DWART: formed in Lisbon 1985 by journalist and musician Antonio Duarte; moved to Macau, South China, in 1987. Main works recorded in China. Now based in Portugal.

Along the seventies, as a high school youngster, Antonio Duarte got addicted to the musical universe of Stockhausen, Pierre Henry, Edgar Varese, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Ash Ra Temple, Popol Vuh, King Crimson, Soft Machine, Gong, Brian Eno, and of course to the eternal classic Pink Floyd's ""Ummagumma"".
By mid eighties Duarte managed to set up his own experimental pop band, based on the lasting influences from early electronic music icons.
Thanks to the support of portuguese electro-acoustic duo TELECTU and other artist friends from the avantgarde scene, DWART performed first live acts at galleries, clubs and art events in Portugal, as a duo line-up: Antonio Duarte on synthesizers, drumboxes, sample keyboard, synth guitar and soundtracks; Manuela Duarte on vocoder, voice processors, stage acting painting and performing art.
The first band recordings were included in a vinyl collection (Dansa do Som, 1986) of best live gigs at Lisbon legendary RockRendezVous club.
As a journalist Duarte moved to Macau, South China, in 1987, and so did it DWART's small mobile studio. Up there new sources of inspiration shapped new directions for DWART's music.
Independent musicians from Macau, mainland China, Hong Kong, and even from France, Brazil and Mexico used to join the band at studio jam sessions in the chinese enclave. Dozens of digital audio tapes were recorded from this rather relaxing multietnic musical sessions.
China has provided this ""gwei lou"" such unforgettable musical experiences, as beeing keyboard player and the executive producer on TELECTU's ""Biombos"" (1994), the first foreign musicians CD ever recorded, released and distributed in the People's Republic of China by state run company China Recording Corporation.
China work lead Duarte to close encounters with World Music: He learned Guzheng basics with Macau Chinese Orchestra's director WONG KIN WAI, and later had Erhu classes that made him discover the richness and contemporary aproach of chinese music.
By invitation of Portuguese composer and musician NUNO REBELO, Duarte played chinese Guzheng on the official anthem of World Exhibition EXPO 98 (Lisbon),
He was guest soundtrack composer for ""Six Chinese Stories About One Table and Two Chairs"", a performance show from JANE LEI's COMUNA DE PEDRA, at Hong Kong JOURNEY TO THE EAST multimedia festival (Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 1999).
Sounds and colours from Chinese day life and mass culture have been a permanent source of inspiration or motives for DWART's music.
Since 1997 DWART turned basically into a one musician project, so musical work have been focused on discipline and studio production.
DWART is now based in Portugal but the Orient influences last in the project fresh new works.

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