History is the story of what we remember. But sometimes we forget what we’ve forgotten.
Music history is no different. We view history through a narrow telescope, and the vision it gives us is minuscule in comparison to the unspoken totality.
Time has left many singers unsung. It has buried the stories of millions of music-makers who lived their lives somehow removed from the eyes of history.
Folk traditions are the bits of sound and information that outlived their authors, in name and body. We consider their chord progressions and lyrics as authored by the anonymous, when in fact it is our narrow memory that made their authors nameless.
Last year, my grandfather, Carlos Rota, passed away. Carlos was a strange and difficult man; eccentric does not quite cover it. To some he was too far on the fringe, and to others a misunderstood genius; the two encounters I had with him failed to confirm either hypothesis. After his death, when I entered his old office, I got as close as I would ever get to him, and what I found was an incomprehensible tangle of a man, filled with ambition, obsessed with history, business, glory, and paper.
The office, a four room flat in the north of Quito had been used almost solely for storing paper media. Buried in it, we began to find all kinds of oddities from the past. Twelve typewriters, US army food rations, a library of conspiracies, and three and a half tonnes of newspapers dating as far back as 1957.
We dug for a long while before we reached the tapes. Box after box of labelled original recordings on half-inch analog magnetic tape. Bosch, Audiotape, Barclay, RCA, Scotch. The tapes had been buried under newspaper for 45 years, preserved by the dry Quito air, and the newspaper had kept them away from the light and dust. The collection was in surprisingly good condition.
a pile of 7′ 45 rpm vinyl records from the Caife catalogue.
It turns out Carlos had founded and owned a record label in the late 50s and 60s; the tapes were the stored catalogue of all their recordings. The label was called CAIFE and it specialized in Ecuadorian and Southern Colombian music and served as a distributor for larger international record labels like Barclay and RCA Victor in Quito, Ecuador.
CAIFE had surged as a result of increased availability of high fidelity gear in Ecuador. My great grandfather, an Italian radio engineer who had been sent to Ecuador in the 30s to establish a high quality radio network, had become the representative of RCA Victor in Quito, and by the time Carlos had hit his mid-20s and was ready to take on the world, all the cards were lined up for a record label to be born. And so it was.
The history of CAIFE is not quite clear, but for about 10 years, CAIFE recorded, pressed and distributed thousands of 12” and 7” vinyl at 45 RPM. At first, the cost of recording and producing stereo records was prohibitive, which meant that the CAIFE catalogue was largely monophonic. However, by the late 60s stereo was growing up. This meant that the audiophile standard for recording was beginning to shift away from mono, and stereo systems and tapes were becoming more affordable. However, it seems as if the technological transition might have been too much for the small label, and by 1970 CAIFE had closed down.
the grundig tk20
I wanted to hear the tapes, and began to dig deeper into the piles in search of a tape player. In one of the boxes, I found an old reel-to-reel, an ancient Grundig TK20 from the 1950s, and I took it home along with some tapes. When I plugged in the machine, I heard the sound of the electronics warming up, tubes. I strung the tape through the heads like an amateur, and switched the knob into gear.
Recorded at 15fps (feet per second), the tape was too fast for the TK20 which could only do 3.5fps. This made Olga Gutierrez’s voice sound distended, beastly and in slow motion. The old circuitry hissed as it warmed the sound through its circuits and tubes making the tones sound impossibly rich; I was astounded by the depth and proximity of her voice, those extended deep bass tones of the transposed guitar sounded like nothing my digital ears had ever heard.
I recorded it and increased the speed digitally, listening as the melodies emerged in real time… By then it was April, and by May I would have left Quito. Only a year later did I get to dig deep.
the suitcase
The first cluster of tapes I got my hands on was in questionable shape. There were about one hundred tapes, uncovered, no plastic, no boxes, and they were stuffed into an old leather suitcase covered with hotel stickers from all over Colombia and Ecuador. Although some of the tapes had been labelled in the past, the scotch tape that had been used to tape the typewritten paper labels onto the reels, had lost its stick and most of the reels were bare, unidentified mysteries.
