Murcof – Remembranza

"Remembranza" is definitely the best creation Murcof has ever released, in my opinion. This piece is dusty, disturbing, dramatic. It's sinister yet very graceful. It's a journey through the darkest shades of your heart.

Here you have the best of his micro sounds, glitchy textures, very stylish computerish design, mixed with some graceful, haunting, sometimes terrifying acoustic instruments which sound more expressive than ever (compared to "Martes", which is excellent too, but where the general aesthetics is more minimalistic, "reduced" with some cut/paste sampling of orchestral instruments). The computer itself is used in such a precise and elegant way here, that it becomes like another acoustic instrument on its own. Murcof is one of these artists who made me fall in love with micro/reduced sounds, and I still haven't found something more interesting than this. Never. The 2000s are a fountain of genius ideas, and that kind of minimalism is one of those. For me it sounds like the logical and forward-thinking progression of music.

I think the reasons why hafler3o (see comment below) does not enjoy this album very much compared to other Murcof's releases are fair. Fair because these reasons are actually the essence of this album. "Remembranza" is in memory of Murcof's beloved mother that had just died. He did the tracks during her illness until her death. So the "unease" impression seems justified and that's, in my opinion, the reason why the strings here sound like pain and the piano sounds like tears, with an "heavy" atmosphere, like a mirror of a saturated, jangled heart. The thing is that what hafler3o considers as "painstaking layered construction of track one's rhythm" is, actually, for me, THE quality of "Remembranza". I think that the rhythms here are mind-blowing. We don't know exactly where Murcof is going at the first place with the track, there's a certain constant tension throughout, and suddenly, the genius beat wraps the track for a mesmerizing explosion of style and emotion. If I still listen to "Remembranza" sometimes, it's particularly for the sake of its genius crafting and textures.

Really one of the most interesting things born in the fruitful 2000s. Timeless good-taste meets cutting-edge intelligence.

Anecdotic parenthesis : I have a surprising experience with the track "Razon". When I start playing the second part of this track, my dog (a shiba inu) stares at the PC screen, becomes completely mad and starts howling like a wolf at the moon. She absolutely never does it, never, in any situation, she's always very calm, except when I play this track. I can play absolutely everything else, of every style possible (and even play videos of wolves or dogs barking and howling to check her reaction), she just does not care. It's just THIS track. There must be some frequencies that mean something to her, something we're not able to comprehend. Pretty... scary, particularly when you give a "romantic" dimension to this and the story of this album (see above).

Trying to review this brings home a certain difficulty of pinning down exactly what makes music enjoyable or memorable or derivative etc. For some reason this one does not quite gel with me like his other recordings. There is a slight heaviness, a dusty 'unease' that never quite goes away after the painstaking layered construction of track one's rhythm. Everything seems a little laboured. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing to dislike but I prefer the colder, droney 'Cosmos' to this release's arid atmosphere.

The album begins with a long intro'ed 'Recuerdos' that eventually breaks out into groovy beat. But I love how Murcof keeps the rhythmic track in the back while the pound of the piano hammer in the low end and reverb-drenched high keys take precedence in the aural space. This places heavy emphasis on the mood of the track - markedly sinister. Love it.

After this I think the album lulls a bit with the next few tracks, which focus more on ambience, until 'Reflejo', a track that carefully builds until it spills over into a progression with a sense of imminence. In of overall album, things are up and moving once again.

'Rios' has an addictive rhythm that contains tonal elements, helping the track build its melody along with the strings and once-again-present high, rustic, reverb-laden keys (they certainly give that "old attic" feeling). The track progresses into a breakbeat of sorts that lets off finally with a swan song from the strings.

'Camino'. Man I love this track (I seem to like all the evil tracks). The staccato notes and the fast clicky little hi-hat are perfect. The call and response between the violin and bassline conjure the image of a stealthy assassin relocating here and there between dark alcoves under the street lights, enclosing in on his prey.

Thank you Murcof for these amazing soundscapes.