Luís Lopes

Luís Lopes

 

 

Benefitting from growing international recognition and visibility, Luís Lopes has built a singular and well-defined path, characterised by a unique voice, free from constraints and mannerisms regarding strict stylistic implications. Coming from a rock and blues background, he studied jazz, opting then to explore the universe of concrete improvisation and experimental music, without disregarding his fascination with distortion and guitar feedback, expressed in different incursions into noise music, while also channeling his energy towards projects where he can develop his composing abilities. He has recorded with artists Rodrigo Amado, Aaron Gonzalez, Stefan Gonzalez, Adam Lane, Igal Foni, Joe Giardullo, Harvey Sorgen, Benjamin Duboc, Sei Miguel, Christian Lillinger, Robert Landfermann, Jean-Luc Guionnet, and played with many others like Phill Niblock, Alfred Hart, Daniel Levin, Daniel Carter, Dennis Gonzalez, Elliot Levin, Reuben Radding, Jeb Bishop, Josh Abrams, Ernesto Rodrigues, Paulo Curado, Samuel Blaser, Boris Hauf, Evan Parker etc.

 

PRESS:

 

"Ora exibindo o seu habitual fraseado inteligente, ora trocando-o por uma intensa energia rock, Lopes confirma ser um dos mais interessantes e versáteis improvisadores da nossa praça" - Nuno Catarino (acerca do LISBON BERLIN TRIO - Clean Feed 234), Ípsilon-Jornal Público.

 

"He tends to play on the outside and alternates between a dryly electric and a high impact straight tone. Beefheartian guitarists, Sharrock in his early period and Ulmer in his outer moments are touch points in describing his style, but only as rough approximation, for he has a distinct bag" - Grego Applegate Eduards, Cadence Magazine

 

"He's a rather abstemious soloist after all, paying special attention to the correct placement of notes, not exactly longing for the sanitization of his sullied tone, which is a good thing in terms of originality" - Massimo Ricci

 

"Luis Lopes è ottimo compositore, chitarrista anomalo, gran assemblatore di talenti, solista maggiormente interessato al risultato complessivo piuttosto che a mettere in evidenza le proprie abilità o le singole voci." - Vincenso Roggero, All About Jazz Italy

 

"muitos anotarão o nome de Luís Lopes na lista dos nomes a vigiar de perto" - José Carlos Fernandes, Time Out Lisboa

 

"Another treasure trove of music is to be found in Clean Feed recording artist Luis Lopes" - Mark Corroto, All About Jazz NY

 

"Lopes's playing is straight-forward, with a bluesy electric sound, more focused on delivering great music than on pyrotechnics or avant-garde excursions" – Steff, Free Jazz Review

 

"líder cabal, un compositor destacable, un solista misterioso y, en definitiva, una nueva voz a tener en cuenta en el futuro" – Yahvé M. de la Cavada, TomaJazz, Spain

 

"He slurs, he scurries, he stops in unexpected places to flail at a single note, and he plays waaaaaay behind the beat to create a most interesting kind of energy. Good stuff! - Jason Bivins – Cadence Magazine

 

"Lopes is a stylist and uses closed-hand tapping techniques while putting matters into overdrive via his cross boundary exercises. He merges free, jazz-rock with dynamic, hard-core experimentalism" - Jazzreview by Glenn Astarita

 

"he remains very much his own man, and I love his idiosyncrasies, especially his weird habit of doing little rubbery spasms, like his guitar is spring loaded" - Jason Bivins - Signal to Noise

 

"Lopes is about as far as one can get from a pyrotechnical guitarist, hanging back with muted, gritty lines and fields of delicate introspection - All About Jazz NY By Clifford Allen

 

“música vigorosa, exaltante e que brota intensa, livre de amarras formais e malabarismos técnicos artisticamente inócuos. Demarcando-se de padrões seguidistas – mais preocupado em procurar ser verdadeiramente criativo do que em emular os ídolos costumeiros” – António Branco, Jazz.pt

 

“a player who knows how to create cosmic envelopes of sound” - Grego Applegate Eduards, Gapplegate Guitar and Bass blog