Manuel Mota
Manuel Mota (born October 22, 1970) is an experimental jazz and blues guitarist from Lisbon, Portugal. Mota started playing guitar at 15. In the late 1980s his discovery of experimental music, jazz and all the underground activity of that period inspired him to turn his work public, which happened in 1989. Between 1989 and 1997 he studied and experimented with prepared guitar, mainly acoustic, and focused his work on drone music, influenced by Phill Niblock and La Monte Young. Since then his interests shifted to the development of a personal language for fingerstyle guitar and started working in a regular basis with bassist Margarida Garcia.
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Manuel Mota (born October 22, 1970) is an experimental jazz and blues guitarist from Lisbon, Portugal. Mota started playing guitar at 15. In the late 1980s his discovery of experimental music, jazz and all the underground activity of that period inspired him to turn his work public, which happened in 1989. Between 1989 and 1997 he studied and experimented with prepared guitar, mainly acoustic, and focused his work on drone music, influenced by Phill Niblock and La Monte Young. Since then his interests shifted to the development of a personal language for fingerstyle guitar and started working in a regular basis with bassist Margarida Garcia.
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Domestic Scene
"Bassist Margarida Garcia and guitarist Manuel Mota are two of the best known string wielders from Lisbon's active improvising community. Both players work the edges of sound and form in ways that don't fit neatly into any genre category, while creating exciting sonic landscapes that appeal equally to fans of avant-garde rock, free jazz and experimental music. They have worked together frequently in a variety of formats -- duo, quartet, etc. -- but Margarida is the only one Feeding Tube has issu…
Antoine Brumel: Earthquake Mass
Following on from their successful last recording, Josquin the Undead (GCDP32117) this new recording of Antione Brumel's Earthquake Mass is a welcome addition. Graindelavoix is an Antwerp-based music and art ensemble founded in 1999. Helmed by founder-director Bjorn Schmelzer, it is committed to offering a contemporary and critical interpretation of mainly historical, vocal repertoires. It would be difficult to find a composition that resembles the twelve-part mass Et ecce terrae motus by Antoin…
Isocèle
*100 copies limited edition* Headlights Recordings presents Manuel Mota's new work Isocèle. Manuel Mota is known for the personal vocabulary he has developed for the guitar. His music draws inspiration from a multitude of references loosely rooted in the blues tradition to craft a sound which was highly regarded by Derek Bailey. Actual but transmitting an enigmatic sense of timelessness. The moment of creation- composition, and the instrumental execution- playing, are to him indistinct, and that…
Na Margem Sul
Haunted ice-cold electric guitar minimalism, shimmered and expertly restrained, 'Na margem sul' is a recording of David Grubbs and Manuel Mota's first public performance as a duo. They've been working together for over a decade - 2018's "Lacrau" is a particular highlight - but it's taken them this long to actually play together in front of an audience. Grubbs admits that although they've met countless times, they rarely talk about playing. From David Grubbs: "This recording documents Manuel Mota…
Lux
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 100 copies.* Headlights Recordings presents Manuel Mota's new work Lux. Manuel Mota is known for the personal vocabulary he has developed for the guitar. His music draws inspiration from a multitude of references loosely rooted in the blues tradition to craft a sound which was highly regarded by Derek Bailey. Actual but transmitting an enigmatic sense of timelessness. The moment of creation- composition, and the instrumental execution- playing, are to …
Via
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 100 copies.* Headlights Recordings presents Manuel Mota's new work Via. Manuel Mota is known for the personal vocabulary he has developed for the guitar. His music draws inspiration from a multitude of references loosely rooted in the blues tradition to craft a sound which was highly regarded by Derek Bailey. Actual but transmitting an enigmatic sense of timelessness. The moment of creation- composition, and the instrumental execution- playing, are to …
Hieme
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 100 copies.* Headlights Recordings presents Manuel Mota's new work Hieme. Manuel Mota is known for the personal vocabulary he has developed for the guitar. His music draws inspiration from a multitude of references loosely rooted in the blues tradition to craft a sound which was highly regarded by Derek Bailey. Actual but transmitting an enigmatic sense of timelessness. The moment of creation- composition, and the instrumental execution- playing, are t…
Dyspnea (parts I-IX)
Limited edition of 100 copies. "Here are two new releases by Manuel Mota, our man on the guitar and as before, he presents one disc with the music of his own making and one in collaboration with another musician. In this case that is Giovanni di Domenico. He plays the Fender Rhodes. I believe he is from Brussels, which is also where this CD was recorded, at the Theatre La Balsamine. This was for me a good moment to look at what the Fender Rhodes is, having only a vague notion. I would have calle…
November 16, 2014
**Numbered edition of 100. 2021 Stock** Silent Water presents November 16, 2014, a live performance by Manuel Mota: electric guitar, Giovanni Di Domenico: Fender Rhodes, and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto: drums. Recorded at Zuiderpershuis, Antwerp, on november 16th, 2014. Recorded by Koen Vandenhoudt. Mixed by Giovanni Di Domenico. Mastered by Frederic Alstadt.
