Luciernaga | 2016 | Sic Transit Gloria

Drone | Ambient | Noise
Info | Buy | Listen
Sic Transit Gloria (latin for "Thus passes the glory"), one of Luciernaga's most recent releases, constitutes a true introspetive trip in a drone/ambient code. As Joao Da Silva –the Chilean musician behind Luciernaga– himself explains, the album is "about [his] family and hometown, Santiago, Chile, and their complicated history". And although it was recorded in Brooklyn, where he lives, Luciernaga captured that inspiration perfectly.
Starting with the crestfallen unease of "11:00 AM 9/11/73" –the allusion being evident*–, Sic Transit Gloria begins with a subtle and mild wander through melancholic and introspective soundscapes that reflect the complicated history to which he refers. Thus, in the three following pieces Da Silva delicately and patiently weaves a minimalist sonic fabric that traps the listener in a quietude that, however, does not leave aside the taciturn spirit which tinges this album from its very beginning. In this regard, "Mi Obstinada Memoria" ("My Stubborn Memory") particularly stands out, a song that lies halfway between Terry Riley and La Monte Young.
The tempest is at sight again in "Aire Negro" ("Black Air"); slowly, the sound becomes dark, somewhat evoking Deathprod or Oren Ambarchi's work with Jim O'Rourke. Finally, "La tragedia que es Chile" ("The tragedy that Chile is") decidedly persists in its predecessor's mood, with a sound that, venturing into an oppresive kind of dark ambient, has already left behind the timidity that is present in a good portion of Sic Transit Gloria, entering into the fields of noise with an experiment which constitutes ths record's most abstract track. Thus, the album ends with the same early intranquility, a reflection of Luciernaga's outstanding ability not only to develop atmospheres that shine in musical terms, but also to provide its sound with preeminent solemnity and sensitivity, which are perfectly transmitted to the listener. This is the true challenge facing the artists within this genre and Luciernaga achieves it comfortably, no doubt. —IMF
*Pinochet's coup d'état took place on September 11, 1973, followed by 17 years of carnage, repression and blatant fascism.

El diAblo es un magnífico | 2013 | El diAblo es un magnífico

Experimental | Post-Rock
Info | Buy | Listen
Link | mp3 | V0

Cristian Sánchez, Daniel Llermaly and Cristóbal Cornejo
This Chilean band has been active for more than a decade, but in their last album they have reinvented themselves like never before, leaving behind a particular –yet somewhat shuttered– branch of post-rock/post-hardcore, towards a more eclectic sound, albeit without losing their identity and cohesion. Although this self-titled album was recorded in 2013 and released in CDr/digipack format in 2014, Volante Discos re-released it in tape format just this year.
One of the natural reasons behind the reinvention of diAblo's sound –notice, as well, that they have readopted their original moniker, El diAblo es un magnífico ("The Devil is magnificent"), quoting the hidden satanic message found in Xuxa's tapes– is the lineup change, which evolved from a quintet into a trio, consisting of Cristian Sánchez (founding member), Daniel Llermaly (La Golden Acapulco) and the recently deceased Cristóbal Cornejo –this review is obviously written in his memory. Whereas in their previous records (Seiseiseis, Coma, La ruta nos aportó otro paso natural, etc.) diAblo always developed an experimental kind of post-rock, hard to classify, yet with a proper identity, in this album they return, to some extent, to their more chaotic roots (Proyecto Cajas), and produce a sound with more varied influences, away from any specific genre; the band rather develops their own style, which plays with diverse influences and moods.
Thus, this begins with "Chamico (Nazi Folk Fuck Off)", a song with Afro-latin rhythms that somehow reveals an influence of The Ex, but without resorting to blatant imitation. This is, no doubt, the most accessible track in the album, which then turns to more minimalist sounds that show a remarkable natural dynamic, without losing melody. "Navidad y Matanza" (which is also the name of Cristian Sánchez's solo project) is one of my favorites, inasmuch as it delivers a melancholic folk-sonic hybrid resorting to (Chilean) Northern-folklore instrumentation, thus providing this trip with depth and emotionality, as well as with humility and heart (diAblo had not composed something as moving as this since Julio). The journey continues with "Asunción y Caída de las Ruinas Suspendidas", which begins with a sound close to that of diAblo's previous works, due to its having post-rock elements, just as "Chamico"; after a few minutes, however, it explodes into the roar of distorted guitars, into a sludge-metal riff surrounded by more atmospheric guitars and sonic frolics. With a more peaceful and luminous mood, "Polen" consists in five minutes of acoustic guitars dressed with space electronics. For its part, "Chivito Negro de Cinco Patas" is an energetic track, in which dancing drums (again with an ethno-punk feel à la The Ex) constitute a basis over which playful space noises take place, contrasting with a drone bass –krautrock in the vein of NEU! might be another reference as well. Then, suddently but naturally, dreadlocks emerge and we are taken into the grounds of dub (an genre revered by La Golden Acapulco), from which –suddently and naturally too– we depart towards a hardcore explosion, which vanishes in the fields of ambient drone. The last track of the album, "Curanderos Filipinos", is a mild and hypnotic lull of just over a minute, in which a Northern rhythm (?) is irrigated with field recordings and exotic winds (some sort of zampoña).
This is, undoubtedly, my favorite album by diAblo (along with Projecto Cajas), and to some extent, one of my favorite albums recorded in Chile, not only due to my sympathy for their sounds, but also due to the sonic-musical "decisions", both reckless and natural, that one finds throughout this record and which transform it into a unique piece, with vague references and a proper style, which transmits honesty and humility. —Michel Leroy

