The processions through the old streets of Lima's district of Chorrillos, which surrounds the Pacific Ocean, mingled with the still vivid memories of a cold Canada and the discovery of an indie movement that was foreign to Nicolás Saba Salem, singer of the Peruvian band Kanaku y el Tigre. The drums of these processions sounded like elephants, and the languor of the wind instruments reminded him of the melancholic atmosphere of Sundays in the city. Even these sounds, which existed before him, were unfamiliar. But there was a connection between Toronto and Lima. Those processional marches combined in spirit with the Anglo-French folk he had heard in a city much farther north. The year was 2009. The journey: from Canada to Peru. A distance of almost eight thousand kilometers. A year after reuniting with Lima and a culture that he now began to perceive with other senses and therefore reinterpret with other sounds, he began to build “Caracoles” (2010), not only the band's first album, but also the materialization of everything he had learned and absorbed in his youth and adolescence.
Nicolás and guitarist Bruno Bellatín had known each other since high school. Since then, their musical interests varied, grew and found common ground until they converged in the same current: Kanaku. What began with an acoustic folk sound became a more experimental and psychedelic project. There were no restrictions in terms of sounds. And even less on how to achieve them. Any object that could emit a sound was a possibility. Bottles, toys, balloons. And with them, as many explorations of the voice as the diaphragm would allow. If there was a rule, it was that there was no rule.
The traditional ways of playing the instruments did not suit Nicolás' interests, nor Bruno's. In fact, when they played Andean music, they never did it in the most educated way. Their process of discovery prioritized freedom during the moment of creation over the academic study of the various styles that appeared on their radar. Constant exploration was the watchword. The authentic, the visceral. Everything came together in a very natural way, consequent with their original processes. And they began to shape a project with a "childishly sarcastic and slightly melancholic" style, as its members describe it. The result was the birth of a psychedelic folk-pop group, with references to folklore and the city as a protagonist. And also to belonging and absence. To irreverence. To coming and going. To innocence, to cruel discovery. To illusion. To the buildings and the cold sea. To the game. To growing up in a foreign and familiar Lima. Sand, carbon monoxide. Consensus. Routine. Concrete, fog. Monsters. Flowers and horns.
Initially, Caracoles was not conceived as a product to be commercialized. They did not expect recognition from others, but they did expect, unconsciously, the confirmation that improvisations, efforts and ideas could be channeled into something material: an album. One afternoon, returning from a recording session, the “Bicicleta” demo was playing in the car. Nicolás was accompanied by Marcial Rey, a musician and friend. "You're going to travel with this music," Marcial commented. Nicolás imagined that he was referring to the hallucinogenic journeys typical of ayahuasca, but his comment referred to both takeoffs and landings. Marcial was talking about airplanes, about traveling in airplanes. It was a way of telling him that they were going to be very successful. "I want to be part of the band, too," he told him. Thus came the band's third member and the one who would become its director. Kanaku y el Tigre was growing, and this was reflected in the addition of a drum set, a Peruvian cajón, an electric guitar, and new voices. Noel Marambio on double bass and David Chang on banjo and ukulele joined the band. Along with, of course, a toy piano, a saw to play the violin bow, a harmonica and other odd objects, they built an image that would soon catch the attention of many listeners. Live performances were imminent.
It all began in clothing stores, art galleries and cultural centers in the capital. None of these presentations were conceived in the process of making the album, and "doing things without resources generated a very powerful creative stimulus," the members recall. The click was immediate. The musicians understood on the fly that the need to perform live was an essential part of all the work they had been doing for months, and the people who attended these events found themselves with an atypical, playful, and at the time unclassifiable band that filled a gap in the national music scene that listeners did not even know existed. Naturally, word of mouth and the incipient social networks did the rest. Kanaku y el Tigre were already too big for small stages, where "the distance between you and the audience is worthy of an Olympic jump," jokes Saba. What came next is already history: their songs began to be played not only in Peru, but also on radio stations in Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, the United States and Spain. More albums came and more members joined the project. “Bicicleta” and its light and playful personality generated a lot of attraction.
Perhaps the public identified with the band because of the naturalness with which they expressed experiences common to an entire generation, the freedom with which they played objects that were not instruments as if they were, the carefree but never indifferent attitude.
Produced by Kanaku and El Tigre.
Sound engineer: Bruno Bellatín.
Studio recording: Kanaku Estudio.
Mastered by Andrés Mayo Mastering.
Original artwork by Patricio Polar & Mariano Escobal.
Guest musicians:
Michael Dawson: Guitar on "Bicicleta".
Gino Solano: Ukulele on "El Fuego, El Tigre y El Avestruz".
Jorge André Balbi: Drums on "El Funeral de Martín".
Abraham Palomino: Electric guitar on "El Fuego, El Tigre y El Avestruz".
Bettine Solf: Backing vocals and midi keyboard on "Tu Verano, Mi Invierno".
Frank (Pancho) Boeren: Tuba on "El Funeral de Martín".
Fernando Gonzales: Trombone on "Caracoles", "Tu Verano, Mi Invierno", "La Inminente Muerte de Martín", “El Funeral De Martín".
Manuel Loli: Trumpet on “La Inminente Muerte de Martín”, “El Funeral de Martín”.
Caroline Cruz: Accordion on "El Funeral de Martín".
José Luis Madueño: Piano on "Bicicleta". "Pascal and Julian”.
Somos una casa discográfica y productora independiente con base en Lima-Madrid,que desde el año 2006 estamos llenos de
ímpetu, entusiasmo y, sobretodo, mucho amor a la música.
Siempre enfocada en el amplio espectro de matices emocionales que componen la fuerza del POP!....more
