Tiago Sousa

Born in 1983, on a rainy Fall morning, has always committed his life to music. In his teenage years, he spent his lunch money on records, rapidly growing to start his first band. After a brief stint at Barreiro's Jazz School, studying jazz guitar, he grew out of tune with music's academic ways. He started Goodbye Toulouse, and played with indie-rock act Jesus The Misunderstood and with tribalism-tinged experimental outfit Sapien Sapiens. At the same time, he started the Merzbau label, one of the first and most accomplished portuguese netlabels.

His later re-found enthusiasm for childhood learnings, though, materialized itself in the shape of a vertical wooden-colored piano suddenly planted in his bedroom. The instrument's omnipresence became determinant in his life since then. With it, Tiago recorded 2006's Crepúsculo and 2007's Noite/Nuit, both released on Merzbau, and 2008's acclaimed The Western Lands, on german label Resting Bell. The Western Lands became the mote for his first european tour, crossing half Europe by train to play the record to growing audiences. In the meantime, he shared the stage with people such as Shannon Wright, Paul Metzger or Vic Chestnutt.

All along this path he always kept a musical activism streak, consistently putting on shows for the bands he believed in, and strengthening ties with festivals such as Barreiro Outras Músicas and the the rapidly growing OUT.FEST, an international mecca for exploratory music, held just across the river from Lisbon.



www.tiagosousa.org

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