gaztween: ii
Francisco Espregueira
A gentle dusk seems to drift over Porto when you press play in Gaztween’s new album — the duo of Miguel Tenreiro (aka Gazpa) and Tito Romão (aka Arctween). II just dropped via the always-forward-thinking Jazzego Records, a hub for some of the most interesting artists from the north of Portugal. On this second full-length the pair trade polish for presence: recorded in intimate spots — a cosy room, a basement, a friend’s studio — it feels like listening to two people unfolding ideas in real time, much like their celebrated Synth Jam sessions at Mr. Bean’s. The shift from their earlier work I (2021) is subtle but clear: less concerned with neatness, more with mood and space, the record wraps you in sound for those late-night hours when the world slows and you’re left with wonderful textures, echo and pulse.
II floats through downtempo dub, instrumental hip hop, electronica and jazz — a fluid meeting of organic and synthetic, a place where flute and cello wander through electronic grooves, where subtle jazzish hues blend with soft digital atmospheres. On “Egydio,” for instance, those acoustic touches appear for the first time side-by-side, processed by the duo’s electronic sensibility. The result feels like a meditation on connection — between humans and machines, between friends, between memory and future — as if Gaztween are mapping a calm, nocturnal world with every note. Available on vinyl, courtesy of Jazzego Records.