To understand: Cristián Alvear and Santiago Astaburuaga are a Chilean duo who perform here the works of Rolando Hernández (side A, “topializ”) and Nicolás Carrasco (side B, “sin titulo #21”). Alvear and Astaburuaga play a variety of instruments and electronic components, sometimes dropping into moments of almost complete silence. These lengthy compositions, almost half an hour each, require a delicate touch and almost scientific care. Metronomic rhythm intrudes at points, as does mechanical interference.
If you imagine a space, a studio, a museum perhaps, maybe a laboratory, where sound becomes a subject to be scrutinized as if it took on physical properties, “capas de un tapiz” would be the recording of it. It’s almost impossible to separate the functions that brought about these sounds’ creation from the sounds themselves, and imagining Alvear and Astaburuaga surrounded by instruments and other ephemera and exploring, experimenting, and discovering is the only way to fully enjoy and understand this tape. But hey, it sounds pretty intense too, so maybe just do what you want?
Marginal Frequency
--Ryan
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