Created to give new life to albums that had never been released in that format or that were discontinued, the publisher bets on titles that "are authentic classics and others that were disruptive, but that make perfect sense nowadays", explained to Lusa agency Hugo Ferreira, publisher and co-founder of Phonograma, along with radio broadcaster Henrique Amaro and Jorge Álvares, one of those responsible for the vinyl pressing factory Grama Pressing.

"These works have aged very well and it makes sense for them to be passed on to a larger audience, to new generations and, also, to be recovered by those who experienced them and who, obviously, feel them differently today", he added. 

Phonograma's first catalogue includes "Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades", by José Mário Branco (originally released in 1971), and "Free pop" (1987), by Pop Dell'Arte, but also, and for the first time on vinyl, the EP "Remar Remar (versão longa)" (1984), by Xutos & Pontapés, and the LPs "Pé na Tchôn, Karapinha na Céu" (1995), by General D, "Domingo do mundo" (1997), by Sérgio Godinho, "Música para uma nova tradição" (2010), a compilation of the five editions of Megafone, and "Capicua" (2012), by Capicua.

"It is a diverse choice", describes Hugo Ferreira, justifying the choices because they are "records that, somehow, when we listen to them today, we feel that they are modern works" and that "point to the future".

Among these releases is "the first album by a female rapper, Capicua", but also the debut of General D, which "shows all the Afro-descendant legacy that exists in Portugal and that is now making a big splash in music". 

The choice also fell on "one of the most disruptive albums in modern Portuguese music", "Free pop", by Pop Dell'Arte, and the album that "shows a transfiguration of a singer-songwriter", Sérgio Godinho.

From the Megafone project, by João Aguardela, comes a compilation that surprises: "We listen to it today and think: 'How was it possible for someone to have done this at this time?'", a feeling that extends to listening to "Free pop". 

Phonograma also recovers the long version of "Remar remar", by Xutos & Pontapés, which "was hidden or even unknown to many", and re-releases "Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades", "an absolutely seminal album", with which José Mário Branco "completely transformed Portuguese music". 

The bet on these re-releases implies "a very large investment", because it is necessary to "negotiate the albums, pay royalties, pay for manufacturing", with "all due care in the process": 

The graphics are faithfully adapted from the originals and "the pressing is done on 180-gram [vinyl]". For the remastering, original tapes and files are used, in a process that involves, whenever possible, the artists or their representatives.

With a list of almost fifty titles compiled by Henrique Amaro, Jorge Álvares and Hugo Ferreira, there is "the expectation of working on a few more titles this year", says the person also responsible for another publisher, Omnichord. 

"We will have to manage according to the results", acknowledges Hugo Ferreira, although the intention is for this to be a "regular adventure, with two batches per year".

In this recovery exercise, Phonograma wants to be planting seeds:

"We expect these albums to reach those who did not experience this music when it came out but who today can look at it and think: 'At that time someone was guessing the future, growing and forging new paths. So why don't we do the same?'", concluded Hugo Ferreira. 

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