Establishing the mood with textured and dimensional precision with a buoyant bassline and cerebral detailing, Bruno Tenório opens Sleepless with dynamism and intrigue. The opus expands with an experimental adjacency and an almost psychedelic nuance.
A melodic synth with celestial tones emerges. The crescendo is dynamic and meditative. We appreciate the juxtaposition of the industrial with the ethereal. There is a high spiritual quotient that manifests overall with the composition, and a cinematic allure that would make Sleepless perfect for the score of a film such as Limitless or Lucy.
We deeply connect with the journey that we are being taken on by the Brazilian artist from Pernambuco who is based in London. The bassline pulls out to unveil a serene moment that taps into Eastern elements before a sonic reprise and rebuild that feels natural and cohesive.
Mid-way through the composition a pitch shift trips us into a more urgent and high-octane frequency with an arresting synthline that evokes drama. This is followed by an astral 80s synthscape that taps into a retro-futuristic energy, intertwined with sped-up percussion detailing to again build out the more cerebral energy of the composition.
The final moment feels like an ascension, again leaning towards the more peaceful and meditative melodic frequencies with a subtle bass. Speaking on his upcoming album, NAUPENC, set for release on January 30th, Bruno Tenório confesses, “My idea was that there would be a certain inversion of values between rhythm and melody in the album, with rhythm being at the centre of the music, and in the sense that the melodic elements, from the synths to the guitars and acoustic guitars, are generally built on top of repetitive patterns, and the rhythmic and percussive elements, such as drum machines, acoustic drums and percussion, are often polyrhythmic in nature, which in turn makes the rhythms sound more layered and harmonic, so to speak.”
We learn that Sleepless was co-produced by Bruno Tenório and object blue, and debuted live by object blue during the “MAKE-BELIEVE-13” residency at NTS Radio in London last November.
The track was also mastered by Beau Thomas, known for his work on recent Aphex Twin releases including Cheetah, Collapse, and Blackbox Life Recorder 21f. Originally a drummer since the age of 12, Bruno Tenório references his culture within his soundscapes and will also release an experimental film also titled NAUPENC, created in collaboration with and directed by visual artist and graphic designer Raul Luna, which is set in an alternate future where Brazil is a nuclear power and the NAUPENC program exists as a form of alternative therapy.
We deeply connect with the multi-disciplinary artistry being demonstrated here, and have added Sleepless to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we anticipate the release of NAUPENC, and continue to stream Bruno Tenório‘s sophomore single from the same project, Submerso.