Feel the Tremor

“It’s almost becoming a clichê for us, this idea of having the island as the constant headliner,” says Tremor’s artistic director, Márcio Laranjeira. “But, it’s also something we can’t run away from.”

And given the natural beauty of Portugal’s São Miguel, the island in the Azores which hosts Tremor, a five-day festival, it’s a takeaway that’s easy to understand. And it’s not just the stunning natural beauty which impresses, but the swathe of city centre venues which make Tremor a memorable experience. From Jesuit churches made of volcanic rock to grand generations-old theatres and retro-fitted clubs, it’s a cut above the muddy bog associated with British festivals.

And that’s even before you take in the bespoke musical experiences that the diverse landscape provides. Taking the form of post-punk shows in abandoned quarries and electronic exhibits on cliff outcrops, the geography has truly been sewn into the programming. However, if you do manage to tear your eyes away from the stunning surroundings, you might take note of another element which makes Tremor so much more than a destination festival: the community.

This year’s event took place March 19-23, and beyond diverse headliners including Faizal Mostrixx, Romperayo and Rastafogo, musical offerings also came in the form of collaborations with local groups days before the festival, offering opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration and symbiotic learning.

Rastafogo, Tremor 2024 © Marina Cruz

I first experienced what these workshops can yield on opening night. All Hands On Deck are an all-female and non-binary DJ collective from Manchester. Building on their ‘open-deck’ ethos they came to the Azores and ran workshops with local aspiring DJs. This culminated in all attendees sharing the stage for the opening party into the early hours, spinning remixes of tracks such as Unknown T’s ‘Goodums’ to raucous applause, both from the women and non-binary DJs on stage and the wider audience. One of them, Filipa Fonesca, reflects on the experience. “Apart from a full set of beginner skills and the resources to develop them, the workshop provided a supportive community, both local and international.”

This is the true purpose of these residencies: to showcase the local talent on the island to the wider world. One collective which knows this more than most is Ondamarela. They were approached by Tremor’s founders after it came to light in 2018 that the deaf community on the island had never attended a musical performance. They contacted ASISM, the island’s deaf association, and after a series of workshops created the joint collective Som Sim Zero. The name sounds like ‘sincere sound’ in Portuguese, and according to the group’s artistic director Ricardo Baptista, it “looks beautiful in sign language.”

All Hands on Deck, Tremor 2024 © Marina Cruz

Since that initial year, Som Sim Zero have deepened their roots on the island, collaborating with local Azorean musicians as well as kids from the local music school, turning this initial opportunity into a year-round community. They even exist outside of Tremor, playing Rock in Rio Lisbon in 2022. This year they collaborated with Azorean percussion group Bora Lá Tocar to create a street procession. “The idea was to create a demonstration which addressed the ideas we had discussed at the workshop stage,” explains Ana Bragança, Ondamarela’s other artistic director. “We wanted to create encounters and value invisible things, to riot, in a way.”

The culmination was electric. With a procession finishing in the stunning Jardim Botânico António Borges, audience members were treated to an interactive performance which included signing and meditative breath work. This transitioned into a full percussive party, everyone dancing and waving banners under the branches of an ancient tree. “We weren’t able to rehearse it before,” says Ricardo, “so that amazing explosion of energy, with the audience really going for it, took on a life of its own.”

This idea of uncovering local talent isn’t limited to the residences, however, but is embedded in the festival’s core. The Azores has a strong culture of bandas filarmónicas, groups of musicians who are all taught classical instruments from a young age. Tremor decided to push this a step further and, to encourage creativity, made composing original songs a stipulation of performing when they launched the festival.

Traditional music is also very much on offer and something I experienced after embarking on a 9am, soundtracked hike through rolling green hills. We eventually reached a breathtaking lagoon where Patrícia Relvas treated us to emotional fado melodies, her voice rippling across the water. In the distance, Roberto Afonso started playing the viola da terra, the strings echoing hauntingly around the clearing.

When finally stood side-by-side the duo embarked on a series of folk songs, culminating with ‘Presença das Formigas’ by José Afonso, a protest song popular before Portugal’s Carnation Revolution. “We did this because of the latest election result in Portugal and the whole world’s false populist prophets,” Relvas and Afonso, who perform together as Lavoisier, explain. The set ended with everyone singing ‘Liberdade’ before disappearing back into the mist. Reflecting, the pair state: “Popular culture used to be celebrated in the open air, with our ancestors’ songs shared with all of us. It was an incredible sensation to return to that beginning.”

What started as a one-day event for 800 people has now grown into a five-day programme which caters to over 1,500. Each one of these attendees gets more than they bargained for with Tremor. I saw Japanese folk metal and danced hand in hand in a massive circle to Northeastern Brazilian street music, but, most amazingly, far beyond the magical landscape, I felt part of the fabric of what makes up a truly unique island community.