Cluster | 2016 | Konzerte 1972/1977

Experimental | Drone | Ambient
Info | Buy
Link | mp3 | V0 (ripped by us)
Certainly, a good portion of the interest surrounding the 1971-1981 box set, recently released by Bureau B, lied upon Konzerte 1972/1977, the ninth album in this collection, consisting of previously unreleased live recordings of Cluster. Particularly, the album contains two tracks: one recorded in 1972 in Hamburg, Germany, and the other recorded in 1977 in Metz, France.
If one takes the duo's discography as a benchmark, the fact that Cluster's sound is so similar in both tracks might be odd. In 1972, the band released Cluster II, so, although that album already incorporated more melodic sounds than Cluster 71, the highly experimental approach that shows up in "Fabrik, Hamburg 1972" is not unexpected. By contrast, in 1977 Cluster had already published Zuckerzeit –a pivotal milestone in their discography, with a decidedly more melodic sound than its predecessors–, Sowiesoso and Cluster & Eno –albums that, albeit more ambient-oriented, persisted in that direction–, such that "Festival International de la Science-Fiction, Metz 1977" might be surprising.
Nevertheless, in the first place, the duo's various live albums –Live in Vienna (which was omitted from this collection, strangely), Japan 1996 Live, First Encounter Tour 1996 and Berlin 07– already reflected the fact that Cluster's live performances followed their own path, parallel to their studio work. In fact, the one element that characterizes those live records is, precisely, their undeniably experimental spirit. Secondly (and nuancing what I have just said), throughout the band's trajectory that exploratory character did show a clear evolution, which looms out in the two tracks that form Konzerte 1972/1977. Thus, whereas in Hamburg the sonic ramblings were more erratic and multiform, in Metz Roedelius and Moebius (RIP) already had developed their own language, a peerless telepathy that enabled them to build the hypnotic and meditative atmospheres so unique of Cluster's sound in a much more conscientious and pacient manner.
Beyond its collecting value, Konzerte 1972/1977 is an album which, like much of Cluster's discography, conceals behind its cryptic nature an artistic value that does not show up just like that, but that is certainly there. The sonic sensitivity and the inextinguishable creativity of Roedelius and Moebius's society are as pronounced here as in any other point of their vast trajectory, and recordings like this just confirm to what extent Cluster's immesurable legacy has been underrated, a fact to which the inalienable modesty of both musicians certainly contributed.
Cluster may have come to an end, but that creative spirit, that soul of exuberant emotivity and honesty glows as alive as ever in the music the duo produced across its almost four decades of sonic alchemy, and Konzerte 1972/1977 is yet another reminder of that. —IMF