Bordando el manto terrestre (Embroidering the Earth’s Mantle) is a musical journey around the figure of Remedios Varo, a surrealist painter born in Spain in 1908, who lived in exile in Mexico until her death in 1963. This journey begins with an ocean-like motion; driven by the ruin of war and exile, and follows, in Mexico, with the construction of a new intimate space flooded with light and wonder. This is a path of fantasy inhabited by captive moons, weavers of the cosmos and human gardens, and one in which to recover lost harmony and place ourselves in the world again.
The Galician dark ambient project trajedesaliva (Mon Ninguén and unavena) teams up with Madrid-born singer and pianist Maud the Moth (Amaya López-Carromero) to create a soundtrack to Remedios’ work. Making use of analog synthesizers, an arsenal of acoustic instruments and multifaceted voices, both art projects bring their respective idiosyncrasies to the palette, creating a soundscape riddled with symbolism and references to the pictorial work of Remedios.
Like this work, the musical compositions and arrangements seek to explore associations of the subconscious and exploit the beauty of chance. Many of the instruments used in this album are sensitive to weather conditions or are found objects; pianos or guitars which have fallen out of tune providing notes with which to construct invented scales as if guided by the hand of a mystical Hildegardian god. unavena’s poems serve as a narrative structure, which frames the landscapes and territories sonically traversed.
Amaya López-Carromero writes:
“These two videos mirror and tunnel into each other informed by Remedios’ visual lexicon and universe. Shrouded figures open portals as sinkholes referencing migration. The passing of seasons, as well as the contrasting use of colour between the two videos, hint spiritual transformation.
“‘Perdí pie’ has been created by Glasgow-based visual artist Demelza Kingston (Oculus Sinistra), in collaboration with Amaya López-Carromero (Maud the moth). ‘Jardincito de rosa y tierra’ has been created by Mon Ninguén and unavena (trajedesaliva).”
Bordando el manto terrestre is released on 26 May 2023 viaTime Released Sound and Woodford Halse. Limited edition vinyl, CD and cassette formats can be pre-ordered from May 5 HERE.
