Some music arrives quietly — no press campaign, no industry machinery behind it, just a pair of musicians in Portugal following a concept to its natural, uncompromising end. A Life of Improvisation is exactly that kind of project: a duo
built on the tension between structure and spontaneity, between the weight of a concept and the freedom of improvisation. Their second full-length album, “SINS,” released February 13, 2026 via Bandcamp and Spotify, is a seven-track instrumental journey through the seven deadly sins — each track bearing the name of one vice in Portuguese: Orgulho, Gula, Inveja, Luxúria, Avareza, Preguiça, and Ira. Electronic textures born from guitar,
contrasting tonalities, and a sound that resists easy categorization: this is their world, and it is a fascinating one. We caught up with the duo to talk about the genesis of the project, the concept behind “SINS,” and what it means to be underground musicians in Portugal today.
For those encountering A Life of Improvisation for the first time — who are you, where are you from, and how did this project begin?
A Life of Improvisation is a music project composed by two guys with different music backgrounds and influences. This project began in 2023 with the guitarist Sérgio Cunha, literally as his improvisation project. Only in 2025 did Luís Araújo
joined the project to bring the drums to life on the second album SINS. Both members are from Vila Nova de Famalicão, Braga, Portugal.
The name itself — A Life of Improvisation — carries a strong philosophy. Is improvisation literally at the core of how you write and record, or is it more of a guiding spirit?
The creative processes are purely improvisational, and as the song goes on, we tend to “close” certain areas that should be present in that theme. Something that can be remembered by. But even live, on any given song, we tend to improvise some parts of the songs. That makes every concert sort of unique, in our perspective.
Your sound is described as “sonic improvisation — electronic textures generated through guitar.” How did you arrive at this approach? Was it a conscious decision or did it evolve naturally?
Both are true. We arrived at our point in our ever search for a different sound, so that is very conscient, but it does tend to evolve in ways that even we don’t expect sometimes. We approach the guitar not as something uniform, but an object with several sonic layers.
Who or what are your main influences? We’re curious about both musical references and non-musical ones — visual art, literature, cinema, philosophy…
That’s a hard question, because it comes from everywhere we can get it. Honestly, a bit of John Cage. A lot of post-rock and stoner. Maybe Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 65daysofstatic and And So I Watch You From Afar, are the big ones.
“SINS” is built entirely around the seven deadly sins as a concept. Where did this idea come from, and why did the concept feel right for this moment in the project’s life?
We all have sins in us, and we really enjoyed doing something more conceptual. This idea made a lot of sense when we discussed it, at the conception of the second album.
Seven sins, seven tracks — each with a Portuguese title. Was the decision to use Portuguese titles a cultural or artistic statement? What does it mean to you?
We tried to put a bit of “us” in our music. We are Portuguese. There’s no escaping that.
Walk us through the album’s architecture. Did you compose the tracks in the order they appear, or did the sequencing come later? Is there a deliberate narrative arc from Orgulho to Ira?
The sequencing came later. As we built it, we asked ourselves what did the music felt like, and if the name made sense for that one. Check out, for example, Preguiça (Laziness). We would not say that it has a “narrative” feel to it – more like a sonic feel to it.
Being an entirely instrumental record, the music itself has to carry the weight of each sin’s identity. How did you translate the emotional and conceptual character of each sin into sound? Were some sins harder to capture than others?
There are some that were definitely a bit harder to get the point across. Ira (Rage) is pretty straightforward. So was Preguiça (Laziness). But Orgulho (Pride) and Luxúria (Luxury/Vanity) were a bit more difficult. We really had to stretch the sound and the meaning of it.
“Luxúria” was released as a standalone single in late 2025 before the album arrived. Why that track as the first window into the album’s world?
We felt like that was the song that better represented what would be coming in later – although we do try to make a bit of everything.
Is there a track on “SINS“ that you feel is the most representative of where A Life of Improvisation is as a project right now? And is there one that surprised you the most during the creative process?
The one that would be more representative right now, maybe Orgulho. And the most surprising, we would say Preguiça. Simple, but very effective.
The album runs for just over 31 minutes across seven tracks. Was the brevity intentional? Did you ever consider expanding any of the pieces, or did each sin have exactly as much space as it needed?
The time was not something we had in mind. We just let the music flow as much as we felt it had to. Maybe in the next album we’ll make longer songs, or maybe not.
Tell us about the recording and production process for “SINS.” Where was it made, and how much of the final album reflects a live, in-the-room energy versus a more constructed, layered approach?
It was made in our studio in Vila das Aves, but it was recorded in a studio in Vila Nova de Famalicão, called The Village. Shout out that studio, and Marcelo in particular for being such a great guy! We’d say about 50/50 – half improvised, half like the album shows.
As an instrumental duo working with guitar-generated electronics, how do you divide roles in the studio and on stage? Is there a clear split, or does it shift depending on the piece?
Only one of us uses the guitar, and electronic pieces, for the moment. The other one uses the drums.
“SINS” is currently digital-only. Are there plans to perform these pieces live, and how do you approach translating this album’s concept to a live setting?
We have been playing live, and trying to get some feedback from the people. There have been a lot of opinions, most of them positive, as we went deeper into this rabbit hole.
Do you have any live dates scheduled or in the pipeline? What can audiences expect from an A Life of Improvisation show?
We have a concert in July in a place called Casa do Artista Amador, also in Famalicão, with a band called Dahai. People can expect a very interesting sonic experience. We try to up our game each concert that we give, so… if you can, show
up and say hello.
Any live memories or anecdotes from past performances that stayed with you — a show that went unexpectedly well, or one that taught you something important?
Probably our first one live, in Guimarães, in Blackbox. That was the first place for feedback, and our first opportunity to shine to strangers. We did not know how it would go, or how people would react to our strangeness in music. But they reacted really positively. Made us want to go further.
What is the Experimental/underground scene like in Portugal right now? Are there other artists or spaces you feel part of, or does A Life of Improvisation operate in relative isolation?
At the moment, a bit isolated, at least in our area. It’s hard to find matching bands that can play with us (in terms of following up, or us leading to them).
What’s next? Is there already new material being conceived, or is “SINS” still very much the focus for now?
Focused in SINS… but we are already working on the next one.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with Progressive Rock Journal. “SINS” is one of the most conceptually coherent and atmospherically immersive releases to cross our path this year, and we look forward to following wherever A Life of Improvisation goes next. The floor is yours — any final words for our readers?
We can only grow as much as you help us – by following us, hearing us, sharing with friends. So we can only thank all the fans we have right now, and everyone at Progressive Rock Journal for taking the interest and the time to help share our music. You guys truly progressively rock!
Purchase “SINS” on Bandcamp: https://alifeofimprovisation.bandcamp.com/album/sins