Today, we’re premiering “Thought Contagion” by Brazilian composer, percussionist, and electronic musician Ricardo Donoso from his forthcoming album Content.
Donoso’s creative output includes collaborations with avant-metal ensembles, documentarians, filmmakers, and video artists in addition to his work as a solo recording artist. His latest album, Content, takes the imprisonment of English humanitarian Terry Waite as its conceptual jumping off point. Sent to Beirut as a hostage negotiator, Waite was taken prisoner and held predominantly in solitary confinement for five years before his eventual release. When asked what he had learned in captivity, Waite replied, “Contemporary humanity has lost the ability to engage in productive solitude.” It is from this sentiment that Donoso’s album Content germinates.
Here’s what Ricardo had to say about “Thought Contagion:”
Thought Contagion – when ideas act like viruses. Memes evolve by natural selection in a process similar to that of genes in evolutionary biology. What makes an idea a potent meme is how effectively it out-propagates other ideas. In memetic evolution, the “fittest ideas” are not always the truest or the most helpful, but the ones best at self replication.
Content is out on Denovali on May 29, 2020, but you can pre-order the album here.
About Ricardo Donoso
Ricardo Donoso is a composer, percussionist, and electronic musician from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who currently resides in Boston. After having studied composition at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, he has participated in a slew of projects over the years. Donoso has collaborated with film makers and video artists on commissions worldwide, creating immersive environments and performances.
