Custódio Castelo
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal | MAJOR
Music
Press
Another excellent selection of modern-day Portuguese fados by guitarist Custodio Castelo, whose innovative arrangements and high level of technical panache have made him a worthy heir to the late Carlos Paredes. Castelo is one of the most popular guitarists on the contemporary Portuguese scene, having performed with Cristina Branco, Carlos de Carmo, Misia, and even the legendary Amalia Rodrigues. As a solo artist, his creative depth is powerfully clear: the songs on this album are all dazzling (although on occasion he goes a little overboard and gets a little too jangly or ornate... Some listeners, particularly traditionalists, may find these moments jarring or distracting.) Fans of the style or newcomers who are curious will all want to check this out -- this is a modern fado artist who is taking chances and helping broaden the genre. (Note: you might also want to check out Castelo's earlier album, The Art of the Portuguese Fado Guitar also on the ARC Music label...) (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To World Music).
- AMAZON.COM, by DJ Joe Sixpack, (...in Middle America); December 6, 2012
The Portuguese guitar is a pear-shaped instrument (roughly like a large mandocello or an Irish bouzouki) with 12 strings; its sound is unique, combining guitar and mandolin with elements of zither, lute and hammered dulcimer.
Commonly used to accompany singers of the Fado tradition (an indigenous urban Portuguese song form, comparable to French chanson), its acknowledged master is the great virtuoso, Custodio Castelo.
This recording features a dozen of Mr. Castelo's original instrumental compositions accompanied by a variety of other instruments, ranging from the traditional cavaquinho (a 4 course predecessor of the ukulele) to programmed drum machines and often sharing the spotlight with the violin, clarinet, accordion and bowed upright bass. The band sounds like a jam session among virtuosi, with swelling dynamics and tempi that make the music feel continually surprising and spontaneous.
The music itself shows Latin and Moorish influences and frequently mixes traditional sounding elements and modern grooves (provided by drum machines and funk bass) within the same composition.
The result is never less than intriguing, moving from dream-like to danceable, with a unique beauty that is unlike anything I have ever heard before.
Guitar players and fans of world music should consider this a must-have record; anyone else interested in something new and different should think seriously about giving InVentus by Custodio Castelo a listen. Beautiful music, well recorded and lovingly performed by experts, this is a recording that is extremely hard to stop listening to.
- AMAZON.COM, by Oscar O. Veterano; December 31, 2012
L’instrument-roi du fado, on le sait, c’est avant tout la guitarra portugaise, cette sorte de mandoline a dos plat, au son plus aigrelet que celui de la guitare espagnole, grace a ses doubles cordes metalliques. Depuis la disparition de Carlos Paredes, un nom emerge parmi les nombreux joueurs de guitarra mais l’un d’entre eux se detache par sa demarche particuliaire qui consiste a faire sauter les barreaux de la cage qui reduisait cet instrument a l’accompagnement du fado: c’est celui de Custodio Castelo.
Voici son deuxieme album purement instrumental qui explore avec gourmandise, comme Paco de Lucia le fit il y a quarante ans avec le flamenco, les futurs possibles de son art. Car c’est autant un grand accompagnateur de fadistes, d’Amalia l’Imperatrice a Cristina Branco, en passant par Mariza, Ana Moura, Maria da Fe; ou Raquel Tavares qu’un compositeur tres inspire. Sur ce CD, il va renifler du cote du Cap-Vert avec un hommage a Cesaria Evora. (Miss Morna), vers l’accordion parisien, accompagne par Richard Galliano (Fan Fado), vers l’Afrique (Oneafrodite). Bref, ses compositions, qui pourraient etre chantees par des fadistes, sont aussi une ouverture vers la world music, vers le jazz, vers les musiques actuelles tout en restant du fado. Les gardiens du temple fremissent, comme il se doit, en froncant les sourcils et protesteront que ce n’est plus du fado. Mais Custodio Castelo, en excellent gardien du chateau qu’il est, sait bien que la meilleure facon de faire vivre un art est de le faire s’ouvrir aux influences etrangeres qui baignent le monde et de les digerer. Ce qu’il reussit avec beaucoup de talent. Sa virtuosité, son inventivité;, son ouverture d’esprit renovent plus que jamais le fado, un style qui, sans lui et sans les fadistes du fado nuevo, se serait asphyxie tout seul. - ON-MAGAZINE, by Michel Laroche; December 22, 2012
Django-esque, but with more gypsy and less jazz. Has it some distinctively 'Portuguese' element or elements? Yes, it does have a sort of stuck-in-the-past Moorish Sun Belt ambiance when one thinks about it, but this is not music for thinking about. Custodio Castelo is not only the world's leading player of the Portuguese fado guitar, but also a great composer of the sort that does all the thinking about the music for you. It is cerebral, even a bit of a challenge to follow in its intricacy at times, but it is for feeling, not thinking.
