Principe’s sibling label Holuzam returns with a provocative exploration of western exoticism and all its romanticised and questionable aspects. It’s the work of Venezuelan native Alexander Molero, here playing on sounds familiar from the works of Martin Denny, Jürgen Müller, Andrew Pekler and Mike Cooper, as well asVenezuela’s own electronic pioneer Alfredo del Mónaco’s pastoral wonderings.

Now living in Barcelona, Molero has experienced first hand how his own cultural heritage has been romanticised by people he’s met in Europe. Taking inspiration from “the tropical lowlands to eternal snow”,a book written by German naturalist, painter and graphic artist Anton Goering (who spent several years inVenezuela in the late 19th century and who is perhaps best known for his drawings of Venezuela’s native birds), the music on ‘Ficciones Del Trópico’ is a sort of meta work of sonic fiction, an artist from the outside looking in to his own culture.

Using a Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer, a space echo and a world of midi flutes, pipes and nature sounds, Molero imagines a utopian voyage inspired by the tropical and exotic desire of European traveller’s first contact with foreign and unexplored lands, creating soundscapes evocative of travellers that faced the vast unknown of the Amazon forest in the 19th century. Of course, all of that has a world of connotations; colonialism, appropriation, slavery - making this not only an absorbing and highly evocative listen, but also a multi-faceted and thought provoking one.

Highly recommended

Label: Holuzam

Cat No: ZAM005LP

Format:  180g 12" Vinyl LP with printed inner-sleeve

Genre: Ambient / Experimental

Released: 18th June 2020

Tracklist:

A1. Phasma Gigas

A2. Simi Vulpa

A3. Jaguar Capybaras

A4. Manglares

B1. Selvas De Ewaipanomas

B2. El Espanto En Sierra Nevada

B3. Parra Jacana

B4. Tierras Bajas Tropicales