Pastel Records (JP)

Google translated from Japanese:

The music of FEDERICO DURAND, a musician from La Cumbre (Cordoba) from Buenos Aires, joined the mu-nest compilation in Malaysia in 2009, and in 2010, the first album from Spekk “La siesta del ciprés”, made his name known in Japan.

Since “La siesta del ciprés”, FEDERICO DURAND has been making many works for over 10 years including solo and collaborations. His music is highly regarded all over the world, not to mention sales in Japan, which is an unusual ambient work. However, in an interview he states, “I’m really working all the time and I’m making music in the 5 or 10 minutes of free time at night or day” “Before getting up early and preparing to go to work I was listening to the mix I made before going to bed.” I laughed, but I also thought it was part of his music appeal.

Speaking of which, he knew that he had a longing for Basho Matsuo, as much as he visited Basho Matsuo’s birthplace after his second Nara performance. Federico is loved by many fans in Japan, not only for music but also for his personality, but Basho Matsuo is also a humble, free person, and a person who can recognize others, so many disciples. I feel that I was familiar with Federico’s work in that I was fascinated by the work, and that I liked horseradish and wrote poems in simple words.

FEDERICO DURAND’s latest work, “Alba”, has been released from the 12K label in New York, which is one of the most important labels in the experimental/ambient music scene. “Alba” is Spanish, meaning the moment when the day begins, before the sun rises, when the first light appears and everything looks magical. As always, Federico’s music is like a music craft, poetic, unexplainable in terms of ephemeral and sketchy heart patterns.

This time, as for credits, Sony TCM 200-DV (tape recorder), portable synth, music box, contact microphone, cradle toy, Roland Space Echo RE-201, ARP synthesizer, electric piano and toy piano, etc. The equipment that supports his music is famous. From a human perspective, it may not be anything special. It wasn’t a costly orchestra, nor was it recorded in a luxurious studio. The number of notes is small, and the lingering sound of one note invites even more silence. The sound itself reverberates and fluctuates, as if something is dwelling, which is different from what you feel through the melody, which many people call a heavenly sound.

Without fear of misunderstanding, the sound of Federico is by no means simple and straightforward. I think that the mood, as if simplicity = good intelligibility, is touted not only in music but in various fields, but it can be said that this is a misunderstanding. Ease of understanding is nothing more than individualization of thoughts and ideas. But the sound of Federico is simple, but the meaning of the words is too different from the one that is easy to understand. When listening to this “Alba”, it is often heard that the complex sensibilities linked to something in the environment in Federico that impresses with the environment are improvised into sound and integrated without any act. Therefore, any slight changes in the sound are warm and warm. For example, what if you hear a sound coming through the Hidamari? It may be the sound heard in FEDERICO DURAND’s work.
I arbitrarily interpret that “Alba” is not a work that I enjoy as a whole album, but a piece that I enjoy sometimes. Honestly, I couldn’t listen to the music through all the pieces at once. It is because I want to concentrate on the depth of each sound, not the sound of the work, and to enjoy the afterglow of “when my ears return” other than the sound of the work. I recommend listening a little bit.

The artwork is Emer Tumilty, a designer from Northern Ireland who is currently based in Glasgow. Her work, with both an architectural and visual communication background, gives the current 12k label a fresh image.