António Bexiga

RAIA: Planeta Campaniça / So9lo project by António Bexiga

RAIA:Planeta campaniça is a solo project by Portuguese musician António Bexiga [Tó-Zé Bexiga]. A sound journey around the latitudes of the viola campaniça, between tradition and experimentation with Iberian roots. The viola campaniça is one of the Portuguese violas. Campaniça means from the countryside, Campaniça region (Baixo Alentejo). Raia is the border line between Portugal and Spain, a cultural ecosystem with common dots on
both sides. António is alentejano (from Alentejo) and raiano (from the Raia). He studied traditional repertoires and techniques but his work led him to explore the viola in many other music styles, from roots to experimental or electronics and soundscape. António: Viola campaniça, percussions, vocals, live loops.

António Bexiga [Évora, 1976] is a Portuguese musician, producer and performer.

António studied piano and classical guitar at the Academia de Amadores de Música de Évora, Classical guitar at the Regional Conservatory of Setúbal, later on, jazz guitar at the Modern Jazz School Almada-Seixal – where he played in the Big Band, under the guidance of Lars Arens.
He took part in numerous workshops, short trainning courses, and artistic residencies, with emphasis on artists as Trilok Gurtu, Stéphan Milleret, José Mário Branco, Kepa Junkera, among many others.

Since the ’90s, he played and started several projects, from rock to experimental, fusion, and improvised music. For more than a decade now, he has dedicated himself to explore the traditional repertoires and one instrument in particular: the viola campaniça (Alentejo), which he has placed in different musical contexts.
He played and recorded his viola campaniça in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. In 2020 his solo Project RAIA: Planeta campaniça has its debut.
António has works in theatre, puppet theatre, contemporary dance, videoart, cinema, cabaret and circus productions as well as in some media jingles, opening and closing themes.
António holds regular workshops on sound exploration and musical creativity, building instruments and strategies for instant and collaborative composition, with children and adults.
António holds master classes on viola campaniça and short-term workshops for small groups of people with less conventional approaches to this popular Portuguese instrument, from time to time.
He is co-founder of the Identidades.net platform, was an editor for the magazine and was responsible for the Portuguese online songbook project.
António is co-founder of Boa Companhia, a Portuguese artist collective and theatre-for-all company, integrating all its
creations as musician, music director and/or actor/performer.