Raia – Uádi (Lusitanian LUS058, 2025)
Portuguese musician António “Tó-Zé” Bexiga recently released Uádi, the new album from his solo project Raia. The record highlights a graceful traditional Portuguese guitar called viola campaniça.
The title refers to the wadi, a dry riverbed that briefly turns fertile when rain returns, a metaphor Raia channels into music drawn from Portuguese and Spanish traditions. Uádi brings together viola campaniça with viola braguesa, viola beiroa, viola toeira, electric guitar, electric bass, electronics, and Turkish percussion. The result is a charming, evocative, timeless set that connects deeply grounded traditions from the Iberian Peninsula with modern sensibilities.
Guests on the album include Omiri (viola braguesa, electronics), Bicho Carpinteiro (viola beiroa, viola toeira), Fio Manta (viola beiroa, electric guitar), O Gajo (viola campaniça), Thomas Attar Bellier of Al Qasar (electric bass), and Gulami (Turkish percussion).
Raia is the solo project of Alentejo-born musician António Bexiga, who focuses on the viola campaniça, a traditional Portuguese string instrument. His work draws on the culture of the Raia (La Raya in Spanish), or the stripe, the border region between Portugal and Spain. It crisscrosses Iberian folk influences with contemporary and electronic approaches.
Bexiga has presented Raia in concerts and masterclasses at music schools and universities across Europe, Africa, South America, and Southern Asia, often using live loops, percussion, and occasional live illustration to expand the performance.
Musicians: António Bexiga on viola campaniça, percussion, sound objects; Nélson Canoa on vocals, soundscapes; Vasco Ribeiro Casais (Omiri) on viola braguesa, electronics, field recordings; Ricardo Grácio (Fio Manta) on viola beiroa; Leonel Mendes (Fio Manta) on electric guitar; Diogo Esparteiro (Bicho Carpinteiro) on viola toeira, vocals; Rui Rodrigues (Bicho Carpinteiro) on viola beiroa, vocals, adufe, electronics; João Morais (O Gajo) on viola campaniça; Thomas Attar on electric bass; Gulami on percussion.
Recording, Mixing and Master: Nélson Canoa, Canoa’s Studio (Torres Vedras).
Illustration, design, and final artwork: Cristina Viana (Odeceixe, Aljezur).
Buy Uádi.
Author: Iliana Cabrera
