‘Ermitaño’ germinated during the two months Michael Alfred Wagner AKA Biomigrant spent at the Fundación Tumac, a community school in Tumaco founded to recover and teach traditional music and dance in the Colombian south pacific. Set to the rhythms of Bunde and Currulao, the EP follows the iconic sound of the Chonta Marimba as it disembarks from its native coasts to navigate new currents, carried along by deep electronic pulses, gusts of wind instruments, and dreamscapes of water and concrete.
‘La Utopía’ was inspired by a story of the Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, questioning what role ideals play in our imperfect and complex world.
‘Ciudad de Agua’ (City of Water) takes flight through the marimba of Jhon ‘Pitufo’ Cortés (from the band Plu con Pla), guided by the words of the legendary musician Gualajo, who describes the origin of the instrument in the sounds of the ocean and jungle, and imagines how the music would change within an urban context.
‘Ermitaño’ (Hermit) reimagines a traditional ‘bunde’ as a deep, trap-influenced encounter between the voices of Barbacoa-born singer Cristina Cortés and Mike (Biomigrant), contemplating a long, solitary path and rejuvenating moments of collective celebration, culminating in a dubby flute line.
credits
released January 21, 2019
Musicians:
Jhon ‘Pitufo’ Cortes – Marimba in ‘Ciudad de Agua’ and ‘Ermitaño’
Cristina Cortés – Voice in ‘La Utopía’ y ‘Ermitaño’
Kevin Leandro Cortés Garcia – Bombo, Cununu, and Guasa in ‘La Utopía’, ‘Ciudad de Agua’, and ‘Ermitaño’
Juan Camilo Ramirez Salazar – Trumpet in ‘La Utopía’
Diana Cacais – Voice in ‘La Utopía’
José Antonio ‘Gualajo’ Torres – Voice in ‘Ciudad de Agua’ (from an interview conducted in 2016)
Michael Alfred Wagner – Recording, production, mixing, and all other instruments/voices.
Artwork by Stella Ismene (stellaismene.com)
Mastering: Rob Small
