Pernett: Out of the Lab and into your Computer

@ginavergel7

There is something that comes through whenever “folkclor progresivo” artist Pernett releases a track and it’s all too appropriate as we near the start of Barranquilla’s Carnival on February 18th. That something is Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

Though the self-professed “geek” spends hours, days even, in his “lab,” (the studio), Pernett took a short break to tell us how Colombia’s Caribbean coast has, and always will be, a part of him.

“My father taught me that if I wanted to make music enjoyable I had to find a way to have it mimic the feeling of being on the beach,” said the native Barranquillero, who now calls the western Colombian city of Cali home.

“We all love the sea and what it produces in us, and I’ve built my sound based upon that feeling,” he said. “The sea is huge and has many possibilities — endless, I think, and I hope its influence will stay with me until the end of my career.”

We’re willing to bet the end of Pernett’s career is a long way off, as all those hours spent in his lab are resulting in his soon-to-be-released fifth album, The Caribbean Computer (If you’re getting Radiohead vibes here, think deeper. Or better yet, read the story about how part one of this new album came to be).

The first single he produced for the record, “Cumbia Computer,” is an ode to his beloved costa:

Caribe suena mi canto, caribe me condición
Caribe mi pensamiento, caribe hasta la razón.

It features Pernett on vocals along with a host of instruments heard in folkloric Colombian music: the gaita flute, maracas, the guache and bass drums, and the keyboard.

A deep thinker, Pernett often posts pensive status messages on his Facebook page. Just the other day, he wrote that he considers himself to be much “more than just a DJ.” He elaborated on that status with Sounds and Colours:

“As things change, as phones and other devices have been advanced to provide more services, so, too, should artists. Technology allows us to interact deeper with people and expand our limits every day,” he said.

Pernett, whose family has organized one of the most popular comparsas (a folkloric dance group and band – watch here) in the carnival of Barranquilla for more than 20 years, grew up watching tonnes of live music.

“Shows in Colombia are just a bunch of bands,” he said. “I feel shows can be further enriched by using visual imagery, technology and sound contributed by Caribbean culture.”

Next up for Pernett: Performances in Bogotá on March 1st at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo along with electro cumbia sensation, Sidestepper http://www.teatromayor.com/?pagina=obra&id=172, and on March 2nd at Teatro Metro with fellow costeños, Systema Solar. See all upcoming shows at hpernett.net/conciertos-2

Find out more about Pernett at hpernett.net

And watch the video:

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