Rural
Forget about Halloween. Please stand and join us in celebration of Ecuador's 'Día del Escudo Nacional', honouring the Andean nation's official emblem, or coat of arms, a day the country has been celebrating since 1900. It depicts several national treasures, such as the volcanic Chimborazo mountain, the grand condor and, of course, the golden sun, a nod to the sun god Inti, believed to be the ancestor of the Incas. We're sure there's more details that deserve closer examination, but today, we would rather shine a light on the sonorous debut full-length by Ecuadorian producer Carlos Asimbaya, aka Kaifo.
Based in northern Ecuador, Kaifo himself has obviously spent some time exploring the musical traditions of his homestead, honing in on the manifold rhythmical legacy of the country's Afro-Andean communities, picking his proverbial poison and subsequently adding his own experimental electronic touches to send his almost entirely instrumental productions into orbit. "Trained in classical music composition and inspired by jazz, Kaifo's repertoire features haunting, extensive melodies and scales that inform listeners on the depth of Andean landscapes while providing a postmodern dancefloor experience [...]", the release notes read.
"Rural" is his first longplayer and a resounding statement at that. Channeling an ancestral mosaic of "organ riffs, albazo strings and groovy 'bomba' percussion," he unleashes a wonderfully relentless keyboard onslaught of revitalized sonic memorabilia from his native Ecuador, recomposed to meet the bass-fueled expectations of the global electronic circuit. Although we're tempted to bring ayahuasca into the mix, we need something less introspective and more uplifting in nature, but alluding to the mighty condor transmitting a birds-eye view of 'el país' down below might just do the trick. Either way, Kaifo's resplendent, hyper-contemporary vision of his beloved land is bound to bear fruits. Happy 'Día del Escudo'!
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