Ricardo Donoso

Saravá Exu

BY Bryon HayesPublished Jan 30, 2015

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Boston-based and Brazilian-born experimentalist Ricardo Donoso wears many hats: drummer for Ehnahre, an exploratory death metal outfit; half of Perispirit, the output of which is aligned along electro-acoustic pathways; a solo synthesist, who strives to constantly push the envelope. With his latest offering, the multi-talented music-making entity is found channelling the rituals of Quimbanda, a magic-oriented religion of Afro-Brazilian origin. To create Saravá Exu, Donoso engaged in a period of deliberate isolation, ruminating on the Quimbanda rituals and eventually honing seven tributes to the religion's Kingdoms, where the deities manifest themselves.
 
By incorporating traditional rhythms, jarring noise, and swells of symphonic consonance, he's generated a body of music that transcends much of his prior solo output, which seemed to dwell solely in an analog synth mode. Introspective, yet energetic and engaging, Saravá Exu is a cycle of mini-masterpieces that showcases an artist who is able to interrogate his past while constantly driving forward into new musical territory.
(Denovali)

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