“Clothilde” is Sofia Mestre, an electronic music artist who spent the last week in Culatra hunting for the characteristic sounds of the island where «time passes differently». She listened to them and memorized them to now recreate them in modular synthesizers, made by her companion Zé Diogo (“HOBO & The Birds”). The album that she plans to release by the end of the year, she guarantees, will have as a starting point these days, spent on the banks of the Ria Formosa.
«This was a match: it went by so fast», commented Sofia Mestre, shortly after the artistic residency, promoted by Teatro das Figuras (Faro), ended this Thursday, April 14th.
Back then, there was a week in which the sounds of Culatra were the inspirational muse of “Clothilde”.
The music reflects the rain, the wind, the waves or the «noise from the neighbours». These are the sounds that make up the work done by Sofia Mestre and Zé Diogo in recent days.
In a small house in Culatra, they turned a living room into a studio.
On top of the table, synthesizers can be seen, dozens of wires colored in yellow, blue, red, green, white…
«What we did was recreate the sounds we were hearing, but in a synthetic way. We didn't record anything», says Sofia, while showing the final result.
Her work, she confesses, is always «more cinematic» because the songs quickly remind us of the soundtrack of any movie.
At 46 years old, Sofia Mestre only created “Clothilde” six years ago, despite the fact that her taste for music is much older.
«I've been listening to music for as long as I can remember, although I only started at 40 in this more professional way: before I worked in advertising and cinema», he reports.
After these days at Culatra, Sofia Mestre is already certain: the album, which she wants to release by the end of the year, will be «based» on the experiences of this artistic residency.
«I hope to make this album almost an object, with drawings, illustrations, eventually photography, I don't know if in the form of a fanzine, for example. But this is more of a goal than a promise», he jokes.
Gil Silva, director of Teatro das Figuras, accompanied this entire process of yet another artistic residency, a type of initiatives that are to continue.
«We have made these residencies in Culatra and we want to keep them because this is a space with all the conditions for creation: it is connected to nature, it is calm, where time passes in a different way. This allows you to think in order to create”, he tells journalists.
At the same time, with the residences, which have all the logistical support of Teatro das Figuras, «we promote this location that is a small paradise from which we are sometimes disconnected», he adds.
For this manager, the sound of “Clothilde” is “a journey” and “relates very well” to Culatra.
Sofia Mestre, on the other hand, wanted to go back – perhaps next year, when, in principle, a concert by “Clothilde” will be scheduled at Teatro das Figuras.
Looking at the synthesizers, the artist concludes: «there is a symbiosis between me and the machine: deep down, I am the conductor of an orchestra and I am the one who controls all the instruments».
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