Exclusive video premiere of ‘Dulce Amargo’ by Tajak, taken from the upcoming album, ‘La Sombra del Agua’, out later this year via Little Cloud Records, The Acid Test Recordings and Hole Records.

‘La Sombra del Agua’ is the fourth studio album by Tajak. It was recorded in Coatepec, Veracruz, from March till December 2020 during an isolated residency in the forest.

The recording process was quite different from previous experiences. Former albums were recorded much quicker, in one or two days of studio sessions. In this latest album, aside from not being recorded in a studio, it was a much more patient, meticulous and intimate process.

The main tracks (drums, bass and guitar) were recorded outdoors at the side of the Pixquiac river, a fact which is not very usual. After recording the main tracks, there were several weeks spent afterwards editing, recording overdubs and mixing. In this case a lot more instruments were used than they normally use. They kept the
traditional bass, guitar, drums and vocals format, then added lots of
layers of texture including field recordings, synths and other instruments like ocarina, sitar, flute, twelve string guitar, thunder drum and tape effects, the last one being a very important and special contribution from Pedro Tirado/Servicios Eléctricos.

In the background you can hear the ambient sounds from the morning, afternoon and night at the cloud forest. It’s the first Tajak album written completely in Spanish. The influence of the cloud forest was very present in the composition of the album. In many of the songs you can perceive the interactions and conversations between the music and the surrounding outdoors environment.

“We were so immersed and a part of the environment on such level that the insects would answer to our synthesizers, the atmospheres of the guitar, the vocals and the delayed cymbals would simulate the fluidity of the water that ran through the r iver and descended from all the rain that we witnessed. The bass, percussions and r i ffs turned into a reality which we were seeking to find in such a place, same with the lyrics which took form of our experiences, but at the same time had a complete rela- tionship with the little town of La Orduña that welcomed us, the factory (where we lived and recorded), the teachings of Don Marcial and those walks to the store to buy aguardiente”, ñois says.

The ending result are seven songs which start with solid structures that are eventually unassembled and molten into a soundscape of fractalic sounds that dance between the spa- cial and the earthly.

Tajak Facebook / Instagram / SoundCloud / Bandcamp / YouTube
Little Cloud Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube
The Acid Test Recordings Facebook / Instagram / Bigcartel
Hole Records Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / SoundCloud / YouTube