Vida e Morte de D. Antónia
[Life and Death of D. Antónia] (2019)

In their second incarnation, Urso Bardo re-sew a careful composition that is able to contend elegantly with the pitfalls of aridity or of inconsequence. Sometimes the wandering clouds extended at dusk. Sometimes the night speeds forward through blurry streets. The instrumental discourse sends us to the places and inflections of the interior, responding to a certain contemplative but restless inclination of the blood. In the background we glimpse the canvas of space. And there are fields surrendered to the interpretive blow of the wind. Storms that are the grand preparation of an arrival.

The life and death inscribed in the title are, in the sonic territory that challenges us, the two forces in contention. If something is built, a cut swiftly ensues revealing something else in its place, that what was erected is to be undone and that this debacle is in fact what we should see. And we let ourselves go, trusting in our two feet, one which advances, another that pounces. The burnt land is a living land. It holds within itself the story of fire, the black fulguration of what has been. There are always traces we can harvest and, with them, surrender ourselves to the pure trance of other possible worlds. But it is this world. The world of D. Antónia. The D day.

Vasco Gato

Urso Bardo (2016)

Road Trip through a strange land: The soundtrack of Urso Bardo

We’ve all been kids. We’ve all had - and have - other musical and professional projects. As musicians, we are haunted by a cloud of restlessness that only dissipates when we play music.

First there was the lucky chance by which we met. Then came the wonderful realisation that together, we could travel.

We ventured deep, as far as we could, seeking to transcend all - our - barriers, constantly striving for the riskier path. Our music is about that journey. It’s our shared soundtrack for a road trip without a map through an uncharted territory that feels strangely familiar.