On October 1st, Técnico celebrated International Music Day. 11 researchers from different Research Units shared their playlists. The challenge was simple: choose ten songs that reflect their personal relationship with music and how they influence their research work.
The 11 playlists offer an insight into the diversity of musical preferences within the Técnico community. In addition to the songs, the researchers also shared the reasons for their choices.
The campaign follows last year’s edition, and was shared on Facebook, Instagram (part one, part two and part three) and Twitter, but it wasn’t just limited to researchers. The entire Técnico community was challenged to share their favourite songs, using the hashtag #TécnicoPlaylists.
This initiative highlighted not only the passion for music within the Técnico community, but also how music can play an inspiring role in academic research. The celebration of International Music Day makes it clear that music is not only a form of entertainment, but also a powerful source of inspiration for the academic mind.
Diogo Cabral (Técnico / ITI-LARSyS – Interactive Technologies Institute – LARSyS)
“Music has always played an important role in my life, from an early age I became a music lover, discovering and appreciating different styles of music. Therefore, making a playlist of just 10 songs is a real challenge. Rather than choosing one song or another, my playlist combines various styles, musicians and bands that have accompanied me over time.”
Diogo Santos (Técnico / CeFEMA – Center of Physics and Engineering of Advanced Materials)
“My first memory of music is the satisfaction of riding around the dining room on my father’s back listening to the Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da on the record player. My father had a huge collection of vinyl records (before he had an even bigger collection of CDs) so I was exposed to many different styles of music. Later on, I started having my own CDs, playing guitar, going to concerts and festivals, and music was always an inseparable part of my life. I’ve been trying to do the same with my children (aged 8 and 11), which seems to be working, as they keep updating their Spotify playlists. The playlist I share on International Music Day includes ten of the hundreds of songs I love. I hope these songs give listeners the same pleasure they give me.”
Gustavo Paneiro (Técnico / CERENA – Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente)
“Music is one of my main sources of concentration, inspiration and motivation. It has driven my life from an early age, as the fascination of listening to the mix of sounds was a perfect tool for my parents to control my bad mood. I have to say that this 10-song playlist was very difficult to make. However, each song selected represents a part of my personal and professional life as a researcher at CERENA.”
João Pires Ribeiro (Técnico / CEGIST – Centre for Management Studies of Instituto Superior Técnico)
“As a researcher, I use music as a vital tool in my work environment. The choice of specific songs affects my productivity and creativity, which makes my playlist eclectic. I listen to different types of music according to the tasks I am doing. If for moments of revision and greater concentration, the choice falls on serene music, for moments of high creativity or intensity, the choice falls on intense and energetic music. This musical diversity provides the right rhythm for each task and is a form of motivation throughout the process.”
Luís Oliveira e Silva (Técnico / IPFN – Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion)
“My life has many “soundtracks”, which are always present and mark every moment, with one thing in common: in-depth exploration, accompanied by exhaustive listening to specific composers or performers over long periods.
Here I followed just one criterion: I chose composers and performers that I am an unconditional listener and who will always be part of my perfect soundtrack.
The line-up (particularly introspective, for the composers and performers selected), promotes enough physical agitation and intellectual trepidation: from restrained Zorn to the phonetic poems of Pop Dell ‘Arte, from soft Coltrane to accelerated Gould and Bach, the subtlety of Cage to the minimalism of Velvet Underground or Sonic Youth, from Beck’s LA to Monteverdi’s contemporary love, covering the infinite range of musical sensations, from the most primitive emotions to sublime abstraction.”
Marco Piccardo (Técnico / INESC-MN – Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias)
“Music is my daily fuel, both in my professional and personal life. At the crack of dawn, there’s nothing like Van Morrison (#1) and the Bloody Beetroots (#2) to propel me through my morning bike commute to work. Now, in the lab, the lasers and I have a love-hate relationship. When things aren’t working out, Frank Sinatra (#3) reminds me of ‘That’s Life’. But when everything lines up and I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, Fleetwood Mac (#4) steps in! After a day of endless meetings, my formula for decompressing is the triad Selton (#5), Kings of Convenience (#6) and Al Green (#7). It’s my post-meeting ‘relaxation therapy’.
Finally, in the most challenging and rewarding role of my life – being a father – these songs take on a whole new meaning. ‘Cantiga Ao desafio’ (#8), ‘Pink Panther’ (#9) and ‘Il coccodrillo come fa’ (#10) are not exactly lessons in quantum optics, but they are the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries: how to keep a small human entertained.”
Miguel Tavares da Silva (Técnico / idMEC – Mechanical Engineering Institute)
“Music is very important in my life and in my research work because it makes me feel good. Music transcends us and has the ability to transport us. Music makes us laugh and cry, sing and dance. Music feels like a hug, music is an elixir, a swaying of the soul. Music brings us closer together, music – if listened to carefully – also teaches us… it makes us see further. Sometimes it sings of our fears, sometimes it’s protest, but it can also be joy and victory. Music is the true universal language that we all understand. It’s poetry with quarter notes and eighth notes…
I’ve always walked hand in hand with music, from a very early age… but it was in secondary school and during my student years at Técnico that my taste in music developed, my first guitar appeared and my musical preferences have become clear… I have a very varied taste in music, but my favourite instrument is the guitar, and this is reflected in the playlist I am sending you. I listen to more international music than Portuguese, which is also reflected in the playlist. It wasn’t easy to choose (just) 10 songs… I had to make some concessions and the struggle was tough. That’s why I’ve chosen songs by some of my favourite, but perhaps lesser-known bands, and other songs that I believe are less known to most, but equally fantastic. I hope you enjoy it!”
Patrícia Lourenço (Técnico / CiTUA – Center for Innovation in Territory, Urbanism, and Architecture)
“This playlist is a mix of some of the main musicians/singers I choose when I work, depending on my mood and/or the task I am involved in. Life and research wouldn’t be the same without music! I hope you enjoy it!”
Pedro Lima (Técnico / ISR – Institute for Systems and Robotics)
“Music is definitely my favourite art, and a passion I’ve had since I was a teenager. It’s a form of expression that allows me to convey emotions, social and political messages, or simply elegance and beauty. I play a few instruments and have composed several songs. My musical taste is very eclectic, including pop/rock, jazz, classical and contemporary music. It was painful to choose 10 songs, because for each one I could have chosen another 10, but I tried to sweep up the various genres, Anglo-Saxon, Portuguese and Brazilian music. A clear flaw is the absence of other languages. I’d choose Jacques Brel from France, Silvio Rodrigues from Cuba, and so on.”
Ricardo Santos (Técnico / CERIS – Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability)
“Hope… Joy… Anxiety… Sadness… Who hasn’t felt all these emotions? Research is a mixture of emotions in a continuous succession which, like the seasons, keep changing… some sadder, others happier…
My playlist tries to mirror all these feelings with songs that don’t leave me indifferent…”
Sílvia Monteiro (Técnico / LAIST – Water Testing Laboratory of Instituto Superior Técnico)
“Music has always been and will always be a key part of my life. It takes me back to good times, bad times and funny situations that occurred in my life. Music has always been part of my personal, academic, and professional journey. When I achieve positive results (or not) in an experiment, music and dance (not very artistic) are always involved. Music is great for stimulating us and getting us into the right mindset. The songs included in my playlist have accompanied me throughout my academic career.”
