Filipa Santos ~ Miguel Moreira: Now Swim

Atmospheric does not begin to describe Filipa Santos and Miguel Moreira's recording Now Swim. The music emits from another dimension, a soundtrack from the bottom of the ocean: exotic and dense, weird and abrasive, soothing and lulling, often simultaneously.

Santos' saxophone, flute and voice are often unearthly, being manipulated electronically and creating an eerie, ghostly presence. Moreira's guitar and percussion programming vary from providing a deep rhythm to creating a cacophony of noise that explodes in the middle of a song.

It is an album best listened to from start to finish as the songs merge and build on each other. For example, going from "Float"—which sounds like its name, airy and light—to "Bridge," which starts slowly and abstractly, building to Moreira unleashing his guitar in joyous feedback before slowing back down, to the driving rhythm of "Cosmic Ship," all which feels like an unexpected journey to the cosmos, Santos' sax leading the way through the electronic blips and guitar drones.

The Portuguese duo have released two albums previously, but Now Swim is their most accomplished work. The liner notes suggest a philosophical approach to the music that is implicit in the title: "Swimming implies accepting instability. It implies trusting the environment that sustains without offering fixed ground." And it is the exploratory nature of the improvisation they employ that makes the album so fascinating. Often, the listener might not even be sure what instrument is being played. What sounds like a kalimba on "Limnology" could be a guitar being plucked, a synthesizer or electronically manipulated sounds. Or all of the above.

The synchronicity between the two musicians is immense, each driving the other until a song builds to an unexpected climax, like they are finishing each other's dreams. Now Swim is a compelling album, full of beauty and strangeness, so dive right in.