The suitcase was a tangle of obsolete media, a complete unknown. I searched for months before I found a working reel-to-reel, an Ampex Atr-700. I cleaned the oxide gunk out of the heads, fixed the transformer, dusted all of the connections, and then began the long process of digitizing the audiotape.
It became clear that the tapes could contain absolutely anything. I found old hits and demo reels that had been used for mailing promoters and radio stations, but I also found recordings of my grandfather’s telephone conversations; it seems he had configured his TK20, via a series of strange German cable adaptations, (3, 4, 5 and 7 pin din) to tap his own phones just in case he caught some dirt on somebody that he could use in the future.
There were also extensive recordings of radio interviews and perhaps most strangely, an archive of his incoming phone messages that he had taken the time to comment. The deeper I dug, the more strange my grandfather appeared to be, and the less I seemed to know him. But I felt a strange camaraderie for him, as though I was tying the loose ends of his life.
I never knew grandpa, and from what I know of him, I am not sure I would have wanted to. But I cannot do anything but thank him for the gift he accidentally gave me. The music on those acetate reels had me from the start:
A full orchestra in a room with one microphone, live, the VUs saturating, botched takes and retakes, imprints flowing virtuously from the souls of polished session musicians; odds and ends, broken edits, failed jokes; interesting bits from long dead radio hosts, and also, finished, complete pieces, recorded beautifully, the matrices that had been used to press the records.
Vivid. Warm. Crackling sound.
For about three weeks, I spent all day everyday in front of the reel-to-reel, loading and playing as many tapes as I could, listening to the stream from the past, getting in touch with the sound of another generation, so far yet so close to mine.
Memoria Analoga details the process of rediscovering the CAIFE catalog and the artists that made it, 45 years after it was buried under three tonnes of newspaper.
Special things happen when we listen to the latest EP from Ecuador’s Quixosis. Gentle beds of percussion, melody and carousing bass find a perfect blend between ambience and downtempo tropical bass for an enriching sonic experience that gets better the louder you can pump up that bass.
Described simply on the release as “A journey, a show of strength and taste by newcomer Quixosis. Andean vibe, deep and delightful on the ears”, it’s a description that sits perfectly with the subtle, gentle but intoxicating nature of this release.
Aguas EP is released by QTZLCTL, a music collective featuring Gorka Molero and Nicola Cruz, and which has previously released material by El Búho, Okasno and Nicola Cruz (a recent signing to ZZK Records).
Essentially, when El Sueño De La Casa Propia publishes any music we listen, such is the high regard we have for this Chilean producer. After all, this is the man responsible for Historial de Caidas (2010), one of the most important electronic music records of the modern era and one that could be seen as a precursor for a lot of the digital music being made right now. Just listen to Algodón Egipcio, Sokio or deMentira and you will hear echoes of his inventive, distinctive style.
ESDLCP is currently working on a new release, a 7-track album that will be co-released by Ponk Records and CLANG, and is due for release very soon. In the meantime, to celebrate his upcoming performance at CFT in Santiago, Chile he has posted this live set, recorded at Bar 1 on February 6th this year. Clear proof on why you need to be keeping an eye on this maverick musician.
The tag of “post-tropicália” has never felt more apparent that on the latest release from Ava Rocha. Ava Patrya Yndia Yracema is the second album from the Rio-born singer and offers 12 tracks of astonishing inventiveness and originality. At times the music recalls classic tropicália, as on the Caetano-esque orchestrations of “O Jardim” or “Herética”, at other times it can be abrasive as with the direct, post-punk anti-police overtones of “Auto das Bacantes”. Then there’s the psych-pop of “Transeunte Coração”, “Beijo No Asfalto” with hints of Marcos Valle’s 70s jazz or the Tom Zé/Jorge Ben hybrid of “Uma”.
