What: “Desde otra perspectiva” by Pirata
Netlabel: Tropic Netlabel
Chilean musician Antonio Díaz is Pirata, and gifts us this five track album through the Tropic Netlabel. When you think of the beaches in Chile where Antonio lives, and hear the word “tropic,” your mind naturally goes to… Frankfurt, Germany. Well, at least it will now, as that’s where Tropic Netlabel is located.
Tropic has been serving up free electronic music since 2005. They say they are open minded and “no matter if it’s House, Electronica, Ambient or Techno, it has to be special with a warm feeling.” Pirata certainly fits that bill.
Opening tracks “Mata cola” and “Perdido en el espacio” bring to mind late-period Cabaret Voltaire (circa “The Conversation”), with their overall cool vibe but with also some slightly unnerving underpinnings of elusive vocal samples and sounds.
My favorite track (“Tropico”) is also the longest, although at over eleven minutes it doesn’t seem long enough…I wish it would just go on and on. It initially sounds like a cross between Kraftwerk’s “Tour de France” and early Depeche Mode, but evolves into its own great groove.
“Luciernaga” is the final song here. It starts with sort of an echoed industrial noise and builds electronic sound layers up one-by-one until, half way through, it strips back suddenly. A very processed and manipulated vocal sample then joins the mix, while the second half of the song weaves different sounds in and out. It’s an upbeat track to round out this release.