Albums




Federico Durand - La niña Junco

label : 12k (USA)
artwork : Lola Goldstein 
design : Taylor Deupree
master : Taylor Deupree
release date : 14 April 2017
format : Vinyl LP

Argentinian musician Federico Durand returns with his 2nd full length album on 12k following 2016’s A Través Del Espejo (12k1085). Taking his already minimalist composition style Federico challenged himself by using only one synthesizer for this beautiful album of sparse, hypnotic dustiness. His talent for creating works of so much emotion out of so little attest to his concentration when working and his passion for the craft. La Niña Junco is a handwoven gem. Music with a humble origin and a deep resonating soul. Famed Argentinian artist Lola Goldstein graciously illustrated the album cover, caputuring the idea of memory and object that is so infused with Federico’s work. 

"Immersed in the beauty of the very moment, the songs for La Niña Junco were recorded in one take during two days, in a rush of inspiration. I used a small sound palette: one instrument, a Crumar Performer synthesizer along with two looping pedals and Roland Space Echo RE-201. The Crumar was my first synthesizer. I bought it many years ago and then gave it to a friend, who later lent it to my brother. After a very long time, I got it back when we moved to La Cumbre, a small town in the central mountain area of Argentina. As this instrument has a very limited but beautiful oscilator, it was rewarding to make small melodies using only its almost magical sound. I was enchanted to have the chance to play with my Crumar again: in many ways this album feels like returning to an early home. The electric noises of my old, broken keyboard, were an unexpected and musical gift and a humble proof of the passing of time." 

- Federico Durand, La Cumbre, 2017



Melodía - Small Conversations

label : White Paddy Mountain (Japan)
artwork & design : Satoshi Ogawa
master : Tomoyoshi Date
release date : 7 April 2017
format : CD

"Small Conversations" is New album of Melodía. Melodía is Federico Durand and Tomoyoshi Date. 

In this work, hay made beautiful natural texture using acoustic guitar, chitters, piano, organ, etc. Space and time are arranged with exquisite sense. That sound is an elegant ambient music that makes you feel like a serene chamber music.
12kやspekkなどの数々の名門アンビエントレーベルから多数リリスがある人気アンビエント作家Federico Durand とTomoyoshi Juliano Date による、アコースティック・アンビエントデュオ『Melodia』の通算3枚目のアルバムが遂に完成した。
今作では、アコースティックギター、チター、ピアノ、オルガンなど駆使し、美しく自然なテクスチャーを空間と時間の間に絶妙なセンスで配置。静謐な室内楽を思わせるエレガントなアンビエント作品となった。
必要最低限の音数で構成されているため、何度も聞きたくなる魔術的な魅力が宿っている。実際に演奏の緊張感を高めるために現代の音楽制作手法ではめずらしくマルチトラックレコーディングではなく1トラックでのレコーディング手法が採用されており、その事もあってか相互の楽器間の響きの混じり合いや、位相などが澱みなく録音されている。また3曲目では2017年の来日ツアーでも大好評だったFederico Durandの貴重なピアノのプレイも収録!穏やかな時間の流れを体感できる至高の1枚となった。



Federico Durand ~ Jardín de invierno
label : Spekk (Japan)
design : mondii 
artwork : Cecilia Afonso Esteves
master : Chihei Hatakeyama 
release date : September 18th. 2016 (WORLDWIDE)
cat : KK032 / format : CD

【先行販売予約開始!!】
NBストア限定 2016.9.18リリース!
日本でも大人気のアルゼンチンの音楽家フェデリコ・デュランドの新譜が登場!本人も「かなりのお気に入り作品」と話すように、これまでのどの作品よりも静かでありながら、どの作品よりも情緒を感じさせる、もの凄い境地に達しております!「昼寝のための音楽集」から始まったフェデリコの音の旅は、まるで天国に辿り着いたかのようです。アートワークは同郷アルゼンチンの人気イラストレーター Cecilia Afonso Estevesによる描きおろし。

