Pilia, Jooklo Duo, A Short Apnea, although I don't know many of the Italian bands coming out right now. From the past I really love Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani, La Stelle di Mario Schifano, Luciano Cilio, Giorgio Moroder, tons of italo-disco, bands whose names I don't even know, and I have this record "La Bionda" (the La Bionda brothers, ed.) that I really, really like.

NG: My favorite Italian artists are: Danielle Baldelli, Maurizio Bianchi, MCIAA, Gianni Gebbia, Valerio Cosi, Stefano Pilia, Ricardo Wanke, Musica Electronic Viva, Jooklo Duo and Franco Battiato.

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