It is also powerful. InVentus purchasers will not only find themselves programming their ring tones and alarms with these songs, but waiting impatiently for a movie good enough to use any of these songs as soundtrack material to come along. Listen to this CD and you will want to see the movie. Any movie into which these dramatic, achingly lovely pieces fit. You will want to see people dance to these songs, and meet to them, and eat, drink and be in all ways merry to them.
In the meantime, you will very much enjoy listening to and share the CD. - AMAZON.COM, by Arthur Shuey (Wilmington, North Carolina, USA); January 9, 2013
Custodio Castelo is the highest-profile living master of Portuguese fado’s emblematic instrument.
The guitarra portuguesa has an arresting appearance and a unique sound; the so-called ‘fado guitar’ is not in fact a guitar.
For many years the preferred accompanist of some of fado's greatest singers, Custodio Castelo is now emphasising his role as virtuoso instrumentalist and composer.
Custodio Castelo wishes to do for fado what Paco de Lucia did for flamenco: refresh a venerable genre, whilst raising its profile at home and abroad.
The recipe: honour fado’s heritage, whilst not being confined by its conventions, nor shy of collaboration with musicians from other genres.
In 2004 – whilst suffering an injury that threatened to end his career - Custodio Castelo recorded a landmark album; Tempus was issued worldwide in 2011.
Happily, Castelo overcame his injury and his second internationally-available album as leader has been given speedy release, worldwide.
With one exception, InVentus is a set of his own compositions.
It variously/occasionally deploys fine players of guitars-as-such, acoustic and electric basses, violin, clarinet, flute, accordion and a second player of the guitarra portuguesa, but the leader is definitely its shining star. - THE WEEKEND PLANET - RADIO NATIONAL AUSTRALIA, by Doug Spencer; February 3, 2013
Custodio Castelo has made his name as the go-to guy for Portuguese guitar, that gorgeously lyrical and emotive instrument that is as much at the heart of fado as the voice. He can make the instrument sing, cry, do virtually anything, and he does on the compositions on this solo album. Although several of the pieces celebrate the style with which he is linked, many move far beyond that, such as The Takeoff and the sweet, sprightly joy of Oneafrodite. But the centerpiece is the lengthy suite of O Encantador de Tristezas,in three different movements that span a wealth of emotions and showcase Castelos easy power on the guitar. Sadly, those accompanying him all go unnamed, but they do a sterling job as his equals, not merely in the background, with the clarinetist a standout. It is a disc that bursts with both melody and invention, where one joy succeeds another.
- ALL MUSIC GUIDE, by Chris Nickson; November 2012
Hur många olika sätt kan man frasera och forma en viss melodi på? Portugisen Custódio Castelo vet nog inte svaret heller. Men han kan mycket väl vara rekordinnehavaren.
Denne oändligt känslige musiker kommer ur fadon och var gift med, ackompanjerade och skrev för Cristina Branco. Han drillar genomvirtuost på sin guitarra portuguesa eller smeker fram melodislingor långsamt, vackert och med en regnbåge av skiftningar i, bland medmusiker på samma våglängd.
Castelo vill göra för fadon vad Paco de Lucia gjort för flamencon: föra ut den till världen genom kompositioner där traditionen får påverkas av andra musikstilar. Varsamt. Till det bästa här hör hyllningen till Kap Verdes Cesária Évora och ”Fan fado” med ackordeonisten Richard Galliano.
- SYDSVENSKAN, by Alexander Agrell (Malmö, Sweden); January 30, 2013.
Custodio Castelo offers romantic guitars from Portugal... but on this outing is heading elsewhere.
His 2011 album The Art of Portuguese Fado Guitar was a delight by this master of the instrument (and lute-like 12-string) because he also stretched into stately tango.