〈作品解説〉
スペイン語で「冬のガーデン」と名付けられた本作は、大自然の中へと引っ越しをしたフェデリコの新しい(音楽の)環境を表しており、壮大な凍てつく大きな家の中にスタジオをこしらえ、変わりゆく景色を背景に創作に取り組んだ。そして、全ての楽曲にはその情景を現す、自然にまつわるタイトルが付けられている。本作の特色は、その場の空気感を捉えるために、僅かなサウンド・パレット(カセットやオルゴール、シンセなど)を机の上に並べ、1回のテイクによって全て録音されており、後ほどの編集やミックスも行われていない。そうして大自然の中で放たれた雪の結晶のような小さな音の連なりは、ひんやりとした空気の中へと消えてゆき、本人が語るようにアルバム全体に山の中の古い家の魂が宿っている。マスタリングはフェデリコとの共演経験も持つ畠山地平氏。

〈Chihei Hatakeyama 推薦コメント〉
『この作品はFederico Durand の数ある作品の中で最も静謐である。素晴らしく愛らしい細やかなメロディがサウンドスケープの合間から溢れ出し、その様は天使の歌声を聞くようである。恐らく天国というものがあるとしたら、このような音楽が鳴っているんじゃないだろうか。そして、この作品を作る精神、想像力に驚嘆した。研ぎすまされた精神は剣の達人、例えば柳生石舟斎のような音の振る舞いを生み出すものなんだなと改めて思った。ある意味、ここに音は鳴っているのだけど、鳴っていないというか、このCD の中に入っていない音も想像して楽しめる傑作だ。』  

〈Federico Durand フェデリコ・デュランド プロフィール〉
www.federicodurand.blogspot.com
SPEKK からのファーストアルバム「La siesta del ciprés」が全世界で大ヒット。のち12K など世界中のレーベルから矢継ぎ早に新作をリリースする傍ら、Optiope のTomoyoshi Date とのMelodia、Nicholas Szczepanik とのEvery Hidden Color など注目アーティストとコラボレーションも活発に行っている。電子音楽のようなサウンドでありながら、日常や山で採取したフィールド・レコーディングやギターなどの楽器音をさりげなく取り込む、とても有機的なアプローチで作曲。アルゼンチンのアーティストに多く見受けられる、情調感をもった楽曲はここ日本でも人気が高く、「アールグレーの紅茶が大好きと」語る素朴な人柄同様、どこかキュートで優しい味わいが特徴である。 2014 年には初のジャパン・ツアーを成功させ、同年4 月に発売されたSPEKK からのアルバム「El Estanque Esmeralda」は瞬く間に完売、年を追うごとに全世界にて人気を確立している。



Federico Durand - A través del espejo 

label : 12k (US)
design : Taylor Deupree
master : Taylor Deupree
release date : 8 January 2016
format : CD

Invited musicians: Andrew Chalk & Takashi Tsuda.

12k is happy to present the debut release on the label from Argentinian composer Federico Durand who has had a series of amazing releases on labels such as Spekk, Own, and Desire Path. Federico and 12k crossed paths on a tour of Japan together in 2014 where the personal friendships among the artists and the label are such a part of what 12k is about. Sharing music and ideas throughout the tour led to an invite to make an album.
It’s no accident that Federico’s music has a dusty air of nostalgia surrounding it. It has always been a very personal affair. Songs inspired family, local life and the world around him are woven by hand with a selection of very physical instruments. He works like a craftsman, piecing together fragments of sound from cassette recorders, small instruments and loopers and creates music that’s as softspoken as he is. No pretenses, no disguises, just the most honest and down-to-earth music that can be made. Broken melodies spinning from tape reels, the sounds of bells and small found objects being played with care... The music is as beautiful as it is introspective, like a small window of antique glass looking right into Federico’s soul.
In his own words:
“A través del espejo in Spanish means “Through the mirror”. I am fascinated with the experience of putting a mirror in front of another: as a miracle, the image turns in a loop that flows into infinity. Loops in the mirror get less clear with each repetition, the color becomes diffuse and greener. When these loops turn into a lullaby we can enter the other side of the mirror: a place of delight and insight.
I always make simple melodies as they are born free. In many pieces, I use cassette recorders as an instrument that play friendly with others such as piano, lyre, toys, bells or effects. I enjoy the possibilities of cutting tape and making loops, reversing, and even using many tape recorders at the same time making air recordings of the sound. The Roland Space Echo or 2880, which are loop-machines themselves, match perfectly with this way of working.
When I see an emboridery I enjoy both the front and back where a mysterious, invisible world suddenly appears. For this reason, I am grateful to the natural sounds made by the machines, the crackle of loops and other sounds that appear while working, as an unexpected gift.
A través del espejo is a dream of beauty, A love of handcrafted music.”
- Federico Durand


