Zoe Pia and Tenores di Orosei – Indindara (Losen Records, 2025)
Clarinetist and experimental launeddas player Zoe Pia joins forces with the renowned vocal quartet Tenores di Orosei for Indindara, a project that amalgamates Sardinian tradition and contemporary improvisation. Inspired by the traditions of Pia’s home region of Mogoro, the collaboration integrates sacred and secular vocal styles with electronics, loop stations, cowbells, and traditional processional instruments.
The album premiered at the Cala Gonone Jazz Festival, offering an immersive sonic experience that intertwines the archaic and the avant-garde. It aims to explore inner consciousness and human connection through sound, inviting listeners on a reflective journey.
The title Indindara fuses a Sardinian reflexive verb meaning “to leave” with phonosymbolism, the idea that the sound of a word contributes to its meaning. This linguistic nuance mirrors the project’s musical philosophy:mixing acoustic soubds to evoke a sense of timelessness and transcendence.
The ensemble’s creative process centered on shared musical values and the philosophical concept of eudaemonia, happiness as ethical purpose. Rather than depicting joy as a fleeting emotion, the work emphasizes its guiding role in shaping behavior and creative direction.
Tenores di Orosei Antoni Milia, one of Sardinia’s most respected vocal groups, contributes their signature polyphonic technique. Their repertoire includes sacred chants (a cuncordu) and profane songs (a tenore), both passed down through oral tradition. Over the years, they have performed worldwide at prestigious festivals, including recent appearances in Paris, Geneva, Oslo, and Rome.
All music is composed by Zoe Pia, with vocal texts drawn from traditional sources. The album was recorded in March 2023 at Jane Studio in Cagliari by Marti Jane Robertson.
Musicians: Zoe Pia: clarinet, launeddas, Sardinian cowbells, electronics, processional instruments;
Tenores Di Orosei Antoni Milia vocal quartet: Tore Mula, voche (solo voice); Francesco Mula, mesu voche (tenor voice); Ivan Sannai, contra (baritone voice); and Alessandro Contu, bassu (bass voice).
Buy Indindara.