Manongo Mujica/Terje Evensen
Paracas Ritual
SCORE: 8.2
Peruvian percussionist, Manongo Mujica, and norwegian electronic wiz, Terje Evensen, join forces to take the listener on a journey through desert landscapes guided only by sparse rhythmic passages, vivid field recordings and lush electronic textures.
After the beautifully crafted Alturas -an impromptu collaboration with various renowned musicians from different projects-, peruvian percussionist and visual artist, Manongo Mujica, is back with another collaborative effort, only this time, the pieces are more subdued and the amount of people involved is only limited to Manongo himself and norwegian electronic wiz, Terje Evensen. Even with their elongated, almost silent parts and the lack of other instruments, the pair manage to build enormous-sounding pieces, proving that the power of two can be equally great as the presence of a full band.
We just need to look at the album’s cover art -courtesy of photographer Pauline Barberi- to know what to expect: just as the landscape being depicted, the sound pieces in Paracas Ritual are vast, with very minimal instrumentation and somewhat ominous, but enchanting nonetheless. Most notably, though, with their sparse rhythmic passages, pristine field recordings and lush electronic textures, these four tracks actually make the listener feel like they’re in the Paracas desert -or any desert for that matter- experiencing a profound spiritual experience; this is a genuine deep listening experience full of organic overtones and reverberation.
Mujica has a distinctive touch for playing the percussion, as it is not only rhythmic, but it is highly textural. Yes, he is using different instruments with a wide range of timbral quality besides their percussive nature, but it’s the way he plays them -with a ritualistic sensibility- that really displays all their harmonic and animic possibilities. Even when this pairs perfectly with the vivid soundscapes that Terje creates with his field recordings and droning electronics, there are passages in which Manongo is on his own, but the mastery with which he takes advantage of the harmonic and subharmonic range of his instruments, keeps the pieces from, suddenly, feeling empty.
“Origins”, with its use of a seed shaker and an udu, has a tribal, mystical feel that is only accentuated by Evensen’s engulfing drones. The piece is shapeless, with no discernible direction until we can hear a pulse that becomes more constant as the song progresses; we can even hear Mujica’s breath near the end, hinting at the beginning of life. “Nightmare in the Desert” begins as a dark, slightly dissonant affair, but the mood slowly shifts thanks to the bright tones of the bell plates. Yet, there’s a sense of unease; it feels as if the sun is finally out, but you quickly realize that you’re still alone in the middle of nowhere.
Among all the electronic handling and sound design, Terje is also a drummer, and on “Saga” and the closing track, he and Mujica combine percussive forces to great effect. They both lock into polyrhythmic grooves that are apparently simple, but their goal is not to impress; this is not virtuoso wankering. It has to do more with a ritualistic use of the instruments, thus, the goal is to set a mood, and it works mainly as a reminder that we have made it to more familiar territory after being lost for a long time.
