MEET THE WILD MUSICIANS BRINGING OUR NEW COLLECTION TO LIFE

OHXALÁ WILL BE PERFORMING A SPECIAL LIVE-STREAMED SOUNDSCAPE ON THE ORLEBAR BROWN INSTAGRAM

The band Ohxalá is the walking talking embodiment of the unruly, natural world. Made up of musicians Maria and Luis from Porto in Portugal, their edgy electronic music blends everything from folklore to the ancient rituals of Portuguese, Brazilian and African culture. To celebrate the launch of Wild Garden, we’ve asked them to perform live – which you can watch on our Instagram account – from a historic mill in the Portuguese countryside. Listen to our exclusive soundscape here!

We chatted to them about inspirations, a typical day in Portugal, and their enduring love for Scorpios in Mykonos.

DOES NATURE PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN INSPIRING YOUR MUSIC?

Nature is life! Without it there is nothing. We always use elements of nature in our music – we like to take listeners to new places. We actually use field recordings from places like the jungle – of birds, animals, things like that – on the tracks.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE MUSICIANS?

Since we have been together as a couple, music has always been our objective. That’s around 12 years now. Maria studied design and print, and I studied design then focused on programming. I left programming behind. Making music is really technical too, so it satisfies that geeky side of me too. Maria loves to take photographs, and print them, you know, from analogue/film cameras? Our families definitely have cultural sides to them. They love dancing and music, and folklore.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Our main source of inspiration is life itself. It can be anything from food, or rituals, or customs. We really like to investigate and learn about ancient cultures. Even the mundane things in life inspire us – cooking, grabbing a coffee – life has a way of intervening.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE LISTENERS TO FEEL AFTER SEEING YOU PLAY LIVE FOR ORLEBAR BROWN?

A mix between happiness and comfort. We like to take people on a journey with us. It’s good when you know the audience responds the way you imagined they would.

IF YOU COULD HAVE BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER ACROSS PORTUGAL, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

This was hard for us to decide on places that we both agreed on, but our selection would be, first to go to breakfast in Serra da Estrea, which is in the north of Portugal high in the mountains. Wake up really early, see the clouds, the fog. We suggest some local cheese, local honey and local bread. After, for lunch, teleport to Apúlia beach or the Douro River region for some bacalhau, a sort of fish dish, and some cabrito, a type of roasted lamb, with a bottle of Alvarinho wine. For sunset and dinner, you need to have some fish, so there’s Odeceixe in Alentejo for fresh fish and regional dishes. For an after-dinner drink, Downtown Lisbon is the place. And then on to Porto, to Galerias de Paris for dancing.

WHAT'RE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES THAT YOU'VE TRAVELLED TO WITH YOUR MUSIC?

We had a big discussion about this. We love every place we have been to, of course, and we are always keen to visit more places. We want to visit every single country in the world! But in terms of our music? I think for festivals it would have to be Boom festival here in Portugal. The people are amazing and when we are playing and everyone is dancing we felt very connected. Scorpios in Mykonos was one of our favourite places – we are going to play there soon again. The most eccentric, out-of-the-ordinary place would have to be Annabel’s in London.

HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR SUMMER?

We love to meet new musicians. It’s amazing to go to Ibiza and find some friends that also produce music and find each other. Ibiza is a great place for us.

WHAT DOES AN ARCHETYPAL DAY FOR YOU IN PORTUGAL?

One of the most special things to do in Portugal is in Porto or Lisbon, is to find the parties on one of the Holy Saint Days. Lisbon will be celebrating Saint António on the 12th/13th of June. It’s a good excuse to be introduced to lots of eating and drinking! Everyone fills the streets, smiling, getting together and just enjoying life.

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