Sirius is the Portuguese duo of veteran percussionist and object manipulator Monsieur Trinité (aka Francisco da Trindade), a frequent collaborator of the violist-violinist Ernesto Rodrigues’ projects as well as Carlos «Zíngaro» and Sei Miguel, and generation-younger, Swaziland-born trumpeter and electronics player (and sculptor, poet and street artist) Yaw Tembe. «Sirius» is the title of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s seminal, extended music-theatre composition for eight-channel electronic music and trumpet, soprano, bass clarinet, and bass (1975-77).

The duo released its debut album, Acoustic Main Suite Plus The Inner One, in 2017 (Clean Feed, co-produced by Sei Miguel). Over the years, Sirius has developed an approach rooted in concepts of imaginary and speculative acoustics and psychogeographic spaces. The duo’s sophomore album, Reclining Postures, marks the duo’s return to experimental electroacoustic interplay, exploring abstract stillness through a dialogue between contemplative atmospheres and urgent and intense free improvisations.

Monsieur Trinité is credited with various objects, and he fragments and ornaments Tembe’s atmospheric trumpet lines with delicate, spacious, and resonant touches, deeply influenced by Situationism and Surrealism. Tembe explores the trumpet’s timbral possibilities with extended breathing techniques, preparations, self-made mutes, live processing, and electronics.

Sirius suggests cosmic cinematic textures, filled with subtle tension and reverberating architectures that match the grounded and the ethereal, density with suspension. The duo performs the music with great focus on detail and color, and within a perfect, spacious equilibrium.

Eyal Hareuveni

Monsieur Trinité (various objects), Yaw Tembe (trumpet and electronics)