From the intersection of Rita Silva’s modular synthesiser electronics and the naturalism of Mbye Ebrima’s kora emerges a meeting, already years in the making, between the Western tradition of minimalism and the melodic legacy of West Africa. A rare, if not singular, occurrence in these parts, translated into a music that breaks stylistic and geographic boundaries through a finely tuned symbiosis. Rita Silva, returning to OUT.FEST after a solo appearance in 2023, has been establishing herself as one of the most compelling Portuguese musicians working within the crowded field of modular synthesis composition and improvisation, in continuity with the pioneering work of Delia Derbyshire and Laurie Spiegel. Mbye Ebrima, originally from The Gambia and based in Lisbon for over a decade, is a dedicated practitioner and advocate of the Mandinka-Kaabunké tradition, drawing on the kora and voice to summon a deep historical richness that has led him to collaborate with artists such as Kimi Djabaté and Selma Uamusse.