Longtime accompanist to fado singer Cristina Branco, Castelo here again takes inspiration from places (Paris), predecessors and fellow musicians (Cesaria Evora, Fernando Mauricio, Jose Fontes Rocha), and of course love.
Beautifully executed with small groups, diverse and interesting... but that earlier album pushed the dramatic and the introspective ends further so it might still be the one to go to if you just want one album of fado guitar. - ELSEWHERE, by Graham Reid (New Zealand); March 31, 2013
Discography
Tempus (2004) - ARC Music
InVentus (2012) - ARC Music
Photos
Bio
"The guitar is a ship in the seas of music..."
Since an early age, music sparked Custódio Castelo’s interest. Born in Almeirim, Ribatejo, Portugal, at the age of seven he builds his first musical instrument, made out of tin. At age thirteen he is offered his first “serious” instrument, an acoustic guitar, with which he starts playing on popular music groups and local rock bands.
Custódio discovers the enchanting sound of the Portuguese guitar through the Amália Rodrigues albums, and immediately falls in love with it. He tackles the instrument in an audacious way. He starts to accompany some of the most notable Fado musicians, particularly Vicente da Câmara, Manuel de Almeida, Fernando Farinha and Fernando Maurício.
"Custódio Castelo is undoubtedly one of the indisputable references of the renewal of the Portuguese guitar in the last two decades ..." says Rui Vieira Nery.
He begins composing at age 18 and, two years later, Jorge Fernando invites him to record an album, opening a musical partnership that continues until today.
Castelo establishes, with singer Cristina Branco, a partnership that leads the press to refer to his musical composition as "brilliant", "beautiful and perfect", between tradition and innovation. With Cristina Branco he releases seven albums, two of them, "Múrmurios" (1998) and "Post-scriptum” (1999), honored with the award ‘Choc de L’Année du Monde de la Musique’ in the World Music category.
Of Custódio Castelo’s list of achievements it is important to emphasize the participation on the record "Garras dos Sentidos" by Mísia, "Na Linha da Vida" by Camané, his role accompanying Mafalda Arnaulth at the Royal Albert Hall and as Portuguese Guitar Player for Amália Rodrigues, in her last concerts in the United States.
Virtuoso guitar player, Castelo performs as a soloist at several major international festivals, namely at Belo Horizonte Music Festival (Brazil), the World Music of Philadelphia (USA), the International Music Festival of Rabat (Morocco), the North Sea Jazz (Netherlands) and the Festival du Sud (France).
In 2004 he suffers a ligaments rupture in his right shoulder and an unexpected surgery. On the face of this event, and of the possibility of not being able to play anymore, Custódio gathers some musician friends who always accompanied him and - "with great difficulty in execution and in a climate of extreme tension, as if it was a farewell to his guitar" - they record the album "Tempus", the first release of his originals.
Returning to the music scene in full strength and creativity, he records with Ana Moura, Mariza, Jorge Fernando, Gonçalo Salgueiro, João Chora, among others.
He participates with Ana Moura and Jorge Fernando in "The Rolling Stones Project", of Tim Ries.
"Fortunately there are several composers, some of them from unexpected areas, that have contributed to the vitality of fado. Custódio Castelo is undoubtedly one of the most talented, capable of the most sophisticated compositions", says Manuel Halpern.
Castelo signs the production of Cristina Maria’s new album, "Percursus", accompanied by Custódio Castelo Trio.
With the Symphonic Orchestra of Lithuania and Nuno da Câmara Pereira, Custódio records the album "Só à noitinha", and until this day, he shares the stage with musicians from other areas such as accordionist Richard Galliano, pianists Olga Prats, Arrigo Cappellel and Andrew Dequech, the bandeonista Daniele di Bonaventura, cellist Davide Zaccaria, bassist Ben Wolf, the classical guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, the singer Carmen Liñares and the fashion designer Ana Salazar.
Since 2008, Castelo teaches the first Master Degree of Portuguese Guitar at the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, in Portugal.
In 2010 Custódio Castelo is awarded with the Amália Rodrigues Prize for Best Fado Instrumentalist.
In September 2012 he releases his second album of original compositions, InVentus, recorded with his trio and several Portuguese and international guests. InVentus is distributed worldwide by 'ARC Music'.
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