What is certain on Ava Patrya Yndia Yracema is that whichever way you look at it this is an album bristling with ideas, but also one that somehow fits within the pop canon. There’s a myriad of emotions on offer but it’s always done with a flair for melody and soul, and with Rocha’s distinctive voice guiding the whole project. It’s an ambitious album and shows that Rocha has grown into one of Brazil’s most interesting artists, something that was only hinted at on her debut album Diurno in 2011.
The majority of songs are written by Ava Rocha and her partner Negro Leo – another artist well worth checking out – alongside contributions from Jonas Sá, Domenico Lancellotti and Marcelo Callado (of Do Amor and Caetano Veloso’s Cê band). What unites these songwriters – along with the musicians on the album – is that they are all based in Rio de Janeiro, a city that currently has an exciting experimental music scene, a scene that is harnessed to the full on this extraordinary disc.
You can download Ava Patrya Yndia Yracema for free from avarocha.com (just click on the album cover)
NB: Oh, and if you were wondering about Rocha’s name, then yes, she is the daughter of famed Brazilian film-maker Glauber Rocha. But don’t let that be the reason you listen to this album, Ava is a talent in her own right.
SIBÖ is a brand new collaboration between Costa Rica’s Nillo and Brazil’s Sentidor, both artists pushing the boundaries of new Latin American electronica. The duo’s debut represents the first release on SUPOLOLO, a brand new online record label aiming to showcase emerging artists from Latin America.
Nillo and Sentidor’s collaboration took place completely online, using Skype, Soundcloud, Facebook, Dropbox and Ableton Live to complete the release. The partnership took place after Nillo (aka Johnny Gutierrez) heard one of Sentidor (João Carvalho)’s songs online. Here’s Johnny to explain: “I liked one of João’s songs and was abducted by his sounds. My music is filled with dark sounds and I found balance with João’s sequences. That’s why I got interested in talking to him.” The feeling was mutual: “I heard Johnny’s music and really liked it, above all because of the sounds from native tribes from Costa Rica. It’s something that I had plans to work with in my own music”, says João.
The release features the sounds of both producers hard at work, alongside two voices. One of these is João. The other is Unchi, referred to by the duo as “one of the greatest singers of Ngäbe chants in [Costa Rica].” These chants come courtesy of Johnny Gutierrez and his passion for recording and compiling indigenous sounds and chants from Costa Rica, especially those from the Ngäbe people, which he has been doing for 15 years.
It was three years ago that I first discovered Fifteen Years Old, the musical project of Peruvian artist Solange Jacobs, and fell in love with her first EP, The Image Lovers, calling it “dream pop”.
Well, “dream pop” still applies on this long-awaited follow-up, however it’s also a far more mature release with the first tracks, “Ancho Mar : Seda” and “Abecedario”, both haunting and beautiful in equal measures. The Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil and all the other classic 4AD roster are easy bed-fellows for this short (it’s barely over 22 minutes long) but intense album.
Abecedario, as the record is called, was produced with David Acuña and the musical assistance of the Argentine Daniel López Quiroga (Mellonta Tauta) and the Barcelona-based Peruvian Alberto Cendra (Puppies in the Sun).
The album is available from Buh Records as a limited edition CD and also digitally. Their will be an album launch on Friday 20th February, 7pm, in Lima’s Espacio Fundacion Telefonica (Av. Arequipa 1155).
We’re very much enjoying this brand new remix by Argentine producer Barrio Lindo, a producer who is very much riding the crest of a wave at the moment, fresh as he is from releasing his Menoko album and the History of Colour EP in collaboration with El Búho, both of which came out last year. That’s not to mention the rather great South American Tape mix that we published on S&C last week.
