Coming from São Paulo, currently based in Berlin, Carla and M.Takara have been playing since 2018. Their music is the result of an interplay between drums and synths, blending Boregas’s aether and warmth electronics with Takara’s jazzy improvised percussion, somewhere between abstract improvisation and propulsive rhythm. From the interaction developed on live performances came the critically acclaimed album “Linha D’Água”, released by Desmonta (BR) / Bokeh Versions (UK). Their upcoming album, Grande Massa D’Água, will be released early 2022 on Hive Mind Records.
Takara plays drums with the bands Hurtmold, São Paulo Underground (w/ trumpeter Rob Mazurek) and Rakta. He performed at Sonar, Saalfelden Jazz, Belgrade Jazz Festival, Club Transmediale, Jazz Fest Berlin. He played with musicians such as Pharoah Sanders, Damo Suzuki, Yusef Lateef ,Naná Vasconcelos, Prefuse 73, Makoto Kawabata.
Carla Boregas is an experimental electronic musician and sound artist. In 2011, she co-founded the genre-bending group Rakta, since then she has been very active in solo projects and collaborations, as well as making music for dance and theater. She’s also part of the transdisciplinary duo Fronte Violeta. Her projects main appearances include CTM Festival, Donaufestival, POP Montreal, Roadburn, Novas Frequências, Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
FACTS
1. To one side from ourselves, to one side from the world
Wave follows wave to break on the shore,
On each wave is a star, a person, a bird,
Dreams, reality, death – on wave after wave. — Andrei Tarkovsky
2. The loudest sound in recorded history came from the volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island Krakatoa at 10.02 a.m. on August 27, 1883. The explosion caused two thirds of the island to collapse and formed tsunami waves as high as 46 m rocking ships as far away as South Africa. The noise it made was so loud that sailors 40 miles away suffered burst eardrums. Even 100 miles away, the volume was 170 decibels – loud enough to do lasting damage to those that heard it. And it could still be heard 3,000 miles away – the equivalent of a sound made in Britain being audible in the US.
At its source, the sound was so loud that it went beyond what we mean by ‘sound’.
3. We just really hope that brazilians vote a little better this year.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
Carla : the desire of creation
Takara : I think inspiration is just life really. waking up and feeling motivated to discover new possibilities, revisit old ones from different perspectives and just staying alert to the beauty around you.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
Carla : I was always involved in different ways in the São Paulo’s music scene. But I started playing music when I was 27 years old! I wanted to play with low frequencies and then my friend Natha invited me to play bass with other women and we founded a band called Rakta.
Takara: my family have a strong history in music. my mom’s a big music lover,always heard great music at home; my father played in bands in the 60s and later in the 90s opened a recording studio (that still going) with me and my 2 brothers (who are musicians too). so it was a very natural thing for me,so musical instruments were pretty much the toys I played with when I was a kid.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Carla : My actual fav albums of all time :
Dorival Caymmi – Canções Praieiras
Ryuichi Sakamoto – A-sync
Alice Coltrane – The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda
Lee Perry Lee – Black Ark in Dub
Clementina de Jesus – Canto dos Escravos
Takara: it changes from time to time I guess. I’d say Cartola 2, Tom zé “the hips of tradition”, Alice Coltrane “journey in satchidananda”, Bad Brains “rock for light” , Dorival Caymmi “caymmi e seu violão”.
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Carla : a certain mix of tabaco and alcohol smell
Takara : old rusty vending machines, wings of desire, club mate.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Carla : Near water.
Takara : km 28 in Berlin and casa do norte seu gabin in são paulo.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Carla : I’d cook!
Takara : as an artistic expression , I think some kind of visual art,probably painting.
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
Carla : Alice Coltrane – The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda
Takara : exploding star orchestra “dimensional stardust” on bandcamp, by my friend rob mazurek. amazing record!
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
akara : I love collaborating with people I know nothing or very little about.that’s always refreshing… but hermeto pascoal is someone I’ve always had curiosity aof what would be like to collaborate with him.
Carla : Phew
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
Carla : A concert I played 2weeks before lockdown hit, Rakta at Teatro Olido, São Paulo. My whole body was trembling a lot before that. I don’t know why!
Takara : hard to pick THE best one but definitely very remarkable was watching hermeto pascoal when I was a kid in the early 90s in SP, and also fugazi in SP in 97.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Carla : Technology works as a translator between worlds.
Takara : very important specially cause I make a lot of music by myself, so you have to be constantly reinventing processes. but by technology I mean all kinds of tools , from electronic and digital connections -with effects, synths and the computer – to developing new technichs with “old” instruments too. like the drum kit itself still such a new invention with many possibilities… I think about technology in general as a great tool but not a very good master.
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
Carla : I have a very supportive sister (big hug to you Juju!!) and a very young cute brother who gets very anxious when he watches me playing live.
Takara : I have 2 brothers and they’re both musicians too. they definitely think my music is a little weird ;)
