Hans-Joachim Roedelius, historical German electronic musician (on the kraut rock of Kluster and Harmonia groups), reached Braga few days before the start of Semibreve festival. Roedelius, to star in a commemorative special concert of his 80th birthday this Friday night, it was one of the strongest names in the first edition of Semibreve, in 2011, the organization confessed his fascination for a “peaceful festival.” “He felt that it was all very relaxed, everything went well,” recalls Antonio Rafael Machado, musician of Morta and one of the creators of this annual showcase of electronic music avant-garde and digital arts has won before the start of its fifth edition, an extraordinary relief in the international calendar
In Semibreve’s genesis was a factual finding of strong demographic growth Braga in the 80s and 90s -. agreement with Census 2011, the resident population amounts to over 180 thousand inhabitants – and the natural “technological talent, innovation, risk and bet on vanguard” that Rafael believes it is defining the city. In this factor acrescia the perfect juxtaposition that settled a peripheral through a festival dedicated to peripheral arts. With the most popular programming assured by the normal functioning of the Theatro Circo – also the parent of Semibreve – avenged the idea that outside the two large urban centers of the country there would be room for further impact of an event of these characteristics. From the beginning, so soon there was an avowed aim of “rub shoulders in quality, within available resources, with festivals and international”, showing that the size of the city was more attractive than a restrictive disadvantage.
It was precisely this attractive, which Roedelius identified immediately, to allow the Semibreve was imposed not only by careful programming but also for something, not surprising, was not the subject of any planning. “Since the first edition there is a general welfare,” admits Rafael Machado. “It has to do much with the city scale, because everything is so close, all trips are made on foot, artists are left to their will, artists and journalists have dinner together,” and the audience crosses naturally with the great festival figures attending the same spaces so they end concerts. It is this “spirit of informality and welfare”, but also against a particular community, which means that musicians ask to stay in Braga during the entire festival, not taking refuge at the hotel just leaving the stage, not leaving immediately, in many cases, to another stop.
The importance of this spirit in the construction of Semibreve reputation becomes evident when, a year in which the general passes increased from 150 to 400 and exhausted before even a few headliners were announced, the organization does know that Semibreve probably grew what has to grow with the introduction of several simultaneous shows. It is not lack of ambition, but rather of awareness that identity should not be endangered by the obsession of steady growth. “We are a producer of festivals,” stresses Rafael, “Some of us are musicians and this greatly changes the perspective. Everything happens in a happy to arrange logic. Adulterating up this spirit, which is only compatible with a small festival, we would enter a different logic we do not want. “Hence, in future editions, the model might be retouched, but with the concern not to jeopardize the outlined costume up now.
“It’s not really a private house party, but it’s the closest we got it,” says Rafael. After all, contrary to what is customary in Semibreve is normal to find the organizers sitting in the room to watch the concert, instead of delivered to a permanent stress.
Creative City
The apparent success of a small-scale festival, which in 2014 joined two thousand people for three nights, in concerts that take place in rooms whose maximum capacity is 897 spectators, also is measured by the broad international coverage by publications such as Wire or site The Quietus , or by Semibreve election as one of the 26 most interesting festivals in the world by Dazed and Confused and select the Resident Advisor as one of the 10 festivals required to visit in October. Rafael recognizes that the commitment to international communication was crucial for the assertion of Semibreve, while also acting as a facilitator of seduction to feature international artists. But also the local fruits are obvious: such proposals started to contaminate the regular schedule of GNRation room (in terms of concerts, installations, artist residencies or even the educational service), the creation of the musicians of the region and to facilitate the access to events for the masses, as the White Night.
will be here also undoubtedly an important contribution to a city with an ancient history asserts itself in contemporary creation and can now candidatar- with strong arguments in UNESCO Creative City.
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