This latest remix is of a track taken from the new album of Populous, a Berlin producer who travelled to every corner of the globe in search of sounds for this latest release. The album is called Night Safari, in reference to the fact this is a journey best enjoyed in the still of night, which is also the track that Barrio Lindo remixed. You can find out more about the album here and listen to Barrio Lindo’s remix below:
I’ve spent the morning listening to the quiet brilliance of Melodía‘s upcoming new album Diario De Viaje. Melodía are a duo comprised of Argentine Federico Durand and Japanese Tomoyoshi Date (although Tomoyoshi was born in Brazil and spent the first three years of his life there). Diario de Viaje is their second album and continues much in the vein of their debut together, Saudades. Minimalism and ambience are at the core of what they do, with the two playing guitars, treated instruments and a variety of percussion with the accompaniment of field sounds and background ambience. The results are glorious, glimmering with effervescence and right now are bringing a ray of light into my office.
Diario De Viaje is another strong release from Durand, whose solo work is also well worth a look. Adormidera, which was released in October this year, featured two 15+ minute drone tracks built with purity and calm, slowly revealing new textures. It was an essential release for anyone interested in ambient/minimal music.
When it comes to electronic music, creating atmospheres instead of plain old dance tracks is one tricky business that not everyone gets right. English, French and German electronic musicians like Autechre, Air and Ulrich Schnauss have mastered this art to the core, and after a couple of very successful attempts, Uruguayan producer Fernando Lagreca can proudly walk amongst them. Lagreca is a man who thrives on binaries; there’s rarely a middle ground in his music. His lighter and airier efforts like Childhood Is All We Have and Cool Hunter are no match for the dark and weighty quality of his new album Control, which features his signature synth-heavy sound but with a deeper focus on the energy of the dancefloor. It’s not just any dancefloor that inspires, but one with a very specific energy that only comes with those beats coming out of the speakers before the crack of dawn.
Control is reminiscent of the best of the new wave and chill wave scenes. The vocals are distorted, echoed and sometimes muted, but no less important. The beats, the tempos and the slow build ups are a force to be reckoned with, a way for Lagreca to control the mood of his listeners. It’s an intense album, and that’s why I wanted to talk to Lagreca to find out more about the inspiration behind Control, finding his place within Barcelona, the newest electronic music hub, and his future plans.
Sounds and Colours: A lot of South American electronic musicians have migrated to Barcelona in the last 15 years or so. What about the city attracts producers and DJ’s? How do you see yourself within the Barcelona scene and how does it compare to the Uruguayan electronic music scene?
Fernando Lagreca: You’re totally right. I know a lot of people, all of them related with artistic disciplines, that have migrated to several places, and one of them is of course Barcelona. I think the city offered in that time (I am speaking around 1998-2000) a lot of possibilities for artists, an open-mindedness and lots of resources. There was a mood in which [you could be] creative.
When I arrived, it cost me a lot to win space in the scene because I found out it was really closed. I started to play just after I landed, but that was because I made some contacts before leaving Uruguay. Now, I’ve found my own space in the scene and I try to network and make good contacts every day. This is a long term career for me. Compared with the electronic scene that I left behind in Uruguay (I migrated at the end of 2002) the Barcelona scene has more venues, more promoters; it is more professional in a lot of ways. Here there is some music industry (not as established as in Berlin, London or Amsterdam, just to name a few) but in Uruguay there was almost no music industry. However, I’ve visited Uruguay several times since I’ve established myself in Spain and I’ve seen how the electronic scene is growing. Every day the audience is more interested in adopting the electronic sound.
S&C: Your new album can be seen both as a continuation and as a departure from your other works. It’s more pop oriented, but it’s also darker, whereas Cool Hunter, for example, was a bit more airy, atmospheric. What was your inspiration for Control?
FL: Well, even though the albums are different, I still am the same person and yes, this new album has elements of continuity and elements of departure [with my other work]. It is more synthetic maybe than Cool Hunter (Ginotonico, 2010), and colder than Childhood Is All We Have (Irregular, 2012), and of course totally different regarding my more ambient-ish oriented ones (i.e. Nadador or Colpi di Sole, both for Autoplate). My inspiration is the life I am living day by day. That life is 100% bittersweet, so I produced an album 100% bittersweet as well.
S&C: How did you come up with the concept of the album? Why Control?
