Unexpected Notes

In Funchal, music feels perfectly natural — blending in with the sounds of the city and the chatter of passersby. But this group I ran into on my last day in Madeira had one detail that inevitably caught the eye: an odd structure made of bright red pipes.

This is Camachofones, a street band from Funchal, and the red structure is called Tubofone. Essentially, it's a homemade instrument invented specifically for the group: several plastic pipes of different lengths, tuned to different notes and mainly used for the bass line. The rest is much more familiar — saxophone, trumpets, trombone, drums.

Camachofones started playing on the streets of Funchal back in 2013, gradually turning an unusual experiment into a music project that became popular with both locals and tourists. They play jazz, waltzes, and their own compositions, and the Tubofone became something of their signature. And yet, at first glance, you can't help but ask the obvious question: “Is that actually a musical instrument?”

Turns out, it absolutely is. And perhaps it's exactly this contrast that made the moment memorable and the photographs special: first you see a rather silly-looking setup made of red pipes, and a moment later you realise it actually makes music. And it sounds anything but silly.

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
October, 2017.
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