Subcut

Immersed in the milieu of São Paulo's hectic, unplanned and gridlocked urban beat, Bruno Belluomini, Hugo Frasa and Ninguém have carved out a way of expressing themselves through their potent audiovisual cocktail coined Subcut. A branch of the Tranquera crew, Subcut fosters collaborative art and the blurring of authorship in the impersonal terms of urban experience.

Keeping that in mind and instead of escaping the feeling of citified oppression by nipping into the scene indoors, Subcut took up the chaotic metropolis as a challenge – and an opportunity to reimagine the role of music and visual arts within their context. Strolling the gray corners of their hometown, adorned with omnipresent helicopters, subway stations, slums and sumptuous skyscrapers, Belluomini, Frasa and Ninguém found the perfect site for embracing the murky and mischievous voice of the metropolis: the streets themselves.

By settling open-to-all parties at random and unpredictable spots all over this urban scenario, Subcut makes the rhythmic flow of the sprawling city speak in the shape of the almighty basslines and spooked-out stabs of Dubstep and Grime. Places like downtown São Paulo, the infamous Augusta street, the multimedia Bar B and diverse locations in west São Paulo areas such as Vila Madalena, Pinheiros and Perdizes are all taken over. While Belluomini and Frasa guide the turntables throwing the sublow storm, Ninguém's visuals hit the walls wherever they stand.

"Subcut's visuals are about the upheaval, the gloom and the dirtiness that São Paulo implies", claims Ninguém. "These traces definitely show up on the VJing, along with an obscure and ironic sense of humor. Images of zombies, apocalyptical, iniquitous and dismal days fill our minds as they confuse and pollute our projections. Our narrative comes up with a cohesion that is not obvious – it defies to identifying beginnings and endings".

Very much like artistic happenings and intermedia performances, Subcut's presentations do raise a flag for a dynamic exchange of ideas and interfere with their environment by arguing that people should contribute the way they want to. "Since our street parties have no financial attachments, we don't need to perform a certain way as to necessarily please an audience. People are free to leave as much as people are welcome to stay", Ninguém argues. "It is indeed a sort of cultural resistance", Belluomini joins the debate.

Having presented their audiovisual live show at the Galpão Manufatura warehouse, Subcut has also performed with Ninja Tune's Daedalus at the Studio SP cultural center.

Minds alike

Harmony Korine, Mala, Vincent Gallo, Lee Scratch Perry, Kode 9, Stanley Kubrick, Fugazi, Skream, Peter Jackson, Abuso Sonoro, Benga, Larry Clark, Boxcutter, Gus Van Sant, Pixies, Loefah, Charles Bukowski, King Tubby, Black Flag, Scuba, John Fante, Marlow, Dee Dee Ramone, MRK1, Rubem Fonseca, Shackleton, William Gibson, Appleblim, Carlos Carah, Peverelist, the Beatniks, Pinch, Bad Brains, Darqwan, Seaweed, Cyrus, Vex'd and Burial.