Federico Durand & Chihei Hatakeyama ~ Magical Imaginary Child

label : White Paddy Mountain (Japan)
artwork : Chihei Hatakeyama & Federico Durand
design : Chihei Hatakeyama
master : Chihei Hatakeyama
release date : 29 July 2015
format : CD

Inspired by a small statue of Buddha in the hatakeyama's house neighboring temple, “Magical Imaginary Child“ is the first collaborative recording between Hatakeyama and Durand. Sourced from only an electric guitar (Chihei Hatakeyama) and cassette tape (Federico Durand).this album recorded on March 2014 in hatakeyama's house during Federico Durand Japan tour.These four works are true meditations and poetic sounds. 


Chihei HatakeyamaとFederico Durandの初のコラボレーションアルバムが遂に完成。Federico Durandの演奏するカセゥトテープと、Chihei Hatakeyamaのエレクトリックギターのみで作曲された本作は彼ら自身が語るように、詩的で、情景的な音像を描く。淡い水彩の単色画のような音色は儚さの中に強さを抱くような、まさに『秘すれば花』とで言えそうな哲学的な深さを感じさせる。録音当日の朝、二人は畠山の家の近くの古いお寺を散歩していた、そこで出会った『幻覚童子』という仏像からインスピレーションを受けた本作はMagical Imaginary Childと名付けられ、これから生まれてくる子供達に捧げられた作品となった。




Música para Manuel was originally made for cassette and sold out during Federico’s tour of Japan in 2014. The tape was limited to just two tracks but for us Federico has extended it into a full length and added 3 new tracks. The album is dedicated to Manuel Mellado, Federico’s grandfather who lost both his parents as a child and was, and still is, a very important presence in Federico’s life.

Federico Durand : Música para Manuel 
Label : Hibernate (UK)
Release date : March 13th. 2015
Format : CD
Edition : limited to 200 copies. 
Picture by Unknow Artist, Buenos Aires.
Mastering : Wil Bolton.
Design : Ian Hazeldine. 



Melodía - Diario de Viaje 

Order : 

https://homenormal.bandcamp.com/album/diario-de-viaje

label : Home Normal (Japan)
artwork : Caroline Derselle
design : Christian Roth & Ian Hawgood
master : Tomoyoshi Date
tour pictures : Melodía
release date : 25 December 2014
format : CD

Melodía is Federico Durand and Tomoyoshi Date.

This album was recorded in Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Germany and Japan. Mixed in Tokyo and Buenos Aires.

*

Muchas gracias Tomoyoshi, Ian y Home Normal! F.

*

Press Release:

Tomoyoshi Date has long been on the Home Normal radar due to his wonderful solo work, as well as his work with Chihei Hatakeyama (Opitope), Corey Fuller (ILLUHA), and finally, with our dear friend Federico Durand (Melodía). Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but currently residing in Tokyo, Japan, Tomo started working with Fede (himself from a suburb of beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina), after releasing solo works on the brilliant Own Records label. After touring in Europe in 2012, they released their first album as Melodía called ‘Saudades’ in February of 2013.
After the success of the Melodía debut, as well as Federico’s growing popularity in Japan in particular with the now classic Home Normal release ‘El Libro De Los Árboles Mágicos’, Tomo invited Fede to tour Japan. The result of recordings in hotel rooms, friend’s houses, fields, and various other places, is the perfectly titled ‘Diario de viaje’ (literally translated as ‘travel diary’).  Taken from their recordings in both Europe and Japan, the album perfectly embodies the tender, organic nature of their work, as they carefully layer the most fragile of sounds.
Given the nature of Home Normal as essentially a home to wandering / wondering music, ‘Diario de viaje’ is a perfect fit of music through true friendship; a wide-eyed innocent look at the world as it should be. Given that both have recently become fathers (Fede for the first time, Tomo for the second) , this innocence is something warm to snuggle up to as the winter takes its chilly hold.


