Folklorist since childhood, from instruments to the rhythms, the Chilean Carla Valenti had connected the electronic music’s world with her roots and aspirations using instinctive, natural and placid ways. Almost a decade ago, she started a career as DJ, firstly Carla played pop and gradually discovered electronic music, at the same time was inviting herself to explore melodic and percussive cycles, tones of nuance, from reggae to hardcore. Meanwhile, when graduating in Sound Technology, music production became a huge interest to her, and after five years investigating, studying, and listening, she’s at the point of no-turning-back, using imagination to create her own meanings and blurring the line between DJ and composer.
In a throwback to the days when she was too small to understand the messages revealed by music, mainly folklore – which for a long time was the only form allowed to the people whose wanted to protest in order to have their own rightful voice, Carla reframes the storytelling underneath society’s surface and then now understands what happened, specially the military coup that overthrew Chile’s constitutional democratic regime. In practical terms, aside from the fact that music and politics coexist, she knows that both accompanies and records the evolution and regression of humankind. And it is from this singular and precious intersection that her work transcends every genre it examines, driving such a compelling, eclectic and organic sound that is not afraid to set side by side mainstream and underground.
Upon arriving in Brazil, Carla came across innumerable challenges, internal struggles and key changes, almost like a flower that has blossomed in the dry e barren sand. Somehow it always showed her a bright side, nevertheless, there are many aspects of life that don’t have a component on positive view and when not she was able to turn the tables. From this perspective she felt like a warrior, fighting for her dreams, getting over the threats, giving her best and moving on. That’s the inner location where was born her EP titled ‘Walla’, which means warrior in the Quechua, the indigenous language of the Inca’s nation.
Edited to its very essence, the EP is exploring an impressive range of ideas in just 21 minutes and four tracks. At first sight, tracks have no connection with each other, but certainly that’s a multi-layered abbreviated narrative. With many grooves to grab ahold of, the 4-track extended play chronicles the journey back to artistic motivations, her own deconstruction, a rebirth. However, ‘Walla’ may speak the language of club music, with familiar layers and arrangements; more indicative of the genuine joy experienced at clubs in order to make everyone feel welcome, regardless of color, belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Despite a lightly packed attitude, the EP goes for substantial amplitudes. For instance, ‘Intro’ creates a strain as the opening of a proposal, a mellow voice, almost a clamor, entangle itself in a despoiled and the virtuous flute atmosphere. With Illapu’s remix of ‘Tristeza Incaica’ Carla offers a cheerful paradoxical melancholy, yet colorful array, channeling half of the EP through an effortless intonation. Speeding things up a bit, we come up against the last two tracks. Reborn from a gradual synergy, ‘Renacer’ moves by its contagious arrangement, which pulls us out of a sonorous comfort, withdrawing us from the placental sound we have created to undress us from this delusional macrocosm. ‘El Derecho de Vivir en Paz’ features the percussionist Koby Perc and envisages our trivial struggles correlating it with the Mapuches, their resistance and indigenous rights, that’s why she used Victor Jara’s voice, since he’s a well-known militant figure that gave a new form of freedom to a repressed people.
The album comes with original artwork from her beloved friend Marcio Zamboni, who designed her as a warrior, following up the theme of her last covers that have all been portrayed Carla in some context, which is related to the theme of each work.
Overall, to break free from the patterns she put on herself, Carla shows off that being vulnerable is not a scary thing, contrariwise, means something else when it’s placed in connection with human flourishing. Then, conducting electronic music as a mode of looking back to see ahead, also to create a space where life can be analyzed and deconstructed, far from being interpreted in a narrow sense.
released May 6, 2019
Artwork\ Marcio Zamboni
Master\ André Torres @ RD Studio, Brasília – DF <3 Music\ All tracks composed by Carla Valenti Track 02\ Remix of 'Illapu - Tristeza Incaica' Track 04\ Featuring percussionist Koby Perc
