Drummer, singer, composer, and producer Mariá Portugal (BR) joins Berlin-based percussionists Burkhard Beins (DE) and Emilio Gordoa (MX) to form the EROSÃO Percussion Trio, which is now releasing its debut album through Kassiani Records and Fun in The Church. Their performances are strongly grounded in improvisation, drawing on a wide variety of percussion instruments — ranging from the traditional drum set to other unconventional instruments. The trio’s sound is enriched by the percussive use of the electric bass and live electronic processing, creating a unique musical personality where Brazilian popular music meets Berlin’s Echtzeitmusik.
Originally formed to bring Portugal’s 2021 album EROSÃO to the stage, EROSÃO PERCUSSION TRIO is now releasing an album produced by Mariá Portugal, featuring new material that builds on their shared exploration of percussive sounds and voice. The album will be out on May 1st through the Berlin-based labels Kassiani Records and Fun in The Church.
The trio’s work merges composed structures with improvisation, using non-pitched percussion (drums, bowed cymbals, metal objects, wood, straws, chains, and other unconventional percussive instruments). In addition, the trio also uses field recordings and live sound processing by Gordoa, along with a percussive electric bass played by Beins. All these elements interact dynamically with Portugal's voice, alternating between blending and contrasting, reflecting the core of their sonic exploration.
The EROSÃO Percussion Trio began as a performance project for Mariá Portugal’s album EROSÃO, which fuses her Brazilian musical roots with free improvisation and electronic experimentation. To bring this project to the stage, Portugal invited Gordoa and Beins, two prominent percussionists from Berlin’s Echtzeitmusik scene. Their diverse cultural backgrounds are combined in a unique collective sound and creative process, which is reflected in their new album–a result of an extensive period of research and collective composition, where the electric bass and electronics were added to the group’s percussive palette.
Recorded at Morphine Raum in Berlin, the album features new compositions by Portugal, “Cordilheira”, “Corda” e “Tripa”, alongside fresh renditions of Brazilian classics: “Pulsar” by Caetano Veloso and Augusto de Campos, and “Correnteza” by Tom Jobim and Luiz Bonfá. It highlights the interplay between Portugal’s voice, deeply rooted in Brazilian song tradition, and the non-tempered sounds of the percussion instruments. These sonic landscapes, sometimes long and contemplative, others energetic and ebullient, transcend conventional harmonic boundaries of song arrangement, opening the door to a rich and unpredictable sound experience.