Federico Durand - Adormidera
Second edition - 50 copies only


Beautiful cassette tape + Original silkscreen + Cloth-bed
Very unique pice of art, made by Femke and Pieter.
label : Dauw Label (Ghent, Belgium)
artwork : Original art piece by Femke
release date : 22 November 2014
format : Cassette-tape

"Adormidera” is the Spanish word for poppy flower. This tape, originally released as a very limited tour souvenir, has two long pieces crafted with circular melodies. 70's and 80's cassette tapes were used during the recordings.
The first piece "Niebla, montaña, pinos" is a transcription of a dream where a choir of girls sung to celebrate the harvest. I made it with very lo-fi recordings from Youtube.
The second piece is "Adormidera” in which I also used layers of voices, acoustic guitar and piano.

“Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?” - John Keats
Buenos Aires, Southern Spring of 2014



は列車の窓から、日暮れ時に一番星を見つける。その光は暗くなるまで、私の側に留まり、その魔法のような存在と星達の持つメロディによって夢の中に招待します。『La estrella dormida』は空がその色を変える時、家や庭が沈黙と魔法に包まれる時に聞かれるべきアルバムです。  フェデリコ・デューランド

title : La estrella dormida
artist:Federico Durand
発売日 : 2014/10/8
WPMC014
2,000円 +税

レーベル直販 特典 CDR
未発表曲
01.Pan / Federico Durand + Chihei Hatakeyama

Label shopからご注文承ります。
Label Shop : http://whitepaddy.thebase.in/
送料無料

song list
1. Té de manzanilla
カモミール茶
2. La estrella dormida
眠り星
3. El fantasma de un niño ronda el invernadero
グリーンハウスの周りにいる子供のお化け
4. A través del espejo
鏡の向こう側へ
5. Caída libre
自由落下
6. Pequeña pieza para lira y cintas de cassette
たて琴とカセットテープのための小作
7. Primeras luces del día
もっとも早い日の光
8. Reflejos del sol en la superficie del agua
水面に反射する太陽
9. El sueño de Fabergé
ファーベルゲの夢
10.Despierta, todo esta está cubierto de nieve
起きて、すべては雪で包まれている

2014年4月にステファン・マシュー、テイラー・デュプリーと日本各地をツアー、多くの観客を魅了しました。
SPEKKからの『El Estanque Esmeralda』に続く最新作が早くも登場です。
『La estrella dormida (眠り星)』と題された本作は夕暮れ時に、刻々と変わっていく夜空の美しさを静寂と美学でもって描写した渾身の一枚です。小さなオルゴール、チター、ミニシンセ、ピアノ、フィールドレコーディング、カセットテープレコーダーなど、ありふれた楽器をアナログとデジタルの手法を駆使して、ポップなアンビエントに仕上げました。その方法論的美学はリュック・フェラーリや、デヴィッド・チュードアなどの手法が50年の電子音楽の歴史を経て進化したもの、いわば60年代からの電子音楽の末裔なのです。そこでは、アンビエントなのか、電子音楽なのか、ノイズなのかという問いはもう意味をなさないのかもしれません。ここには美しいドローンがあり、時間を忘れさせてくれるような繊細な音が鳴り続けています。
魔法のような音楽、そのような形容詞が似つかわしい最上級の”音楽”と断言できます。

Profile
1976年生まれ。アルゼンチンのブエノスアイレス郊外Munizのアーティスト。 『La siesta del cipres』が日本のSPEKKよりリリースされ話題となり、その後、イギリスのHome Normalから2ndアルバムをリリース。一躍世界から注目を浴びる存在となり、今やアルゼンチン音響界を代表する音楽家である。アールグレーの紅茶が大好きと語る素朴な人柄同様、彼の音楽は日常や山で採取したフィールド・レコーディングを、ギターなどの楽器と一緒にラップトップで構築したどこか可愛らしい味わいが特徴的な音楽スタイルであったが、近年はラップトップを用いずアナログエフェクターを駆使した音楽に変容するものの、その独特で牧歌的な音楽は現在もさらに磨きがかかっている。




Federico Durand : "El estanque esmeralda"
label : Spekk (Japan)
artwork : mondii
photo : Federico Durand
master : Chihei Hatakeyama
release date : April 2014 (WORLDWIDE)
cat : KK028 / format : CD









SPEKKからのファーストアルバム以来、日本でも人気の高いアルゼンチンの 電子音楽家による待望の最新作。本人も「これまでの最高傑作!」と断言する極上の1枚で、ジャケットのような、まるで天上界の草原で神々しく鳴っているような、眩く超越した美しさです。所謂ドローン作品ではないのにも関わらず、抽象音などでここまで情感的に描かれた作品はそうそうありません!またまた、歴史に足跡を残す金字塔作品です!

