美国国家公共电台 NPR Nicola Cruz Merges Electronic And Folk Music With The Use Of Cave Acoustics

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "SIETE")

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Our next guest is one of the most well-known electronic musicians in South America.

NICOLA CRUZ: I'm Nicola Cruz. I'm a musician based in Ecuador. I mainly focus on electronic music, kind of mixing the folklore 1 and roots from around South America.

SIMON: He creates vivid soundscapes using various instruments, including wood flutes 2, percussions and small guitars.

CRUZ: Living in a place like Ecuador, it just feels natural. You know, all around folklore and roots are quite present. You know, you turn on the radio and you listen to folkloric 3 music.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "SANACION")

CRUZ: It came to a point where I was making techno music with I guess a faster BPM, and I decided 4 to slow down and, you know, investigate, like, music from here, never thinking about, like, what would sell or whatever, you know? And it got to a point where I created this song called "Sanacion," which opens "Prender El Alma."

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "SANACION")

CRUZ: And that really made me take a step back and realize what what I was doing. And, like, it really felt magical. It felt powerful.

SIMON: Nicola Cruz released the song "Sanacion" on his first album four years ago. Now he's out with his second project called "Siku."

CRUZ: "Siku" is a reference to an wind instrument here from the Andes, but at the same time, "Siku" means - well, it's, like, an Andean tradition, which means playing in pairs, not necessarily playing, like, in the physical form but really being connected with one another while playing.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "SIKU")

CRUZ: I tried to be as experimental as possible. You know, I feel that's one of the things we can take advantage of in electronic music.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "ARKA")

CRUZ: At the same time, in lots of other songs, I like to record outside of a conventional studio or space where things can be a bit more chaotic 5.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "ARKA")

CRUZ: So "Arka" was recorded in these caves in a volcano near me. It's not an active volcano but pretty much all the mountains around here were once a volcano. And "Arka" is done in collaboration 6 with Esteban Valdivia. And he does such a great job in - I don't like the word rescuing but at the same time, he - that's what he does, pre-Columbian instruments, and he's a master at playing those.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "ARKA")

CRUZ: We always wanted to do a song together. And so we thought, like, these caves, which are near our homes, was the perfect place to experiment. So we got together, just the two of us. I set up some microphones, started experimenting with the space. Those caves have quite a vibe. So it really puts you in a nice, nice mood to be creative, you know.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "SENOR DE LAS PIEDRAS")

CRUZ: Do I change the perception of pop music here in Latin America? Well, I hope so, you know? I really - at least I know I'm doing my music, you know, with quality and intention. So, yeah, I really hope it gets heard, and it replaces our concept of, you know, popular music - enough reggaeton (laughter). No, I like reggaeton.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICOLA CRUZ'S "SENOR DE LAS PIEDRAS")