Schedule
1:00-1:30 PM - Guillermo de Llera Blanes: From MidiMbira to DTMIs: Heritage-informed digital musical instrument design
This talk presents the MidiMbira as the starting point for a broader inquiry into Digital Traditional Musical Instruments (DTMIs): digital or hybrid instruments developed through the study of traditional instruments, their playabilities, and their cultural contexts. I will first introduce the early MidiMbira iterations, the Mozambican fieldwork and collaborative instrument-making that led to them, and the reasons for developing the project further at CIRMMT and IDMIL. I will then situate DTMIs within the wider field of DMIs, suggesting that traditional instruments can contribute ergonomic, acoustic, symbolic, and performative logics to new interface design, while also supporting heritage-based arguments for indigenous futurisms and continued relevance through forward-looking practice. The second part outlines two current prototypes: a low-cost amplification/sound-manipulation system for resource-limited contexts, and the DIG, a didgeridoo-informed DMI drawing on existing IDMIL/CIRMMT research, including the T-Stick and eTube.
1:30-2:00 PM - Fernanda Pinheiro: Why create a Music Label in 2026? An exploratory study of recording production and label practices in Montreal
This presentation outlines a four-month visiting research project at CIRMMT and Concordia, developed by a Brazilian cultural producer and researcher. The study explores how music labels in Montreal operate today, with a focus on recording production, business models, distribution, copyright, and cultural policies. The research combines documentary analysis of official sources, technical visits to selected labels, and a survey examining label creation, areas of activity, artist relations, contracts, remuneration, and the use of artificial intelligence. Originally focused on traditional and folk music, the project adopts a broader perspective on Montreal's music scene. Expected outcomes include communications, article, and a short audiovisual piece aimed at sharing this experience with music professionals in Pernambuco, Brazil. The project also seeks to build dialogue with local professionals and contribute to a broader understanding of the music industry from a cross-cultural perspective.
Biographies
Guillermo de Llera Blanes
Guillermo de Llera Blanes is an ethnomusicologist, musician, composer, audiovisual performer, and instrument designer affiliated with INET-md, NOVA FCSH, Lisbon. His research explores the relationships between traditional instruments, digital musical interfaces, remix practices, and performance. His doctoral work, On Playability Theory and Remixing: Exploring Controllerism through the creation of the MidiMbira in Mozambique, examined the development of the MidiMbira through participatory work with Mozambican musicians and instrument makers. He has carried out long-term fieldwork in Mozambique since 2018, focusing on mbira practices, musical bows, live-looping, DIY instrument-making, and contemporary forms of sonic heritage. His artistic work includes performances, installations, documentary film, and multimodal ethnographic outputs. As a performer, he draws on more than twenty-five years of professional music practice, bringing stage experience into his research on playability, controllerism, and Digital Traditional Musical Instruments. At CIRMMT/IDMIL, he is developing new DTMI prototypes.
Fernanda Pinheiro
Holds a Master's degree in Arts and Cultural Management from the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC, Portugal) and a Bachelor's degree in Music from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE, Brazil). She works as a teacher, researcher, producer, and cultural manager focused on music projects. Currently at Sesc Pernambuco, she is part of the management, production, and curatorial team of the Label Selo Sesc Pernambuco, and is also a member of the Laboratory for Music and Audiovisual Analysis (PPGCOM-UFPE). In 2023 and 2024, she worked as a music technician at Sesc Pernambuco, curating and executing projects such as Sonora Brasil and Sesc Partituras. From 2020 to 2023, she was Music Coordinator at Paço do Frevo, overseeing musical projects, curatorship, and production. In 2017 and 2018, she collaborated with the University of Minho (Portugal) as a research technician on the project "Transnational Cultural Cooperation Networks," which carried out over 40 initiatives across Brazil, Spain, and Portugal. She has also worked in independent cultural production and management.