Description (text by Federico Durand)
I usually like to talk about the memories of my childhood. One day, when my grandparents took me to a trip to the southern mountains and forests in my country, I met these wonderful landscapes for the
first time - larches and the beautiful green colored lakes. During that trip, I suddenly caught a cold but nevertheless, my grandparents took me for a walk around the pond. In my blurry memories, the emerald
color of the water, the wooden bridge and flowers remained inside of me as if it was a dream. Many years later, I visited the Museum of Decorative Arts in Buenos Aires with my wife Lucia and we sat in a
cafe inside the garden. Near our table was an ornamental pond, with lilies and reeds. While looking at the flowers, I suddenly had this vivid impression, and flashback of the old pond that I saw in my childhood
so clearly.“El estanque esmeralda” (The Emerald Pond) was made in remembrance of that vision. For this album, I used different kinds of instruments, but I wanted to keep music very simple:
little melodies and cassette tapes, some of them from 30 years ago that I found lying on the streets of my city, Buenos Aires. I hope you will enjoy this wander to the Emerald Pond.




Melodía - Saudades ~ CD Japanese versión

Melodía (Federico Durand & Tomoyoshi Date) : "Saudades" 
Label : Kaico (Japan) 
Master : Stephan Mathieu & Tomoyoshi Date
Design : Tomoki Takeuchi
Art-cover : Caroline Darselle
Release date : April 2, 2014 (WORLDWIDE) 
Format : CD 
Cat : ck012 

Federico DurandとTomoyoshi Date(Opitope, Illuha)というメロディックアンビエントの名手達が組んだユニットのデビュー盤がCD化。2013年にLPでリリースされ高評価を得るも日本では入手困難だったオリジナル盤だが、今作はそのLP盤より書き下ろし曲4曲を加え、収録時間にして約2倍ほどボリュームを増しアルバムとしても深みを増した特別盤。アコースティック楽器や異国の環境音が紡ぐ、輝かしくもどこか郷愁をそそられる麗らかな音響の楽園が此処にある。

Melodia is Federico Durand (known for his popular works on SPEKK, Home Normal, Own Records) and Tomoyoshi Date who is one half of Optiope (SPEKK) and Illuha (12K). Together they bring out harmonic lullaby-esque music that are pleasant throughout. The album was produced in 2012 when they did an European tour together, and the original mastering is done by Stephan Mathieu who let them stay at his house at the time. The album title “Saudages” encompasses all of these wonderful memories, and beatiful layers of sounds floats and dissapears in slowmotion. Originally released on Own Records as vinyl only, but we made a special CD version, adding 4 more unreleased tracks.



Federico Durand : "El idioma de las luciérnagas" 
Label : Desire Path Recording (USA) 
Embroidery: Mek Frinchaboy
Master : James Plotkin 
Design : Chris Koelle
Label Manager : Michael Vitrano
Release date : September 10th, 2013 (WORLDWIDE) 
Format : Vinyl, LP 
Cat : PATHWAY007

You  can purchase it HERE.




Melodía (Federico Durand & Tomoyoshi Date) : "Saudades" 
Label : Own Records (Luxembourg) 
Master : Stephan Mathieu 
Design : Hélio P. Camacho 
Art-cover : Caroline Darselle
Release date : February 14, 2013 (WORLDWIDE) 
Format : Vinyl, LP 
Cat : OwnRec#56 

"Saudades" is the debut by Melodía, the duo of Federico Durand and Tomoyoshi Date. Fede is a musician who lives in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Born in San Paulo, Brazil, where he lived until the age of three, Tomo currently resides in Tokyo, Japan. They both share a profound passion for music. They both released a solo album on Own Records in 2011 and a few months later (Spring 2012) went to Europe for a common tour where they first met and where they decided to record an album together which was mastered by their friend Stephan Mathieu. 





