What does improvising together entail? For international duo Or Sobre Blau, the answer seems to be obvious: openness. This includes the format. »Piri Piri Samplers / O Terço Do Homens« is supposed to be more than a single album. To begin with, it’s a vinyl pressing of an tape-release from 2019. »Piri Piri Samplers«was a collection of improvised Lofi vignettes for two guitars. Or Sobre Blau now adds a separate recording, the eleven-minute »O Terço dos Homens«: psychedelic drones combined with field recordings, parasitic noise and an »Ave Maria«. The LP’s double title is a statement of intent. »O Terço dos Homens« is no bonus track, but a stand-alone part of a whole. Retroactively, it shines a new light on the tracks that preceded it.
When all is said and done, »Piri Piri Samplers / O Terço Do Homens« is a dreamy trip – an open-ended trip. Despite not every one of its moments standing out, it’s crossed by a memorable feeling. A subtle, barely perceptible dizziness. Or Sobre Blau’s collaboration »is typical of the duo format« therein, its promo-blurb proclaims. For in their interplay, »each party only understands two-thirds of what is going on, and the unknown and wrongly interpreted triumphs over composition and reason.« Perhaps, to improvise is to expose oneself to this gap deliberately.
