Uakti
Mapa
Visom (Brazil) 1989
590.4001 (LP) Original pressing. w/insert.
sleeve : EX-(some wear on edge and corner.)
media : EX-/EX-(some light surface noise and click noise caused by slightly hairlines.)
This album was featured in the guidebook Obscure Sound Revised Edition. Released in 1989, Mapa is the fourth album by the Brazilian instrumental group Uakti, formed in 1978 by Marco Antonio Guimarães—who had been active in the symphony orchestras of Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais—alongside Artur Andres Ribeiro, Paulo Sergio Santos, and Decio Paulinho. The group made their recording debut in 1979 with the soundtrack for the film Cabaret Mineiro, and in 1980 they contributed to Milton Nascimento's album Sentinela, among other diverse collaborations and projects. On this album, the band explores deep, spiritually infused minimalist contemporary music using custom-made instruments built by the members themselves, as well as flutes and other wind instruments. Tracks like A1 and A3 feature overlapping minimalist melodies played on rounded, soft-toned tuned percussion instruments. B1 stands out as a mesmerizing piece in which subtle, repetitive rhythms from string-percussion instruments create a foundation for the interplay of metallic percussions that move freely through the sound field—leading the listener into a state of deep meditation. It's a crucible of minimalism and exoticism. Highly recommended.
A1: Alua
A3: Trilobita
B1: A Lenda