About Me
DWART: formed in Lisbon 1985; moved to Macau, South China, in 1987. Main works recorded in China. Now based in Portugal. ............................................................ ............................................................ ........DWART emerged in mid eighties as a provocative experimental electronic mixmedia duo: Antonio Duarte on synthesizers, sample keyboard, synth guitar, drumboxes, percussions, soundtracks; Manuela Duarte on vocoder, voice processors, stage acting painting and performing art. Thanks to the support of portuguese electro-acoustic duo TELECTU (Jorge Lima Barreto & Vitor Rua) and other artist friends from the avangarde scene, DWART performed main live acts at galleries, art events and festivals, and featured in a multimedia broadcast for public Televison (RTP) with guest composer and guitar player NUNO REBELO. The first band recordings were included in a vinyl collection of best live gigs at Lisbon legendary RockRendezVous club (Dansa do Som, 1986) and in a live album, "D.A.R.", featuring art performer MANOEL BARBOSA and musician BERNARDO DEVLIN. The duo moved to Macau, South China, in 1987, and so did it DWART's mobile studio. Up there new sources of inspiration shapped new directions for DWART's music. Independent musicians from Macau, mainland China, Hong Kong, and even from France, Brazil and Mexico used to join the band at studio jam sessions in the chinese enclave. Dozens of digital audio tapes were recorded from this rather relaxing multiethnic musical sessions. China has provided Antonio Duarte such unforgettable musical experiences, as beeing keyboard player and the executive producer on TELECTU's "Biombos" (1994), the first foreign musicians CD album ever recorded, released and distributed in the People's Republic of China by state run company China Recording Corporation. China work lead Duarte to close encounters with World Music: He learned Guzheng basics with Macau Chinese Orchestra's director WONG KIN WAI and later he had Erhu classes that made him discover the richness and contemporary aproach of chinese music. By invitation of NUNO REBELO, Duarte played chinese Guzheng on the official anthem of World Exhibition EXPO 98 (Lisbon). He also played Guzheng on VITOR RUA & Ressoadores "Scratch" album. He produced exhibition ambient music for painters KWOK WOON (China) and JOANNA LING (Singapore), and he was guest soundtrack composer for "Six Chinese Stories About One Table and Two Chairs", a performance art show staged by JANE LEI's COMUNA DE PEDRA at Hong Kong "Journey To The East" multimedia festival (Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 1999). Sounds and colours from Chinese soundscape and mass culture have been a permanent source of inspiration or soundtrack motives for DWART's music. Since 1997 DWART turned basically into a one musician electronic bound project, so musical work have been focused on discipline and studio production. DWART is now based in Portugal but the Orient influences last in the project fresh new works. ............................................................ ............................................................ ........Collaborations in progress with art performer MANOEL BARBOSA and singer BERNARDO DEVLIN
