After the success obtained by his debut CD, “Nebulosa”, a couple of years ago, expectations were high regarding the next step to be walked by Portuguese bassist and composer Hugo Carvalhais with his fixed trio, including pianist and synthesizer player Gabriel Pinto and drummer Mário Costa. Here it is, and fulfilling entirely our most ambitious desires. Now, in “Particula”, instead of the American saxophonist Tim Berne as special guest, we have two French musicians of similar importance: the soprano revelation Émile Parisien, member of Daniel Humair’s New Reunion Quartet and a frequent Carvalhais collaborator on stage, and violinist Dominique Pifarély, a regular Louis Sclavis companion. Together, they very rarely form a quintet – more often, we find in this recording a series of quartets, trios, duos and solos, always presenting fresh and defying associations between pre-established structures and improvisation. With this second opus, Carvalhais confirms all the assumptions we made about his future. Remember this name, because certainly more will come.