Pampa by Catriel Nievas, Sergio Merce

„Sergio Merce, Lucio Capece, Federico Barabino they are all experimental musicians from Merlo, Buenos Aires, that is strange because it´s a place where there isn´t much to do, and there isn´t an experimental background or something like that. I invited Sergio to play in a concert that me and some friends organize. A year later we share a concert and then we started talking about making a record together.“ CN

Sergio Merce is an Argentinian musician, who plays on a specially modified microtonal saxophone- an alto saxophone without the original mechanisms and keys. He creates undulating sonic layers, drones and microscopic landscape drafts through the extended techniques of play, circular breathing, analog synth and electronics. He was on several European tours with Axel Dörner, Lucio Capece, Alan Curtis, Toshimaru Nakamura, Keith Rowe, Christof Kurzmann…

Catriel Nievas comes from Buenos Aires (like Sergio Merce), he’s a composer and guitarist, who combines multiple approaches. His compositions and improvisations mainly for electric guitar are notable for subtle changes between silent environment, vibrant motion, wary sound immersion and noise interventions. Nievas is a member of the CCO (Conciertos Capital del Oeste) platform- a space for promoting electronic music and sound art from Buenos Aires.

„We made the record in a few sessions, me on electric guitar and Sergio Merce on microtonal sax and electronics. The music that we were looking for was a music surrounded by a certain tonality or tonal center but we didn´t want to do a classic noise or melody record, instead, we wanted to explore the connection between melody, noise and harmony at the same time, and how harmony and noise transformed each other. So we recorded two long sessions and then, thinking on the premise described before, we started an edition process that finished with the two tracks of the record.” CN

Mappa editions introduces a debut release of the duo, which connects their creative powers, microtonal oscillations of saxophone and minimal vibrations of an electric guitar. Fluid changes between silence and noise, between isolated strings details and raw distortions, which on Pampa coexist in harmonical relationship on the background of wavy scenery. Pampa is a representative example of the vital experimental music scene in Buenos Aires and invites the listener to its deeper exploration.

liquid cartography
sonic wanderings

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