Inside Amplifest: Black Bombaim & la la la ressonance

© Bolos Quentes

We said before, but it’s never enough. So we shall say it again: Black Bombaim & la la la ressonance are two of the uncontestable best bands making music in Portugal nowadays. Combining these two acts result in something utterly mind-blowing, with the groove and the heaviness of stoner combined with the ambience and a cinematic approach of a jazzy post-rock anchoring their sound. André Simão from la la la ressonance and Tojó Rodrigues from Black Bombaim had a talk with us about Amplifest:

What do you expect of the Amplifest audience?
Simão: This will be my first time in the festival, but I’ve heard of it a lot and I guess that the audience will easily get into our thing. Our concert balances inbetween dark raw energy and pretty mental and abstract moments. They should travel a lot, I think.
Tojo: Having played there last year, I can say I expect a very dedicated audience, that understands music in all its different forms and variations. Should be the perfect audience for bb&lllr.

We like surprises, but what can we expect from your show?
Simão: The show is based on four original compositions that give us the freedom to improvise and react to the audience expectations and our own. Anyway, we’re nine musicians on stage, a lot may happen.
Tojo: What he said!

What band do you really want to see at Amplifest?
Simão: Well, I’ve allways heard of Amplifest as some sort of total experience, where the whole is more important than it’s parts. I’ve seen some of the bands previously and there are also those that I don’t know at all. My thing will be to mingle with the festival’s spirit and not to see any particular band, or movie, or anything.
Tojo: Unfortunately, I can only be at Amplifest sunday, so of those bands, I’m really looking forward to see Chelsea Wolfe.

If you had to pick a band or a musician of this Amplifest edition to play with who would it be?
Simão: It would have to be Kim. She could play drums, pan flute or harp. Honestly, can’t resist her.
Tojo: Jonathan from HHY & The Macumbas.

What records have you been listening to lately?
Simão: I’ll name three: Deen Blunt’s latest album; Darkside’s first long play; a collaboration between Lloyd Cole and Roedelius named “Selected Studies Vol. I”.
Tojo: Mostly Ty Segall’s new band Fuzz.

Enough about music, Amplifest is also about other arts. What books have you been reading and what movies have you been watching lately that you want to recommend?
Simão: I’ve been reading Calvino’s “Cosmicomics”. My relationship with movies is at it’s darkest age. I’m the one who needs recommendations. Tojó?
Tojo: You should see “Beware of Mr. Baker”