Jorge Reyes - 1985 - Comala

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

This little confection is a bit of a detour from the typical psychedelic obscurity. We usually focus on the psychedelic pop, tripping down Carnaby Street sort of music. Jorge Reyes is a musical mystic, and this is more of a sitting with the shaman in the middle of the jungle, sipping ayahuasca, and seeing spirit animal serpents climbing up your leg type of music. There is a mysterious, primordial sound at work here and much of it has an almost ceremonial feel. Reyes' roots are clearly of the ancient, distorted pre-Columbian sound of Mexico, but he is a master of mixing this influence with modern (well, at least 1985) electronics and ends up creating amazing soundworlds.

The opening title track takes up about a third of the album and it is quite a journey. Reyes' comes straight on with some awesome percussion, mixing it with some truly dark synth sounds. About halfway in, we start to hear some chanting mixing with creepy whispers from the jungle and a truly satanic sounding, electronically-enhanced voice.

While remaining a coherant whole, Reyes continues to sound-paint distinctive images throughout the album. "Nadie Se Libra En Tamohaunchan" and "El Animal Sola" are maybe the most accessible tracks with more familiar synth tones and some elements of modern dance music. Even better, though, are "Adios Mi Acompanamiento" and "La Diosa De Las Aguilas," which seem to start with a sound like the instrumental b-sides of Bowie's Low and Heroes, and builds on that template with Mesoamerican colors. The chanting on "Hekura" freaks me out in a good way.

This album is apparently based on a book called Pedro Paramo by the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo. I've never read the book, and the cinematic sound here is strong enough that I don't think I really need to. For me, this aural paintings go along nicely with the painted visions of Peruvian shaman Pablo Amaringo (look here: http://www.pabloamaringo.com/).

I'm not a new age freak at all, but this music is visceral enough that it demands my attention. The only flaws here are a couple of tiny production touches that sound a bit cheesy (like 2%). But since this was recorded in the production quagmire of the mid-80's, I'd say this album beat the odds and ended up with a nice warm sound. This is a great find that should conjure up a few visions of your own when listened to in the dark.

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Jorge Reyes - Comala

Jorge Reyes - 1982 - Ek Tunkul

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.5 out of 5

Jorge Reyes logged in with an early melding of Mexican folk and electronic elements with 1982's El Tunkul. It's a pleasant album, but still shows Reyes perfecting his mixture and experimenting.

A few years after this album Reyes would show himself a master of painting images with sound, but this disc is not quite that evocative. Much of it is extremely chilled out, but to a degree where the ethnic instrumentation and chanting becomes window dressing rather than a major part of the tapestry that they'd later become.

On Ek Tunkul, the songs tend to highlight melody or texture, but rarely both. "Agua Quemada" starts the albums with some floating sequences and tones that almost recalls Philip Glass. "Nadie Supo De Donde Venia" and the title track relies on some somewhat out-of-place guitar leads that Reyes would drop on subsequent recordings.

I compare some songs on Compala as building off the basic sounds of some of Bowie and Eno's instrumental compilations. The same shows true here, but these tracks tend to emulate more than break new ground.

Ek Tunkul is not a bad album and gives the listener important insight into Reyes evolution as an artist. Still, it comes across as a work in progress and does not display Reyes at the height of his abilities. Ek Tunkul does not quite break out of the early electronic/new age mold.

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Jorge Reyes - 1982 - Ek Tunkul