Every year, 56,000 square miles of rainforest are lost (The Nature Conservancy). As many as three species disappear each hour (Earth Summit). Every two weeks, another language becomes extinct (Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages). Even those who challenge these figures admit that the trend is tracking consistently downward. So what becomes of cultures, religions, and thought processes if the tenets are not passed down? In order to preserve ancient traditions, some experts have been forced to compromise, sharing their wisdom with those outside of their circles. How wonderful, then, when a disciple becomes a teacher, demonstrating a keen listening ability as well as an eagerness to translate these traditions for a new generation.
Apra (Miguel Isaza) spent time with Andean shamans and indigenous masters, studying “spiritual and sonic tradition”. On Llaves, he merges the ancient and the modern. While the album is by nature ambient, it’s an honest, homespun form of ambient, quilted from charango, ocarina, pan flute, and Columbian field recordings made at locations in and around San Pedro, Medellin and the beaches of Cartagena. The field recordings are a modern aspect, although shamans certainly had these sounds around them as they worked, worshipped and played. Bending traditional practice, Arpa adds other spiritually connected sounds, the most obvious of which is Tibetan bowls. By so doing, he links multiple paths, intimating that a common ground exists.
Each of the tracks has a quechua name and is based on a spiritual stage: duality, fear, detachment, liberation. Listening is a relaxing experience, although detachment is also possible. If one is well rested, the listening becomes a meditation, a chance to journey to sonic Columbia (if one focuses on field recordings) or spiritual Columbia (if one concentrates on musical currents). It’s easy to imagine the recording as an aid to prayer, or even sleep, although sleep is not really the point, save for the separation of the conscious from the un- or subconscious. Those looking to experience Andean pop (for example, Los Kjarkas) will need to look elsewhere; Apra celebrates the tradition with similar devotion but far more subtlety. His own faith is found in the quiet more than the loud; and as a result, Llaves’ gentle nature is its most endearing quality. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 