Here is the first track, "Pensar Bonito" from Lulacruza's 9-track visual album "Esperando el Tsunami" directed by Vincent Moon.
YouTube / Lulacruza
“From Chacarera from Argentina to Samba from Brazil, all of these different styles, they influence us,” relates Luis Maurette in an exclusive interview with Examiner.com. He describes Lulacruza’s music as a fusion of all the influences they have touched; the rhythms, the people, and even vibration itself. “We don’t try to copy a style or genre when we set out to do a song,” he says, “but we kind of listen to the essential elements of that music and take from that.”
Lulacruza
Dubbed as "electronic folk", Lulacruza's music incorporates many elements. The “electronic folk” label doesn’t quite seem to describe what Lulacruza does, however. Maurette explains that it was challenging to try to sum up a project that incorporated electronic elements, folk music and folklore, but the label seemed to stick. It was a quick synthesis for those who had been asking for a description from the duo.
Lulacruza is made up of percussionist and electronic musician Luis Maurette and singer/songwriter Alejandra Ortiz. The duo doesn’t set out to create something that is “cool” or even unique, yet, the music they create is indeed that. Interlacing the silence that comes from nature and the potent effects of “ritual music” with their backgrounds in the myriad rhythms and timbres of their native Argentina and Colombia, Lulacruza creates a very profound impact on their audiences. Visits to places like Ecuador, Mexico, and Chile, along with their time together at Boston’s Berklee College of Music has also added to the original compositions the two create.
What was the genesis of the band? How did Alejandra and yourself come together?
Alejandra spent all of her childhood in Colombia and really traveled and spent time with indigenous cultures in Colombia. I kind of traveled around; my family was a little bit more nomadic. I spent time as a kid in Ecuador, Mexico, and Chile. I got a sense of different cultures, different ways of being, and also things that are the same no matter where you are. Then, we both came to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston and that’s where we met. Really, what clicked for us was that we both had a really strong interest in ritual music.
Can you explain a bit more about ritual music?
Both of us were really wondering how to make music that is not just entertainment but music that takes the listener to a different place and has a certain effect on the listener. We were listening to a lot of different ritual music and exchanging music between us from Mexican shamans’ music, to electronic techno, African ritual music, music from Morocco, for example, and we just kept exchanging and listening to music. We kept having all these conversations on how we could make music like that and what music can do. This question keeps fueling us. We constantly explore how to make music that has a more profound impact. Even though having fun is part of it, it’s not only about that. We’re always aiming to have some sort of experience.
Is there a specific experience that you’re trying to evoke?
We want to evoke something that’s transcendental or that’s profound. We’re not just going for something that’s cool. We want to touch people. We’ve had amazing things happen at our shows. Recently, in one concert, we played three or four songs and nobody applauded between those songs. It was like everybody was suspended. You could have heard a pin drop. Then, after those three or four songs, everyone just busted out. It felt like this suspended air and it’s not something we’ve had happen before. Other times, there’s crazy dancing where people are screaming and just really being shifted. It’s not like we’re aiming for something in particular but we’re aiming for something profound.
Is there a formula to how you are evoking these profound moments for people?
I think it’s always different. I don’t think there’s a formula. I’ve done a lot of research and study in somatics, acoustics, and psychoacoustics. I look at sounds almost as matter. If you make things vibrate, other things vibrate empathetically. I’ve also studied basic musicianship and now I’m in a place where the musical instincts have kind of developed. It doesn’t always work; sometimes at our shows, some people feel super moved and other people don’t. Sometimes nobody does. Sometimes everybody does. It depends on many factors; the setting, the people, sound, whether alcohol is present or if people are sitting, standing, etc. There are all these aspects to it.
How does Nature play in your music? It seems as though the elements of Nature are interlaced as well as the tradition….
I think in a way, our music comes from silence and from Nature. Alejandra normally kind of receives the song. The whole song kind of comes through; it’s not like she works on the lyrics or figures out what needs to go where. It’s about listening, being inspired by what is naturally occurring already.
We’ve also done a lot of field recordings. What that is: Instead of pulling out a camera, you pull out a recorder and you have this sort of sonic photograph of a place. For me, that sonic photograph says a lot more than a picture because you can put headphones on and you can close your eyes and when you put that sound on, you can get transported back, not only to that place, but to the moment that it happened. By using field recordings, it’s almost like we set a setting where things happen and the music unfolds.
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The South American duo is currently on an 18-city summer tour across the United States in support of their fifth album "Orcas." They are scheduled to play two sets at Loveland’s ARISE Music Festival, Aug. 7 and then, they will head directly to Beloved Fest in Tidewater Falls, Oregon. For more information about their work and to follow their tour,find them on their website. To purchase their music, find them on Bandcamp. To connect with the band, follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
Also check out Lulacruza’s unique nine track visual album "Esperando el Tsunami", to get a feel of the duo’s influences. The visual album is part of a larger project of the same title, directed by Vincent Moon. Watch the documentary here.
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