From Watermusic (2000) to Lamentations (2020), passing through the epic four-volume The Disintegration Loops (2002/2003), William Basinski’s work has solidified his truly iconic status, making him one of the most acclaimed names in ambient electronic music of our century.
A classically trained musician and composer, he now works from California after decades as part of New York’s scene, where he collaborated with other creators such as filmmaker and visual artist James Elaine or Antony Hegarty, who invited him to compose music for Robert Wilson’s opera The Life and Death of Marina Abramović.
Basinski employs obsolete technology and analog tape loops, crafting haunting and melancholic soundscapes that explore the temporal nature of life, resonating with the echoes of memory and the mystery of time.
He has just released September 23rd, a recording made in September 1982 and recently rediscovered. Created from a piano piece he composed in high school in the mid-1970s, this work allows us to journey through the artist’s entire historical legacy.
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Santuário da Falperra
Gordan’s music is difficult to classify. This experimental trio blends traditional Balkan vocals with electronic feedback and synthesized sounds, combined with deep bass and hypnotic percussion. They manage to sound both expressive and abstract at the same time.
The voice of Svetlana Spajic—who moves between traditional music and avant-garde art, having collaborated with Marina Abramović, Anohni, and Robert Wilson—carries the weight of Balkan legends and mysticism. Meanwhile, drummer Andi Stecher and Guido Möbius on bass and electronics employ sonic strategies that steer their songs in often unpredictable directions.
Following their debut album When Down in the Meadow (2021, Morphine Records), which received critical acclaim, Gordan returned in 2024 with a self-titled album that is even more radical, pushing their exploration into increasingly inspired and uncharted territories.
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Santuário da Falperra
After having already been to the area where Extremo takes place, at the end of 2024, for an artistic residency that resulted in the recording of a video showcase, Clothilde returns to Falperra for a special concert at the chapel of Santa Maria Madalena, just before sunset.
Like the festival itself, Clothilde also inhabits a space of transition. “Cross Sections”, her most recent album, released at the end of 2024 by Holuzam, marked the beginning of a new phase in her creative journey. Without losing the primal edge of electronic exploration that had defined her previous work, the artist opened herself to more concrete and somber sonic landscapes, deepening a trajectory with no parallel in the national scene.
Her live performances also transform in this new phase of creation, anticipating territories that not even the “crossroads” referenced in her latest album could have foreseen. She leaves behind the machines that always accompanied her and, on stage, seemed almost an extension of herself, and begins to explore new instruments and formats where her unique ambiences are renewed.
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Santuário da Falperra
Alexandre Centeio is a multi-instrumentalist and sound artist from Paredes, in the Greater Porto area. At Extremo, he presents his latest album, Silvo, released in 2024 by Coletivo Casa Amarela.
In this record, Centeio takes his music to new territories, presenting a series of compositions that intricately explore the transformation of harsh sounds into a musical narrative—blending dissonances, glitches, and complex textures with a melodic approach.
After the introspective movements of Movanta (2022, Lontano Series, Italy) and the surreal sonic landscapes of Panorama (also released in 2024 by the prestigious UK-based Discrepant label), Centeio continues to explore new possibilities and soundscapes. Silvo evokes moments of implosion and suffocation, challenging the boundaries between harmony and noise, promising a sublime contrast with the bucolic surroundings of Monte da Falperra.
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Santuário da Falperra
Três figuras incontornáveis da música exploratória reúnem-se numa das mais transcendentes colaborações da música dos nossos dias. Ghosted nasceram em 2018 no Studio Rymden de Estocolmo, Suécia, fruto de uma confluência de referências, que vão do jazz vanguardista dos anos 70, ao minimalismo eletrónico e à música africana, comum aos músicos Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling e Andreas Werliin.
Since then, they have been forging a solid path, which was captured on record in 2022 by the legendary Chicago label Drag City.
Whether under his own name or in collaborations with such diverse artists as Sunn O))), Jim O'Rourke, or Keith Rowe, Oren Ambarchi has established himself as a consistent sonic explorer; bassist Johan Berthling, founder of the Häpna label, is a member of bands like Fire! and Tape; the puzzle is completed by drummer Andreas Werliin, also a member of Fire! and a collaborator with artists such as Andrew Bird and Mats Gustafsson. They've been making music together for years. Ghosted is where everything falls perfectly into place.
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with Mariana Caldeira Pinto, Maria João Vieira Leite, Mariana Vital e Maria Bustorff
Maria W Horn's compositions employ a wide range of instruments, from analog synthesizers to pipe organs, always seeking to explore the spectral properties of sound. Her work also extends to pieces for choirs and various chamber music formats, a territory she navigates sublimely in Dies Irae, the composition she presents at the Extremo festival.
Dies Irae is based on the classic Latin poem of the same name, which describes the Last Judgment. It bridges the realms of sacred and secular music in a two-part piece that allows space for improvisation and acoustic exploration of the venues where it is performed.
Originally premiered at the Eric Ericsson Hall in Stockholm in May 2020, Dies Irae is presented at Extremo in a unique format: Maria W Horn is joined by four Portuguese singers—Mariana Caldeira Pinto, Maria João Vieira Leite, Mariana Vital, and Maria Bustorff.
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Santuário da Falperra
Sound lies at the heart of Luís Antero’s artistic journey. He is a soundscaper, documentarian, and sound archivist, as well as a radio host, filmmaker, and educator. Since 2008, he has been dedicated to collecting and documenting the acoustic heritage of various regions across Portugal, through field recordings. He also serves as the Artistic Director of the Sound Archive of the Historic Centre of Coimbra.
Para o Extremo, desenvolveu uma residência artística com enfoque no património humano, natural e – como não podia deixar de ser – sonoro deste território. Essas recolhas vão enriquecer o arquivo que Luís Antero tem vindo a construir e serão um dos legados do festival.
Além disso, vão ser o ponto de partida uma performance sonora apresenta em exclusivo no contexto do festival: um Concerto Para Olhos Vendados, experiência sensorial única que terá como palco a icónica capela de Santa Maria Madalena da Falperra.
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curadoria Estudo do Meio
Amid noise and the urgency of listening, The Auto/Dystopia of the Machine-Man invites us to acknowledge collapse and, from it, imagine new ways of existing, thinking, and feeling together. A radical proposal conceived for the opening of the Extremo festival, the piece intertwines texts and music by Cody XV with scenography by Diogo Mendes.
The festival takes place in a location that is itself a boundary between two urban territories. This unique performance symbolically inhabits that dividing space. “Extremo”, as an expression, emerges within the context of the performance as a metaphor for digital polarization, fragmented discourse, and the rupture between parallel worlds.
The opening performance of the Extremo festival is curated by the Braga-based collective Estudo do Meio, born from the desire to offer a revitalizing pause in the fast pace of everyday life. In its regular programming, this project invites everyone to take part in a meditative experience in a setting specially chosen to foster contemplation. especialmente escolhido para promover a contemplação.
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curated by Dark Sessions
M3STR is Miguel Mestre—an emerging producer and DJ from Porto who has been bringing high-energy, electrifying soundwaves to the dancefloor. With releases on BCCO, Duplicity, Elberec, and at the helm of the label Analytical Convenience, M3STR has been pushing musical boundaries, earning support from icons like Richie Hawtin, Truncate, among others.
He will deliver the closing Live Act of the Extremo festival, curated by Dark Sessions—an independent electronic music community founded in Braga in 2017, originally created to offer an alternative nightlife experience for students at the University of Minho. The project has since grown and become a key presence not only in the city but across the North of Portugal, fostering a vibrant electronic music community and serving as a launchpad for emerging artists.
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