FL: Control is a word that I like so much, but I like it because of its form and not because of its meaning. Actually, I do not like control at all when stated as a concept, as a manner of living or acting. To be honest, I hate any way of control (I wrote a song which explain this!). So, I named the album that way because I considered it attractive to play with this concept of love and hate, another bittersweet binomial. I like binomials so much, so I though it would be a good name. Also, it [stands] opposite to my last album, which had quite long name. Control, which is a single word, is perfect.
S&C: The vocals on the album are buried within the layers of sound. How important are vocals for your music? What themes do you like to write about?
FL: Vocals are very important for my songs. I started with vocoders in 2005-06, and since then I’ve always found some way to included vocals on my tracks. This time I used several techniques to treat them: sampling, re-sampling, effecting, overdubbing, synthetic voices, vocoders, beatboxing, etc. I treat the vocals in a different way depending on the song, and I considered them as an instrument.
I am not a singer in the most classical way. I am just a producer using his voice to
complete the experiment. There are, however, some songs in which I sing more ‘normally’; in which I wrote lyrics to do that. For those songs (“Way of Control”, “Loved”, “Quiet Lake”) basically I wrote about love and life, and also about emotions.
S&C: In what direction do you want your sound to go in the next few years, if you have any idea?
FL: I suppose I could meet myself half-way between some kind of slow-house and pop, but my tendency now is to get back to tracks oriented to styles that warm up the dance floor. Now it is perfectly normal to hear good indie-electronic tracks in warm up slots in several clubs, from slo-mo house hits to indie-pop tech remixes, and from 105 to 115 BPM. It is also very normal to get some good techno artists playing at 125 BPM, when several years ago the standard for techno was never less than 135-140. So, I think the next few years could be interesting for me in that sense; to turn to producing some dance-floor tracks again.
S&C: You’ve been known to create a very unique live experience, when it comes to presenting your music. Can you describe to us what elements distinguish your live show? Why did you decide to use organic instruments?
FL: I used to play as a laptop live act when I migrated from Uruguay to Barcelona in 2002. Only a few musicians played with laptops in those years. It became practice for me because I had almost no hardware equipment, since I sold most of my 90’s stuff when I migrated. So, for me, it was okay to play with a laptop and a controller. When I landed in Spain, soon I felt the need to include some real machines and I started with a sampler, a groovebox and a laptop.
But, by 2004, I was quite bored seeing two guys playing only with computers (there was a lot of musicians playing even without a proper sound card, neither keyboard nor controllers, just the laptop) and you did not know if they were sending emails or playing music. So, I decided to leave the computers out of the live show and started to mount my sets with hardware only. That was not easy because those days, the sampler’s memory was limited and you had to carry a lot of equipment. So, when travelling, I still used a laptop and small synths. But finally in 2006-07, I started to use only real instruments, synths, guitar, effects, samplers, etc. I prefer to make some rock and roll on stage!
S&C: There’s been a recent electronic music boom in Latin America, mostly on the fusions front: electronic music with X-tropical genres or folkloric music. What do you think about this? How do you see yourself inside the South American scene and where do you think it’s headed, in your opinion?
FL: I knew about a couple of projects related to fusions with cumbia (Doma Tornados), and also with folkloric (Diosque), and I also know there is a huge movement in that sense in Colombia. I suppose also in Brazil there is a lot of fusion. I do not forget about Nortec Collective in late 90s and beginning of 2000 that was a very important movement making also fusion, even though not exactly with tropical music. Nowadays, I could name a couple of Latin American proposals that I find interesting: Gustavo Lamas and Altocamet from Argentina; Hernan Gonzalez (Cooptrol) and Tinitus from Uruguay; Cafe Preto and Bruno Pedrosa from Brazil.
