Carlos Maria Trindade / Nuno Canavarro – Mr. Wollogallu – LP

Urpa i musell, the new Barcelona-based record label, feels very fortunate to announce its second release, the first ever vinyl reissue of “Mr. Wollogallu”, the collaboration album between Carlos Maria Trindade and Nuno Canavarro originally released in Portugal on União Lisboa, Produções Audiovisuais Lda. in 1991
The collaboration began when the manager António Cunha, a mutual friend of both musicians, brought the two together for a performance. Afterwards they decided to embark on “Mr. Wollogallu”. They had never worked together before, although their careers had parallels between them. Both were part of the 80s Portuguese pop-rock scene: Carlos Maria Trindade had played with Corpo Diplomático and Heróis do Mar, while Nuno Canavarro played in Street Kids and Delfins. Moreover, individually, Carlos Maria had released the single “Princesa / Em Campo Aberto” (Vimúsica, 1982), and Nuno had done the LP “Plux Quba” (Ama Romanta, 1988), now recognized worldwide for its uniqueness.

The conception and recording of “Mr. Wollogallu” took quite a long time. Both luminaries would convene in a home studio during the first half of 1990, brainstorming together with calm, care, and love. The sessions resulted in this collaborative record. Although the A side is credited to Carlos Maria and the B side to Nuno, everything was done hand in hand, each artist taking active part in the other’s side.

After the release of the record and some live performances together, each musician set out on separate paths: Carlos Maria joined the internationally renowned band Madredeus, while Nuno concentrated on making music for documentaries and feature films. As such, this record is evidence of a unique, magical moment.

When “Mr. Wollogallu” was released, it went mostly unnoticed; the public reaction was not as enthusiastic as one might expect. It was an oeuvre ahead of its time, difficult, winding, and diffuse, one that would take years to become more widely accepted. After a second release on CD in 1996, the album was finally praised in an important article published January 2000 in the supplement Sons of the Portuguese newspaper Público, in which the influential music journalist Fernando Magalhães traced the history of Electronic music in Portugal –by then Nuno Canavarro’s “Plux Quba” had become more recognized worldwide, thanks to a 1998 reissue on Jim O’Rourke’s label Moikai. At the end of the article, “Mr. Wollogallu” appeared on a list of ten fundamental national Electronic records. Apart from the media’s contribution, word of mouth among music lovers around the world has also been crucial in amplifying the record’s fame and status.

Carlos Maria and Nuno created everlasting music that contains an undeniable, enchanting mystery. “Mr. Wollogallu” features sophisticated, adventurous soundscapes that depict, in a manner both blurry and clear at the same time, ancient maps, distant travels and evocative landscapes, an alchemy of the acoustic and the electronic, created using techniques that were unusual at the time. The reissue includes the remastered album, with the original artwork and a new insert, in which Mia B. gives an insightful view of “Mr. Wollogallu’s”conception.

Urpa i musell

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