Semibreve

Semibreve is a festival of exploratory electronic music and digital art in Braga, in the north of Portugal. The cooperative AUAUFEIOMAU runs it, with support from the Municipality of Braga. Luís Fernandes, of peixe : avião, is one of the organizers, with Miguel Pedro and António Rafael, of Mão Morta. The cooperative's office is at Avenida Central 122. The heart of the nights is the Theatro Circo, at Avenida da Liberdade 697. Since 2011 the programme has spread concerts, talks and installations across rooms in the city, and the pass price has been kept low on purpose.

The first one was from 10 to 13 November 2011, inside the preamble of the European Youth Capital 2012. On Thursday 10, at Tibães Monastery, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Taylor Deupree, Stephan Mathieu, Vítor Joaquim and Tony Herrington spoke. On Friday 11, at the Theatro Circo, Roedelius opened, then 77, leading Qluster, with Onnen Bock. The two built the sound with loops and several keyboards. The live images were by the Austrian pair Luma.Launisch. Then Taylor Deupree and Stephan Mathieu played the piece Transcriptions, and Jon Hopkins played. On Saturday 12 it was Fennesz, with Pedro Maia's video and with the guitar, Blac Koyote, and Alva Noto. The close was Vítor Joaquim with Hugo Olim, and Murcof with AntiVJ. The main hall and the small auditorium came close to full at several sets. There was a lot of young public, and several languages were spoken in the Circo corridors.

Fernandes said it was niche music. The internal count expected 300 people, and they more than doubled it. A German promoter told him he had never gathered more than 100 at concerts by Alva Noto and by Fennesz. Twelve journalists from outside were accredited. Roedelius said the concert could happen without the image, and that it was better when the two moved at the same pace. The three-day pass, for the main hall and the small auditorium, cost 20 euros.

Edition 14 was set from 24 to 27 October 2024. On Thursday 24, at the Theatro Circo, Chris Watson with Izabela Dłużyk at 21:30 and Christina Vantzou at 23:00. On Friday 25, Giovanni Di Domenico at the Capela Imaculada of the Seminário Menor, and at night Shida Shahabi and Kevin Richard Martin at the Circo. On Saturday 26, Carmen Villain and Saint Abdullah with Eomac and Rebecca Salvadori at the Circo, and Moritz von Oswald at 18:00 at the Basílica dos Congregados. The talks were at the Museu Nogueira da Silva. A workshop by Kalia Vandever was set at the Conservatório de Música Calouste Gulbenkian.

After midnight the club was the gnration, at Praça Conde de Agrolongo 123. On the Friday of that edition, Nídia in the multiusos room, and PYUR and Rrose in the blackbox. On the Saturday, Van Der and Saya in the multiusos, and Iceboy Violet with Nueen and Ziúr in the blackbox. The ticket for that club night was 15 euros. On Thursday at 17:30, at the Museu Nogueira da Silva, the talk Migrant Music brought together Mohammad Mehrabani-Yeganeh, Saya Mohamed and Claire Biddles. On Friday at 15:30, Izabela Dłużyk and Margarida Mendes spoke about listening to life and death in the forest. At the gnration the pieces by Ema Ferreira, Tobias Gaede, Jéssica Pereira Gaspar, Susana Brochado with Ana Medeiros, and Eva Barbosa were also set. At the Circo, Chasing Waterfalls, by Myriam Bleau and Lucas Paris. The exhibition ticket was 7 euros, and night entry asked for age 6 or older. In 2011 the Theatro Circo programme included works from the Computer Graphics Center and the Department of Information Systems of the University of Minho. At Casa Rolão the installations Malört, by Keith Fullerton Whitman, and The Stone Tape, by Jim O'Rourke, were set. The next big date is set from 22 to 25 October 2026. AUAU also runs Festival OCUPA, for artists from Braga or living there, and since 2021 it has residencies at Ciclo da Frágua. Semibreve is the city week with people from outside.