[Reviewed by: stark]
It is always nice to discover the unknown artists from exotic parts of the world. Exotic from my, European, point of view. I’ve never been in South America and even though I would really love to one day, I doubt I’ll ever make it there.
Ngenenkelen comes from Chile. I know just a few musicians and bands from there and I haven’t heard anything new from that region of the world in a while, so I was rather curious about this short release. And I got a tiny charming piece of acoustic folk with psychedelic touches. It is easy to imagine the beautiful landscapes of the Andes while listening to “Atemporal”, the natives living their calm life surrounded by majestic Nature. It is peaceful, sometimes enriched with the field recordings of singing birds, and the space you hear. The acoustic guitar plays nice tunes, there’s a humble but efficient rhythmic section and a flute which transports Ngenenkelen to the 70s acid folk days. Which actually is nice. I’m not entirely convinced by the vocal skills of the musician though. Also the production is perhaps not of the highest level, but strangely enough it adds a naturalness and honesty to the music. Some fragments remind me of The Joy Of Nature, sometimes I hear early Changes and even the classic stuff by bands like Pearls Before Swine. But all this is filtered through the sensitivity of a XXI-century (not-so-schizoid) man, so the certain naivety which is written in this kind of music has a different shade than the one from 40-50 years ago. Note: the word “naivety” is not supposed to have a negative undertone. I understand it as a lack of calculation and watching the world just as it is.
So yes, I like it. I’d be happy to listen something more from Ngenenkelen (by the way, what the hell does it mean?). It is obvious that he loves what he’s doing and in my opinion being truthful to yourself is one of the most important virtues for an artist.
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Ngenenkelen – Atemporal
Templo Sagital
MC/Digital 2021
Santa Sangre 