Abyssal Plains is the debut album of a new Spanish-Portuguese free improvising quartet that was initiated by Spanish, Barcelona-based pianist Clara Lai, known for her work with Portuguese sax hero José Lencastre, and Portuguese, Cologne-based drummer Vasco Furtado, who also works with Lencastre. Lai and Furtado have already been working as a duo (and produced this album), and they are joined by Portuguese vocal artist (and sound designer) Mariana Dionísio, and guitarist Norberto Lobo, both based in Lisbon.
The album was recorded at Namouche Studios in Lisbon in March 2025, following a performance of Lai and Furtado with Dionísio as a guest, with whom they had never collaborated before; afterwards, the three improvisers decided to record themselves with Lobo, with whom Furtado had wanted to play for a long time. Abyssal Plains was the first recording of these four musicians.
This quartet uses the studio’s reverberating acoustics to explore a colorful, resonant interplay. Dionísio’s sensual stream-of-thought vocal acrobatics suggest an emotional course, intensified by Lai’s inside-the-piano metallic sounds, Furtado’s fragmented but urgent rhythmic drive, and Lobo’s rhythmic guitar layers. The eight intimate, free-associative pieces avoid sonic abysses or excess, and tell intuitive, eccentric stories, all highlighting the unconventional yet collective and imaginative sonic vision of this quartet.
Eyal Hareuveni
Clara Lai (piano), Mariana Dionísio (vocals), Norberto Lobo (electric guitar), Vasco Furtado (drums)
