Ramuntcho Matta

The rarefied music of Ramuntcho Matta returns to Emotional Rescue with the first ever reissue of his album, 24 Hrs. Recorded in 1986 – the same year as his influential Ecoute... – the album finds Matta working in a less playful, more experimental framework but with the same ground breaking results. Again collaborating with a selection of accomplished players, 24 Hrs sees Matta (electronics, guitars, marimba, melodica, sanza, vocals) work again with Cacau de Queiroz (flute and saxaphones) and Elie Meideros (vocals), plus Guillermo Fellove (trumpet), Ahmeed Kawa (tablas) and Polo Lombardo (konks) to deserne six pieces as part of a performance of Labyrinth by Joan Baixis’ (backing vocals) Teatre de la Castra, Barcelona’s acclaimed puppetry and visual troupe.

Centred as before, on Matta’s guitar, the approach is playful, inventive, a foundation for a texture of musical aphorisms. Against a background of tabla, the elegance of versatility builds, intertwining the players via moods and textures of various traditions in a unique way that is his signature. An album to be appreciated as one, this archival offered up additional surprises when the Master tapes were examined and so presented here is a longer form, unreleased version of Before Sunrise.