Other Lacroixx
Megafone - Maragato (Ahef vamos à festa Remix)

20 years ago, João Aguardela, seminal influence in the Portuguese modern music scene and key figure in bands such Sitiados, A Naifa or Linha da Frente, created the project Megafone after stumble upon a Michel Giacometti record in a second hand fair leading to a cathartic process where he found direct path for the traditional music sources shaping his creative and visionary perception.

Deeply influenced by ethnomusicologists Michel Giacometti, José Alberto Sardinha and Fernando Lopes-Graça work during the 60´s and 70´s where they recorded the very rich Portuguese cultural heritage, specially in rural areas where very closed societies during decades and its non-permeability to the world´s fast-pace changes in the post-war era facilitated the preservation of the ancient traditions, dances, instruments and music, Aguardela reinvented the tradition by sampling and fusing it with contemporary horizons, specially the electronic language and the UK rave scene from early 90´s as you can notice by listening the original "Maragato" track Ahef reworked here.

Today he would be turning 48 and 20 years after his first record as Megafone (1997) French producer Ahef and Filipe Ribeiro(blog Lacroixx) decided to dissect and rework one of his tracks by digging inside Giacometti´s online archives in search for the samples he originally used, the story behind, the local instruments and chants, 90´s sample packs from rave/nu skool breaks in order to recreate some of the process he used 20 years ago and present to you now as a blend of old and new adding a touch of Lusophone afro-rave, synth less, focus on rhythm and percussion. More than an homage, this is a celebration of his live, unique work and an incentive for young generations to discover their roots.

"Maragato" is a song almost forgotten. It was accompanied by an expressive mimic that make the women to raise their skirts a little and the men to roll up one of their trouser legs. The Maragatos form a Spanish ethnic group with little geographic extension and they inhabit the western part of Astorga. Essentially cowherds, they are known in the Northeast Transmontano, where they appear as cattle dealers. The vocal sample is from Miranda do Douro (Bragança) and is sung in Mirandese dialect by a female voice accompanied by flutes and triangle.

Megafone full discography is available for free here aguardela.com
Watch the video youtube.com/watch?v=Pr-4Tqz7b4U

soundcloud.com/ahef
facebook.com/ahefmusic

Mastering by soundcloud.com/aascomusic