Cantar das Kandakinhas
Pedro Ricardo
2023
Portuguese multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer Pedro Ricardo releases his debut album, ‘Soprem Bons Ventos’, on Soundway Records.
Currently based in Berlin, Pedro Ricardo has been releasing music for the past eight years under dierent aliases via labels such as Extended Records, 1980Lyfers, Wolf Music and his own imprints Hear, Sense and Feel and Pedro’s House. An eclectic DJ and selector, he hosts a radio show on South London's radio Balamii, guested on Mafalda's NTS show and can be found playing in clubs across all Europe.
“The album translates to ‘Good Winds Blow’, shares Ricardo. “This idea of good winds blowing is intertwined with the feeling of missing something, and sadness. On a positive note, there is still an overarching sense that happiness also lies ahead. Soprem Bons Ventos represents an ode to the past, to those who came before me, connecting with my present and imagining the future.”
Stylistically, Ricardo became entranced with jazz from an early age, while also becoming enamoured with folk music – rooted in his Portugal childhood, now encompassing sounds from Cape Verde, Brazil, and Spain along the way. He intertwines these instrumental in#uences with $eld recordings, and electronics, on ‘Soprem Bons Ventos’.
While ‘Soprem Bons Ventos’ sonic beginnings were conjured in his native city of Porto, the album’s creative process spanned four countries and $ve years. Ricardo initially recorded early demos in Portugal, before he criss-crossed through Europe.
However, it was a move to Wood Green (London) in 2019 that ignited a creative spark that brought the album together. “This album has been following me around for the past $ve years,” shares Ricardo. “Wherever I went, it came along... but the majority of the recording process came alive in London.”
“The city had a particular eect on me. There are so many people doing so many exciting things, you have to ask yourself, ‘what makes the thing you are creating your own?’ This record has a lot of personal sonic moments like that. That is not to say that I found ‘my sound’, but rather that I found something that I think is special, and truly represents me now.
“The years when I was making the record also coincide with me moving away from Portugal, away from home – this feeling is very much present during the record. You can hear it.”
Whether in his birthplace or newly adopted cities, as its title suggests, Good Winds Blow throughout the album’s 9-tracks. The LP is a journey that encompasses nostalgia, love, longing, and togetherness, tenderly intertwined throughout with vibrant percussion, whispers of vocals, soaring keys, and delicate guitars.
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