Every Hidden Color (Federico Durand & Nicholas Szczepanik) : Luz
Label : Streamline / Drag City (Germany / USA)
Cat. No : ST1033
Release date : September 4th, 2012 (WORLDWIDE)
Format : Vinyl, LP
Streamline collection is curated by Christoph Heemann
Photography : Miwa Kondoh

From the very start the world around you is singing. There's a distant conversation spoken through the trees, but it stays unclear against the clarity of the songs of the forest. Within that life the forms of the heart open up, as if immediately transported to a city-wide window, with only the view of afternoon traffic below, the burning concrete, and the inside of a small apartment. Nothing more than a toy piano lifting it's head over the plumes of steam from a cup of tea.
Momentary narratives of the content of autumn breathe like the next nap of an afternoon, simple in their inspirational emotion, but symbolic in the whole they form. Ideas are included, and inside, we are reminded of the focus of the ecstasy of music. Changes approach, but the heartbeat remains, steady like a poem. There's something hidden inside this surrounding world, something much deeper, and true.

Words by Will Long (Celer).



Federico Durand : El libro de los árboles mágicos
Label : Home Normal (Japan)
Cat. No : homen036
Release date : June 15th, 2012 (WORLDWIDE)
Format : CD
Edition : 1st. edition of 500 & 2nd. of 200
Mastered by Ian Hawgood.
Photography by Eirik Holmøyvik.
Release description: There is a little mountain village in Córdoba, Argentina, called La Serranita. There lives my mother. Her house is a simple, rural cabin placed on a hill. Everything in it matches perfectly with the spirit of the place. A house to live in during heavy winter storms. Behind the house there is a path which leads to Anisacate river. Here and there you can see bushes, eucalyptus and espinillos which either sleep or blossom in the shelter of the seasons. Sometimes, at dusk, an owl appears while invisible insects whisper among the leaves. And in the vicinity of the mountain path there grow plants of rosemary, mint and other herbs you can make infusions with. ‘El libro de los árboles mágicos’ is dedicated to that place, to the crystalline community of its people, to the animals and things. In fact, this album is more like a storybook. Every musical piece takes the voice of that reality and also its echo, which is born out of dream and fantasy. (Federico Durand)
All music by Federico Durand, except piece 1 which is a collaboration with Chihei Hatakeyama, piece 4 with Fuqugi and piece 5 with Ian Hawgood, originally released on ‘Slow Films in Low Light’ (Home Normal 013).



Federico Durand : "El éxtasis de las flores pequeñas"
label : Own Records (Luxembourg) 
art-cover : Christy Romanick 
master : Taylor Deupree 
release date : March 28, 2011 (WORLDWIDE)
cat : OwnRec#56 / format : CD

Federico Durand is a musician who lives in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. His music is a weave of sound searching introspection and delight through simple melodies and field recordings, made in the heart of Argentina. El éxtasis de las flores pequeñas (The ecstasy of little flowers), Durand's first album for Own Records, is very visual and poetic album, but is not meant to be pretentious. It is just a garden of awakening memories.


Federico Durand : "La siesta del ciprés"
label : Spekk (Japan)
artwork : mondii
drawing and paper-craft : Satoshi Ogawa
master : zengyo
release date : April 2010 (WORLDWIDE)
cat : KK023  / format : CD

"Music for a nap" produced by Federico Durand from Argentina. His debut album sounds like if watching a dreamy fairytale processing various instruments into sine wave-like tones. Simply beautiful and touching. At the time I was creating "La siesta del ciprés" I was very interested, and still am, in the sensations produced by listening to music while falling asleep. In Spanish, the word "duermevela" names that instant when we are awake and not asleep; a territory of fog and extreme lucidity. Listening to music in "duermevela" makes us enter the world of melodies, of insights and memories; the world of La siesta del ciprés. For La siesta del ciprés I worked for a long time with an old PC, which was over ten years old. Accordingly, the recording process was very slow and arduous, but rewarding with time. The album became a search of simplicity as craft. Sounds of cassette tapes reinforce, as an allegory, my imagination of beauty and love to rusticity.