CD – Crónica

Ekkert Nafn is the result of a collaboration between Francisco López & Miguel A. García, two well-recognized names in the contemporary sound world. To date, López has published almost 150 audio projects on many labels all over the world with a lot of international awards. García, in turn is a cosmopolitan and prolific composer, appreciated for his compositions and for his electroacoustic improvisations featuring field recordings and sounds originating from outdated and/or broken electronic devices. In Ekkert Nafn the two authors delved into their personal archives, looking for some old environmental audio recordings and sounds from electric or mechanical equipment. All of these sounds were already digitally manipulated. Each artist then worked individually from the same sound source. Some crossover is to be expected in the resulting tracks, “Untitled #351” by López and “Applainessads” by Garcia, but in both cases the artists have worked with extreme care to make a coherent and homogeneous continuum. The album title too is a hybrid, the union of two Icelandic words literally meaning “no name”. This for Crónica Electrónica, the Portuguese producer, is enigmatic and conceptual. In López’ composition the sounds are played with mysterious and sibilant tones. In García’s contribution they seem more strident, hard and low, developing into scattered and imperceptible sequences. The compositions make for engaging listening even after many repetitions and always offer some new opportunity for reflection, sharpening our perception to care about all the small details, moving from states of controlled tension to minimal and meditative disruptions. Sometimes the atmosphere becomes elegiac and melancholic, as though it comes from some remote and deserted future, where the sounds we hear result from eruptions and cold frequencies, from scrapes and dark echoes.

 

Francisco López & Miguel A. García – Ekkert Nafn