Padre Himalaya launches with Renato debut

The Portugese label commences operations in February with three tracks from the Lisbon-based producer.

It seems that the Portugese are on a roll of late, with Príncipe in particular scoring much praise this year for shining a light on homespun sounds emanating out of Lisbon and elsewhere in the country. Padre Himalaya is the latest label to commit to representing the sounds of unsigned artists in the country’s capital, and they’re set to launch with their first EP in February. Founder João Pimenta has announced his main goal is, “to support young producers from Lisboa whose music I strongly believe deserves to be shared to the rest of the world.”

The first artist to be plucked from relative obscurity is Renato, who has also crafted the artwork for his debut outing. The Alo Alo EP is made up of three tracks that seem to shimmer with the same multi-instrumental, groove-orientated focus that has made young trio Niagara such a favourite in the Juno Plus office. Ahead of this first official release from Renato, a four-track EP from Diskotopia affiliate Silvestre has been up on the Padre Himalaya SoundCloud page for some time, giving a broader indication of where the tastes of the label lie. However for now you can get lost in the intrigue of a video that has been made to accompany Renato’s “Ze Do Telhado”, available to watch below.