Thanatoloop | 2015 | Irpasiri

Experimental | Industrial | Avant-Pop
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Michel Leroy (Korg Trinity Plus and Electribe, tapes, field recordings, vocals) and Kamila Lunae (vocals)

Although Thanatoloop's discography as a whole constitutes, in its originality, an oddity, Irpasiri is an album that stands out in a particular way within the Chilean's vast catalog. Estranging itself from Thanatoloop's most noisy tradition, this is a record that explores neighbouring soundscapes with beautiful delicacy.
Thus, the exploration begins with an industrial experiment which suddently becomes an introspective form of avant-pop, which to some extent evokes Psychic TV or even The Legendary Pink Dots. Then, a comeback to the experimental atmospheres follows, intermittently playing with that new avant-pop formula geniusly developed by Michel Leroy, with a sound tinged with a melancholic and fragile intimacy, free of excesses and reduced to its essence. For the same reason, Irpasiri is elusive to the listener: it demands a certain mood in order to reveal all its richness, which lies precisely in that introspective character and that minimalist spirit which does not show its secrets at first listen.
In its simplicity, Irpasiri hides beautiful nuances that, rather than positioning it in a privileged place within Thanatoloop's trajectory merely due to its sonic divergence, transform it into a prominent album by its own merit: due to its quality, its melodic sensitivity and its depth. —IMF

Luciernaga | 2016 | Sic Transit Gloria

Drone | Ambient | Noise
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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.

Thanatoloop | 2014 | Médula

Noise | Drone | Avant-Folk

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Michel Leroy (guitar, effects, tapes and feedbacks)

Médula is, undoubtedly, one of the best noise records that I've listened to. Michel Leroy's formula is far from being an amorphous noise experiment without nuances, which seems to be the rule in a genre that, like all of them, has been hackneyed by imitation. On the contrary: although there is time for noisy sonic meanderings, these only serve to the purpose of building passages that, while not oppressive, reach a deep density that subtly gives shape to an indescribably beautiful album, perfectly provided of short guitar sections that give Médula an avant-folk spirit that nourishes its sound with something that most noise albums lack: soul. Each one of the tracks of this record is full of humanness and depth, without giving in to wanton noise or, even worse, to experimental bragging. Conversely, Médula is an honest album, whose sonic language is the reflection of a quest for, precisely, that honesty that is so necessary for a genuine existential expression. Wonderful album. —IMF