This is good. It’s Valentina Maza, a Chilean violist (viola player). I found it browsing the Quietus, which I don’t normally do. They had a piece on modern alternative Chilean music.
It is beautifully resonant. Maybe you’ll like it too. I hope so.
YT clip in first comment.
I feel like waxing lyrical about it, but I am actually happy just to bathe in its sound. Maybe you’ll say something about it, or The Quietus (which I have never looked at before, really). Maybe I will reply. Have a good weekend.
And here is the Quietus article.
I got to 22:54 before real life intervened – Saturday morning’s possibly not the best time to immerse yourself in ambient soundscapes. I enjoyed what I heard, up to a point, but tbh I don’t think I’d have lasted the whole 1:06:11. But 22:54 is a whole lot longer than I would have lasted for the ear-piercing cubist hip hop Quietus also flags up as a feature of the Chilean underground scene.
Whoops! I didn’t mean to post the long version. Well done for lasting so long, Mike. This was the edited down section I had intended to share:
Ear-piercing cubist hip hop isn’t really my thing either (though it is what my prejudices about The Quietus preferring harsh jarring noise to melody would expect).
I thought Congelador, the next act after Valentina, was worth exploring though.
I guess with The Quietus, you have to deftly pick your way through the deliberately off putting to find music that is, yes experimental and off beat, but also pleasurable to listen to.
Not really Saturday morning music. I shall return to it in the evening, where it seems more fitted.
I don’t read much about music these days, especially from the likes of Quietus. Too reminiscent of Wire magazine, which I used to get for it’s weirdo coverdiscs and bin the actual mag mostly unread.
I’d be interested to know what you think of it, Mike, if you give it a listen.
I hadn’t given the Quietus much notice until this week, but I thought – where else am I going to read about new music. The Afterword is a fun place to hang out, but the focus is definitely on the tried and tested.
The ‘Baker’s Dozen’ series of musicians, etc choosing 13 favourite albums is a good feature – Richard Norris made some great choices, as did Lisa Gerrard, Jason Pierce, Acid Arab, Barry Adamson, Jarboe, James Johnston (Gallon Drunk), Arooj Aftab – leading me to:
David Casper: Tantra-La
James Booker: Junco Partner
Alfred Schnittke – Viola Concerto
Anouar Brahem – Blue Maqam (fantastic – and very resonant, in keeping with the loose theme of the OP)
It’s a bit like the bit at the front of The Word, when celebs were asked to pick their favourite music, films, books (and of course Blogger Takeover here), but you get to choose which artists you think would be most interesting in their musical tastes. And the best don’t disappoint.