Vigüela EP by Silvio Astier

EARTHLY010 sees us travel to Buenos Aires with 4 guitar-led, downtempo, ambient & woozy tracks from the multi instrumentalist Silvio Astier.

“Vigüela” means old guitar in Spanish. During the 19th century, it was the musical instrument of the Gauchos who inhabited the Pampas in Argentina and Uruguay. The Gaucho who led a solitary life herding cattle in the desert found his voice in the chords of the Vigüela. The native sound of the guitar is recovered by Silvio Astier who has been able to listen to this forgotten musical tradition. In “Vigüela” the ancient musical landscapes of South America are mixed with organic electronic beats, field recordings and the style of the Argentinian guitar.

Opening track “Guillermo Hudson” plays homage to the British/Argentinian novelist and naturalist Guillermo Enrique Hudson. A storyteller influenced by his childhood on the Argentinian Pampas and then devotion for its nature.

“Los Hijos de Fierro” refers to the fundamental poem of Argentinian literature: Martin Fierro, written by José Hernandez.

“Cigarra” is led by the chant of the Cicadas and guitar fragments. In the Pampas, after the rain, the cicadas sing together as a choir shaping the music of the landscape.

The last track “Milonga del Paredón” is a guitar piece influenced by the traditional Argentinian guitar that remains in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where Tango, the most popular music genre of the territory was born.