João Bento composed the soundtrack, in the most traditional sense of the term, for Vera Mantero’s The Clean and The Dirty, but his music was also, and above all, an active participant in the construction of the choreography of the three performers, an element that added to the creation of the piece itself, engaging in dialogue and initiating gestures and movements. Based on the principles of inner cleanliness and the ecology of the physical and spiritual self, João Bento sought to capture the sounds that would reflect a kind of individual and collective ritual, including the rehearsals themselves and group work. The conception of the choreography naturally led to the production of a vast collection of sound material that has mostly been filed away and has been waiting to be used. Taking advantage of the most recent repeat performance of The Clean and The Dirty at Culturgest, we wished to propose to João Bento a kind of recycling of the soundtrack, creating an electric and acoustic composition based solely on this unreleased material, building a possible bridge with the concept of sustainability, which is so important for the genesis of Vera Mantero’s work.

A sound and visual artist who graduated in Visual Arts/Sculpture at ESAD (School of Arts and Design), in Caldas da Rainha, João Bento composes sound for dance, performance, installations, theatre, cinema and live acts, in which he brings together analogue/electronic instruments, sound and processes that question memory and territory. Either solo or in collaboration with others, he has presented works all across Europe, as well as in Mexico, India and Bangladesh.