Filmed at dawn and lifted by a giant crane over the River Tagus, these are just some of the details that make this an unprecedented work of art in the country, and “only” we’re talking about the recording of the video-concert “Live Over Lisbon” by the electronic music duo MXGPU, which includes the Portuguese music creatives Moullinex and GPU Panic, better known in everyday life as Luís Clara and Guilherme Tomé Ribeiro.
But what happened here? Simple: trying to record a video concert suspended on a platform 15 meters above the waters of the Tagus River, at dawn and with hurricane warnings on the horizon.
This was the reality of recording “Live Over Lisbon”, the new and more audacious musical project by the MXGPU duo who, after 27 hours, managed to achieve their goal.
Hypnotic 45-minute performance
Already available on the artists’ YouTube page (and also here below), the result of this unprecedented feat is truly transcendental, fusing music, architecture and Lisbon’s natural landscape in a highly improbable setting.
The project, directed by André Tentúgal, captures a moment of pure artistic and creative resilience, through a floating stage elevated by an impressive vintage crane from the 1980s, dubbed “PODEROSA”.
The improvised platform floated 15 meters above the Tagus River and was strategically positioned in front of MAAT and under the deck of the no less iconic 25 de Abril Bridge, while the city was still waking up.
Live, and without playback
Despite the weather conditions, which could have been much more adverse, the MXGPU duo made sure that their performance was completely live, and the electronic music duet’s new single “Live Over Lisbon” has no playback or overdubs (recording the voices or instruments “on top” of the original recording), favoring the raw energy and vulnerability of the artists themselves in this type of real-time exception.
The musical line-up for this video-concert reinterprets songs from the duo’s debut album, “Sudden Light”, such as “Take Me Home” and “Into Flames”, but surprised us with two unreleased versions of “See Me Burn” and “Luz”, which were adapted for this unique show.
The debut album
The “Live Over Lisbon” concert follows the release of the album “Sudden Light”, the eleven-track debut album that is the culmination of years of experimentation and touring, with themes that evolved on stage, often in 360º immersive experiences.
Inspired by figures such as Suzanne Ciani and James Turrell, and by the digital iconography of the 90s, MXGPU’s work explores the relationship between humanity and technology.
“Live Over Lisbon” transports this philosophy of union and connection to one of the most emblematic and unexpected stages: the city of Lisbon itself.
After the album “Sudden Light”, we wanted to explore how far we could take the sensation of the limitless , and performing over the river, at dawn, was like dissolving into the elements, the city, the sky and the sound became one force,” the MXGPU duo shared in a statement to our newsroom.
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