The Lovers & Lollypops record label holds a place in the Portuguese music scene that’s similar to the Bonfim district within the city of Porto. The gentrified centre has been reshaped for tourism, while Bonfim is a neighborhood where daily life is diverse and vivid – here, creativity is lived rather than displayed, authenticity is preserved, and being out of the spotlight allows new ideas to flourish.
Think of Cemitério do Prado do Repouso or the amazing views of Miradouro das Fontainhas, where the Douro opens up in a lived-in view of the city, far from the polished Ribeira. As you pass by the Faculdade de Belas Artes, which gives Bonfim its unique character, and get lost in the Labirinto do Parque de São Roque, the spirit of Lovers & Lollypops becomes clear. Albums from the label could serve as a perfect soundtrack for these spaces, but their reach extends beyond the city and Portugal, serving as an important stage for underground music across Europe.
Founded in Porto in 2005, what began as a record label focused on underground and alternative rock quickly expanded into a multidisciplinary platform. They now release albums, organize concerts, run festivals, and, more recently, have established a venue of their own in Porto at Rua de São Vítor. Throughout its evolution, Lovers & Lollypops has remained musically eclectic. Psychedelia in their releases is an attitude, not a style, and takes many forms: heavy, improvised riffs, drums and metal, delicate electronic landscapes. ritual or intimate whispers.
João Pais Filipe – ‘Teocalli’
João Pais Filipe is a drummer, percussionist and instrument sculptor from Porto. His music blends polyrhythmic intensity and trance-like repetition, the metallic resonance resonance often derived from gongs and cymbals he crafts himself. The result is music that is repetitive and minimalist, with the percussion not exploding but acting like a mantra – this is frequently hypnotic in nature. ‘Teocalli’ is the result of an invitation to develop a composition for the film under the same title by the Colectivo Los Ingrávidos.
Marlene Ribeiro – ‘Toquei no Sol’