Bandua takes the centuries-old, traditional music from the Beira Baixa region of Portugal, and re-imagines it with an electronic folk reinterpretation. Conceived by the Berlin based native sound-explorer and eclectic producer Tempura (aka. Tempura the Purple Boy) and Portuguese singer and all-round musician Edgar Valente, Bandua represents the first time that these sonorities and songs have been repurposed as a Portuguese-language electronic sound.

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Starting out as a bass player working in different genres, Tempura has been sculpting an electronic sound aesthetic that fuses the traditionally organic with the more mellow-paced club sounds throughout his career.

 

Like the duo Darkside, a band whose sounds can be easily identified to those within Bandua, Valente plays the Harrington to Tempura's Jaar. Valente is the embodiment of the region’s spirit. His extremely pronounced vocals waver from that of a stooping village man, to something akin to a multi-toned shaman priest. Valente, who also plays in Portuguese folk-act Criatura, plays on multiple instruments across the record, including the Adufe, a 1,400 year old spiritual drum that is unique to the region.

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PRESS

“We find ourselves listening to something truly new, distinct, and intriguing, but, at the same time, it sounds familiar, natural, and instinctive.” canções. Damos por nós a ouvir algo realmente novo, distinto e intrigante, mas que ao mesmo tempo nos soa familiar, natural e instintivo".
João Mineiro em Rimas & Batidas