Understage
In partnership with Matéria Prima
Polyester
May
2025
Fri
30
Sinopse
Continuing Porto's now almost tradition of bringing together groups of friends in creative and multi-purpose projects that challenge the boundaries between labels, collectives and promoters — as Favela Discos, Colectivo Farra, Terrain Ahead, among many others do — Polyester emerged in 2023 as one of the youngest projects of this new wave of musicians who create from and for the local community.
Responding to an international trend of rediscovering the sounds of the turn of the millennium — marked by releases from labels such as West Mineral, Experiences Ltd., Motion Ward, Sferic or Soda Gong — the collective has established itself, together with its friends and the Lisbon satellite project The Living Room, as one of the main drivers of this aesthetic in the country, through the organization of shows by artists such as Romeo Poirier, Huerco S or Mister Water Wet.
At Understage, they will present a performance divided into four moments, where the architecture of the environment, the deconstruction of the dance floor, the glitch, the bleep, the echoes and delays, and the tension between the natural and the synthetic will lead the listener through liminal territories filled with sonic textures and artificial landscapes.
Polyester is a record label and artist collective based in Porto, which explores the intersection between the language of ambient and dance music culture. Founded in 2023 by Lu Zia, Miguel Oliveira and Louis Wilkinson, it quickly housed the work of almost a dozen more artists, including USOF. Focuses on editions where ambient music serves as a guiding thread, dialoguing with elements of clubbing culture. In addition to record releases, Polyester occasionally organizes events and performances, creating spaces for listening and sound experimentation. — Matéria Prima
Responding to an international trend of rediscovering the sounds of the turn of the millennium — marked by releases from labels such as West Mineral, Experiences Ltd., Motion Ward, Sferic or Soda Gong — the collective has established itself, together with its friends and the Lisbon satellite project The Living Room, as one of the main drivers of this aesthetic in the country, through the organization of shows by artists such as Romeo Poirier, Huerco S or Mister Water Wet.
At Understage, they will present a performance divided into four moments, where the architecture of the environment, the deconstruction of the dance floor, the glitch, the bleep, the echoes and delays, and the tension between the natural and the synthetic will lead the listener through liminal territories filled with sonic textures and artificial landscapes.
Polyester is a record label and artist collective based in Porto, which explores the intersection between the language of ambient and dance music culture. Founded in 2023 by Lu Zia, Miguel Oliveira and Louis Wilkinson, it quickly housed the work of almost a dozen more artists, including USOF. Focuses on editions where ambient music serves as a guiding thread, dialoguing with elements of clubbing culture. In addition to record releases, Polyester occasionally organizes events and performances, creating spaces for listening and sound experimentation. — Matéria Prima
music
Lu Zia © DR
Geno © DR
Louis Wilkinson © DR
Usof © Elisa Azevedo
© João Octávio Peixoto
Aditional info
- Price
7€
-
Duration
1h
- Age rating
12+
Acessibilidades do espetáculo
More limited access
Author's bio text
Lu Zia is the alter ego of Luís Luzia, a multidisciplinary artist from Porto. Within the spectrum of ambient music, he explores the duality between the natural and the artificial, finding textures and rhythms in both soundscapes and digital artefacts. It is at this intersection that he creates and builds, based on post-modernist foundations and exploratory practices. As well as being a musician, he is also a graphic designer and visual artist.
Geno is Miguel Oliveira's alter ego, is a sound artist based in Porto. His work develops in the territory of ambient and hyper-realistic soundscapes.
Louis Wilkinson is an electronic music artist based in Porto. His music is often a combination of dance music, ambient and soundscapes. He is also co-founder of the Polyester label.
Usof is an artist pushing the definition of “ambient” music into more convoluted territory. His discography includes "stay longer" on the Australian Theory Therapy and "Wish You Were Nicer" by the Americans enmossed and Psychic Liberation, preceded by the series "Selections 0, 1 and 2" on RottenFresh and the EP "refresh" on surf, his own netlabel. He has performed in several European venues/festivals such as Cafe OTO, Les Siestes Électroniques, Outfest, KWIA, among many others. In addition to his work as a visual artist and sound engineer, he promotes events with the collectives Living Room and Tundra. Finally, he presents the program "for 0" on Rádio Quântica and the surf residency on Kiosk Radio.
Geno is Miguel Oliveira's alter ego, is a sound artist based in Porto. His work develops in the territory of ambient and hyper-realistic soundscapes.
Louis Wilkinson is an electronic music artist based in Porto. His music is often a combination of dance music, ambient and soundscapes. He is also co-founder of the Polyester label.
Usof is an artist pushing the definition of “ambient” music into more convoluted territory. His discography includes "stay longer" on the Australian Theory Therapy and "Wish You Were Nicer" by the Americans enmossed and Psychic Liberation, preceded by the series "Selections 0, 1 and 2" on RottenFresh and the EP "refresh" on surf, his own netlabel. He has performed in several European venues/festivals such as Cafe OTO, Les Siestes Électroniques, Outfest, KWIA, among many others. In addition to his work as a visual artist and sound engineer, he promotes events with the collectives Living Room and Tundra. Finally, he presents the program "for 0" on Rádio Quântica and the surf residency on Kiosk Radio.