I do not see myself inside the scene because I do not live there or participate in their events. Every time I go to Montevideo to play, there is a lot of people, fans, etc., that attend my shows and make me feel really comfortable with that, but I think I am just another artist, nothing special for them. Fortunately, I have a lot of friends and fans that follow my steps so I am very happy with that, but not because I belong to their scene. Going back to the South American scene, I think there is a lot of possibilities there in terms of producers, labels, etc. It is a rising scene with many people making big things, so I expect a good future for them.
S&C: What’s next for Fernando Lagreca?
FL: I am planning two releases for 2015 in tech-house oriented labels. There is also a couple of remixes on the horizon as well as gigging a lot and presenting this new album. I hope I can visit Latin America soon. I played several times in Mexico City and I would like to repeat; and of course Montevideo and Buenos Aires, and if possible, also Brazil.
Spell-binding is most certainly the word for this latest release by Cadu Tenório, a prominent name on Rio’s experimental music scene. As a member of Sobre a Máquina, VICTIM! and Ceticências he has helped to define this new crop of carioca musicians who seem intent on redefining the parameters of Brazilian music.
Of all the releases to come from this scene Banquete feels as if it has the closest relation to Brazilian music tradition. Using the poems/lyrics of Marcio Bulk, Tenório asked a variety of artists to record four songs with just guitar and vocals in the style of samba-canção, a precursor to bossa nova, before later removing the guitar and creating a new sonic landscape which put those vocals into a completely different environment. Now the vocals – which were provided by up-and-coming Rio artists like Alice Caymmi, Bruno Cosentino, César Lacerda, Lívia Nestrovski, Michele Leal and Rafael Rocha – feel vulnerable, distanced, distressed.
It’s an interesting concept which could fail. However, in the hands of Tenório the results are a revelation and well worth seeking out. Perhaps consider this a starker companion to Lucas Santtana’s voz e violão deconstruction Sem Nostalgia from a few years ago.
Brazil’s Premio Multishow awards, as with award shows around the world, has given its main 2014 honours to some of Brazil’s most popular acts (namely Luan Santana, Thiaguinho, Ivete Sangalo and Sorriso Maroto), however the awards also always keeps a space for some of the interesting new acts coming through, and this is exactly what it has done this year.
Banda do Mar, the new supergroup of sorts featuring the husband and wife team of Marcelo Camelo and Mallu Magalhães, as well as Fred Pinto Ferreira, released their first album this year, and it has clearly made an impression. They won the Novo Hit (New Hit) and Melhor Álbum (Best Album) awards.
Alice Caymmi won Versão Do Ano (Cover of the Year) for her version of Caetano Veloso’s “Homem” (as featured on her Rainha Dos Raios album.
Finally, one of our favourite albums of the year, Juçara Marçal‘s Encarnado, won Música Compartilhada (an award for the best album that’s been shared or given away, as was the case with this album as it was made available for free download). This represents a real coup for Marçal (also singer in Metá-Metá) whose career really seems to be on the up at the moment.
There was also awards for Boogarins, Mahmundi, Bonde do Rolê and Racionais MC’s. See the full winners list here.
You can watch videos for all of these winners below:
Although this is a recent discovery for me, it turns out that Sobrenadar has been releasing music since 2010 and recording songs is her bedroom since 2008. That bedroom was in Chaco in the North of Argentina and it was here that Paula Garcia – to use Sobrenadar’s birth name – released her self-titled debut. The release got picked up by blogs all over the world and soon Garcia moved to Buenos Aires and the Sobrenadar project really began to take off.
After playing at SXSW and releasing two more albums (Vent Solaire EP, 2001 and 1859, 2012), Garcia released Alucinari EP last year. The EP continues her signature dream pop sound, heavy on reverb, simple synth lines and methodical pacing with Garcia’s voice stretching across the expanse. Thanks to detailed productions and plenty of variety, it’s a sound that never gets tiresome.
EDIT (20/10/14): Since publishing this article I found out that Sobrenadar actually has a new release, Tres, that came out on Casa Del Puentes Discos in 2014. Check that release here.
Alucinari EP, which I recently discovered, is a great way to enter the world of Sobrenadar:
