To call Sacratávica special does a disservice to just how vital this first-ever collection of Guatemalan composer and interdisciplinary artist Joaquin Orellana’s work is. As the central figure in the Guatemalan avant garde, his work spans decades and mediums. On the collection’s title track, Orellana’s ambition comes to life. Cloud-like choral arrangements encircle resonant percussive elements from his custom-made sonic sculptures. Distant conversational voices mimic field recordings, expanding the scope of “Sacratávica.” It is an image of life amplified and reshaped inside a spellbinding sonic form, building toward a breaking of tension and an explosion of grief.
Orellana talks about the collection:
“In these four pieces, and especially with “Ramajes and “Sacratávica,” they are framed within the social spectrum. What connects the four pieces together is the description at an artistic level of the current social reality transcending the socio-political landscape. It is worth mentioning that these pieces are not to be taken as something to ignite revolution or to take a political stand; it is a reflection of the sensibility caused by the social injustice on which the music gets spilled on. It has not only been a desire to compose music, all of this has been motivated by the constant social injustice and social economic gap that we face.”
Sacratávica will be released on May 18 by Identidata on double LP and digital formats. Stream below and pre-order HERE.
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