Some of my favourite production days start with a quiet room, a few cables and an artist who is about to play something they’ve been carrying around for months. That is what muti sessions are about.

Since February 2022, muti and CUDO filmes, a team of audio-visual creatives in Portugal, have been recording sessions with emerging artists in special places: studios, the countryside of Central Portugal, Lisbon and Brazil.

The idea is simple. We give artists high-quality audio-visual material, and anyone can discover their sound and creative process on our YouTube channel. The first year was powered by NEAR Protocol, and the page now holds 45 videos from 12 artists and bands.

I produced and managed the project together with the team, consisting of a DOP (CUDO), assistant, sound technician and mix&master as well as the designer. 

What production meant here

• Artist curation: choosing who to invite, from singer-songwriters to bands to poets, and making sure the mix of voices felt right. 
• Location scouting: looking for places with that resonated both with the sound of the artist and their overall vibe – always taking into consideration that the light, the acoustics and the atmosphere are suitable for recordings
• Logistics: schedules, travel, equipment, and getting a team and several musicians to the same place at the same time, often somewhere remote.
• Catering: feeding everybody well. It may seem a small thing, but a good meal makes a long recording day much easier, and artists remember it.

Artist feedback

The Tourorists said the session gave them material to apply for other opportunities and helped them book concerts in Portugal the following year. Another artist wrote about the professional and human way he was received on location. For me, that is the best measure of the project: the recordings keep working for the artists after the day is over.

Planning a recording, a music video or an audio-visual project?

Together with CUDO filmes, muti can adapt to different locations and needs, for artists and for other organisations. If you have a project or a location in mind, I’d be happy to hear about it. Get in touch or see my services.

Watch the sessions on the muti collective website.