Soplo by Daniela Huerta

"An artful album of sonic illusions, concrète music as it was always intended."
— Peter Hollo, Utility Fog

"It is a mirage of many sounds full of understatements, mystery, multi-colored explorations."
— Michal Majcher, Anxious Musick Magazine

"Soplo" is the debut solo album from Berlin-based Mexican multimedia artist, sound designer, and DJ, Daniela Huerta -- and a true thing of beauty it is. A hallucinatory array of vaporous atmospheres, illusory rhythms, vanishing voices, and evocative environmental recordings, "Soplo" (Spanish for 'breath') ruminates on the enduring resonance of storytelling.

Huerta places an interest in mythology at the center of her practice, using it as a springboard to explore the origins of consciousness, archetypes, rituals, and collective memory. This approach to sound made Huerta an ideal collaborator for acclaimed Colombian artist and filmmaker Iván Argote, who invited her to score two of his poetic, politically charged short films. This is how "Soplo" began, with Huerta re-working and weaving together two soundtracks, creating a fully cohesive statement emphasizing her own idiosyncratic methods. Her subtle sonic treatments and arrangements sketch an impressionistic narrative that highlights the synergy between music and the natural world.

As a collection of recordings with disparate origins, “Soplo” is remarkably cogent -- engagingly varied but with a sustained air of mystery (and discovery) throughout. The ethereality of tracks like 'Gloria' and 'Coatl' gives way to the refined musique concrète of 'Seqvana' and especially 'Tres'. Meanwhile, 'Fondo' and 'Levitar' offer surprising juxtapositions while 'Hálito' rolls forward with wheezing instrumental flutters before being drowned by Huerta's disarmingly opaque electronic textures.

"Soplo" is a tremendously satisfying sojourn; an album that rewards patient, deep listening and emphasizes Huerta's tight grasp of audial imagery. It is an emotionally expressive sonic tapestry that unfolds at its own pace, revealing itself hypnotically and enigmatically.

With this immersive debut, Huerta entreats the perceptive listener to take a deep breath and plunge in. There is treasure to be found in the river's depths.

- - - -

Already well-established as a DJ, working under the Baby Vulture moniker, Daniela Huerta has performed at a wide variety of venues and festivals, including Berghain, Silent Green, Roter Salon, and Berlin's prestigious CTM, and has collaborated with artists such as Ale Hop, Lucrecia Dalt, Concepción Huerta, and Ash Fure. She currently lives in Berlin.