Bridging with nature: Maribel Tafur talks exploring the ecosystems and altitudes of Peru through sound in her collaborative record with Mater Iniciativa and chef Virgilio Martínez
“Music is the best medium to connect emotionally with people,” says Maribel Tafur, as she chats about the ways in which sound and composition can forge a positive means for fostering environmental awareness. “This first step of being emotional is perfect, because that way you can have a very strong impact.” The Peruvian composer, multi-instrumentalist and sound designer is calling in from her home in Lima, where her country’s rich natural environment has for years inspired her creative process.
The musician’s experimentations across soundscape work, ambient, and downtempo has seen her perform at festivals in Spain, Colombia and Peru, with tracks released through outlets including Delicieuse Musique, XLR8R, and New Latam Beats, to name a few. Her expressive yet understated style has earned her attention and support slots from the likes of Slowdive, José Gonzalez and Devendra Banhart for their Lima concerts. Beyond conventional performance and recording however, Tafur has worked on an array of sound design projects, including creating audio environments and soundscapes for the restaurants of renowned Peruvian chef, Virgilio Martínez. His Mater Iniciativa research centre, run with Malena Martínez and Pia Leon, explores Peru’s unique ecosystems and biodiversity through gastronomy, regional ingredients, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
The result is Mater Soundscapes of Peru, a remarkable album with a vinyl campaign out now on Qrates, intertwining field recordings from various Peruvian ecosystems meeting with the composer’s experimental sound processing and melodic colourations. The record is a highly visual and emotive affair, taking listeners on a sonic journey from low to high altitude above sea level in her native country. From the tactile water lapping, laying a gentle bedding for warm pads and reverb-soaked piano gestures on album opener “Suelo de Mar” (“Sea Floor”), to the rustling ambience and electric keyboard moodiness of “Desierto del Pacifico” (“Pacific Desert”). Or “Valle Sagrado” (“Sacred Valley” ), with its reversed soundings of the Andean charango instrument performed by Ernesto Ankalli Pérez, to the expansive mountain peak soundscapes and seismic synth strings of album closer “Extreme Altura” (“Extreme Altitude”).
Maribel Tafur
“When they research and find ingredients, they first catalogue them because there are a lot of things that have not yet been registered," she explains of their process. "They then invite specialists from these different disciplines, so it's not only gastronomy, food or chefs, but also biologists, anthropologists, artists. They're always trying to get involved with different disciplines, and a lot of projects are born with these synergies, like this one.” All up, Tafur has created over 200 ambient soundscapes for Martínez’s restaurants over several years, so it’s no wonder that Tafur and Mater Iniciativa make a perfect pairing in this collaborative record. “I had a lot of information that they provided me about their investigations, and also input from other projects with other disciplines,” she explains. “I was fed with all this information, so this collaborative album was very organic and natural.”
“My interest first came 10 years ago or more, when I was creating my personal electronic project in my own name," she explains. "I was very captured by these kinds of soundscapes that you could deal with, by processing field recordings with effects and everything.” Continuing, Tafur comments that by “having a lot of layers, there are kinds of things that maybe you couldn't, or didn't imagine the first time [hearing the recordings].” For the artist, working with field recordings is a catalyst for imaginative possibility, as she explains, “It's like a magical place where I am comfortable and happy. I think that there are no limits when you work, play or explore with field recordings.” From this passion Tafur has amassed a vast personal library of sounds from Peruvian natural environments. These, together with recording sessions between 2020 and 2021, and a selection of audio from engineer Rosa María Oliart’s open sound library "Los Sonidos del Perú”, lay the foundation for Mater Soundscapes of Peru. What’s more, Tafur and Mater Iniciativa explore the sonic characteristics Peruvian ingredients directly on the record, having conducted experiments in her studio and at Mater’s lab. On collaborating with culinary researcher Inés Castañeda, Tafur comments, “we searched for the potential of ingredients in terms of sound, to then incorporate them into the creation process.
Maribel Tafur
As she explains, “nature for me is the perfect way to escape. When I work with natural sounds it’s inspiring for me to incorporate them into musical pieces. I think about the listener, and I always think that nature has to be in here.” The sonic worlds of Tafur’s work are an escape for herself and her audience from the bustling tribulations of city life. “Of course I process a lot, but I leave clues that there's nature invoked. You can feel relaxed and close your eyes. That's what I think of, that the listener closes her eyes and disconnects from the very fast tempo of Lima.” Tafur does not have to travel far from the city for rich sonic source material. She comments, “just outside of Lima, Peru has amazing landscapes and places to find peace, so I think that nature is one of the most important elements in my creative process.”
The fruitfulness of this collaboration between Tafur and Mater Iniciativa is born of a mutual interest, in that both manage in their work to not only demonstrate the density of Peru’s biodiversity, but in doing so advocate for its preservation. As Tafur is keen to outline, artists can play an important part in environmental awareness. “Musicians are like the bridge, to get through to other audiences about topics that are maybe not accessible,” she comments. “That’s why I like to continue thinking about doing these kinds of synergies.” With the emotive unpacking of her home country’s biodiversity in Mater Soundscapes of Peru, its certain listeners will be left with new perspectives and senses of connection towards ecology.
By Jared D
March 25, 2022