Premiere: Maribel Tafur ‘Valle Sagrado feat. Ankalli’
Maribel Tafur stitches field recordings from across the Peruvian landscape through layers of ambient electronic music on a new album with the Mater Iniciativa research centre
A new collaborative project by Lima-based electronic music producer Maribel Tafur, the Mater Iniciativa research centre and renowned chef Virgilio Martínez explores the ecosystems, altitudes and biodiversity of Peru. A crowdfunding campaign to have the album released on vinyl is live here.
Tafur’s ‘Mater Soundscapes Of Peru’ comprises 10 electronic ambient compositions interwoven with field recordings taken within the Peruvian landscape, from “25 meters below sea level to the extreme altitude.” The project took two years to create, with Tafur and sound designer Rosa María Oliartmaking recordings among forests, deserts, valleys and mountains. These sounds rustle beneath warm synth swells, melodic plucks and overlapping organ drones, calling to mind the meditative work of artists like KMRU, Emily A. Sprague and Burial’s recent ‘Antidawn’ EP.
Below, you can hear ‘Valle Sagrado’, which translates to “Sacred Valley”, named after a region in Peru's Andean highlands. The track’s atmosphere recalls the wide open landscape of its title, while additional, reverse-layered charango (a small, lute-like string instrument) provided by musician Ernesto Ankalli Pérez introduces a melodic lightness to its resonant sense of space.
The crowdfunding campaign for the vinyl release of ‘Mater Soundscapes Of Peru’ will run until 17th April. Order yours here.
Photo credit: Sara Rodriguez
