Nicolás Jaar has shared a pair of new albums. Piedras 1 and Piedras 2 arrive digitally today, ahead of a vinyl edition landing on January 31.
A release explains that Piedras 1 and 2 collect tracks previously featured within a radio play entitled Archivos de Radio Piedras, which could be heard via a dedicated Telegram channel.
That project began with Jaar writing the song "Piedras" for a concert at the Museum of Memory & Human Rights in Santiago, Chile, commemorating the victims of human rights violations during the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990.
Archivos de Radio Piedras follows two friends mourning the disappearance of Salinas Hasbún, a musician and writer who vanished in the early 2020s. Although they live in a future where technology is advanced, they resort to DIY radio methods because the anonymous group "Las 0cho" has launched a worldwide attack on undersea internet cables, causing a global internet blackout. The play's central theme revolves around the idea that truths, memories and identities speak from the cracks ("rasgaduras"), or the "in-between" spaces ("en el entre").
The double vinyl edition of Piedras 1 and Piedras 2 is now available for pre-order.
Earlier this week, Jaar announced his first North American tour in a decade with Darkside, his experimental electronic duo with Dave Harrington.