Ritual music from the silence of nature: The transcendent music of Lulacruza

[Judi Lynn]

Ritual music from the silence of nature: The transcendent music of Lulacruza
August 2, 2015
3:49 PM MST

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 Ecuador and Columbia, 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 electronic folk compositions the two carry.

The “electronic folk” label doesn’t quite seem to describe what Lulacruza does. It is, however, a quick synthesis for those who had been asking for a description from the duo. It was challenging for them to sum up a project that incorporated electronic elements, folk music and folklore, but the label seemed to stick.

“From Jagadera 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.”

What was the genesis of the band? How did Alejandra and yourself come together?

Alejandra spent all of her childhood in Columbia and really traveled and spent time with indigenous cultures in Columbia. 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.

More:
http://www.examiner.com/article/ritual-music-from-the-silence-of-nature-the-transcendent-music-of-lulacruza