Survival of Laments
* Edition of 150 * Two long compositions performed by Marcia Bassett and Manuel Mota on Guitar and Margarida Garcia on Bass, capturing a dark, metallic, almost reverberating atmosphere that we imagine in a cistern, a contained and often claustrophobic space. When the sound echoes, we sense the lament of the title in the face of physical constraint - the sound itself does not seem to have the capacity to cross the walls. Music of deep reflection, marking, through the constant sonic search, a worn…
Lpc
Limited edition of 100 copies. Another remarkable album by Manuel Mota, drawing out strands of 'strangely tuned' guitar sounds that wrap around her skeletal melody and then unfurl into more natural geometries to subliminal effect. You can listen to Mota's music from end-to-end over and over, discovering something new with each listen, gleaming with microscopic detail without ever neglecting its visceral, propulsive impact. Manuel Mota is known for the personal vocabulary he has developed for the…
Untitled LP
Restock Terrific moody album by guitarist Manuel Mota, experimenting with solo fingerstyle guitar. Ultra limited edition, 150 copies only
Lacrau
The first duo performance between David Grubbs and Manuel Mota, the mysterious Portguese guitar legend; a real-time, documentary feel in which athematic, non-repeating musical gestures are rendered with an extreme sensitivity to microscopic soundworlds brought about by fingertips, strings, and tube amplifiers."Smoky seance of barely there strums and possible psychokinesis, ideal for fans of Loren Connors..." Boomkat
I - II
Limited edition of 200 copies. A double CD set featuring seven solo guitar pieces recorded on the 5th of january 2017 in Ericeira II seven solo guitar pieces 1-5 recorded on the 12th, 14th and 15th of may 2017 6 and 7 recorded in Ericeira on the 8th of january 2017. Manuel Mota is a Portuguese guitarist, who might best be described as a somewhat more fluidly lyrical Derek Bailey. Lovingly recorded on solid body electric guitar, his improvisations have the spiky quality associated with the elde…
Sete, Exodus, Blackie, ST 13, 090114 (5 x Cdr)
limited edition of 55 numbered copies only. Grouped together are the latest CDr efforts set featuring the following albums: St 13, 090114, Blackie - Solo Guitar, Sete and Exodus.Manuel Mota's sparse fingerpicking style with the sound of the guitar drenched in reverb creating music of a reflective and contemplative nature from the guitarist. The music gradually evolves throughout the five albums whilst creating a consistent atmosphere and sense of space that requires careful listening to be ful…
Earth Rundown
Slowly evolving daydreams of electric guitar shrouded in lo-fi reverb by Margarida Garcia and Manuel Mota. Dark, quiet and mysterious superimpositions floating and spiraling further and deeper in the distant hollow spaces of the void. Artwork by Margarida Garcia. Edition of 70 copies. The Sloow Tapes cassette ‘Earth Rundown’ contains a concert by Portuguese guitarists Margarida Garcia and Manuel Mota, recorded in Lisbon in 2017. The two musicians, both spearheads of the Portuguese experi…
Jomon
Japanese saxophone transgressor Akira Sakata meets with his long-time collaborator and Fender Rhodes virtuoso Giovanni Di Domenico, Portuguese guitarist Manuel Mota, and drummer Mathieu Calleja for a session recorded at Les Ateliers Claus in Brussels.
Named after the Jomon period of the Japanese prehistory - when Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture rich in tools, clay pottery, and jewelry made from bone and stone - the record features three tracks: Jomon (縄文), Kaen (火焔), and D…
Rck
Long awaited monolithic boxset release from Manuel Mota, his second so far on Dromos. Material spreads from solo electric and acoustic to various live performances across the five discs. After more than a couple of decades of activity one might believe he knows what to expect of Mota, but the evolution in his work is constant and ever-developing. Throughout each disc and piece of music, Manuel Mota's suspended structures and isolated notes resonate with the intimacy and sentiment Manuel always h…
Foz
A couple of Autumns ago, on the back of a series of concerts and hosting a workshop togheter in Oporto, the duo of Toshimaru Nakamura and Manuel Mota recorded an informal session. From that natural affinity resulted Foz. It may be considered an historic document under the premise that it's Nakamura's first fully improvised, recording solely on electric, guitar in a decade. Throughout two long pieces the duo on call carves a well balanced harmony between more reflexive and purely physical moment…
Espírito Santo
* 250 copies limited edition * “Espírito Santo” was recorded one October day in Lisbon in the cellar of the “Espírito Santo” building. Formerly a bank, this building had been empty many years and was recently opened again for artists to use as studio and exhibition space. The room we recorded in, resembling at first glance more a cave than a cellar, is remarkable for its acoustics. With eight-meter high ceilings, brick walls and concrete floor we found ourselves dealing with a very responsive s…