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Robin Perkins has been doing well. A staple of the Latin American folktronica scene for over a decade, the English artist better known as El Búho first broke through with the lurching, atmospheric jungle sounds of his 2012 EP, A Guide to the Birds of South America. Though he’s maintained a steady incline ever since, all things must pass, even the good ones. On his new album Strata, the acclaimed DJ and producer reflects on personal joy as a fleeting phenomenon flourishing tenuously under impending climate calamity.
Having previously worked with Greenpeace, and as one of the co-founders of DJs for Climate Action, nature and water conservation have long been a theme of El Búho’s work, notably on EPs Cenotes and Chinampas. But on Strata, the terrifying realities of global boiling also come to a head, transforming opening track “Floating Islands” from a dreamlike reggaetón meditation into an anguished image of glacier chunks drifting off into the horizon. Flashes of a planet on fire again take hold on “Cenizas De Agua,” alongside singer Nita, who clings to the innocent memories of a time when record high temperatures and flash floods weren’t daily worries. Later, on the more literal “Alarma de Emergencia,” deliciously raspy cumbia gets an unnerving jolt of oscillating synths that resemble an ambulance siren.
Since his early days collaborating with ZZK alumni like Chancha via Circuito and Nicola Cruz, El Búho’s sound has treaded on mystical, magical ground, with a boho-chic fanbase to match. On the placid “Gentle Breeze” delicately layered snaps and claps succumb to the adult contemporary wiles of a hypnotic saxophone melody, practically destined for beach rave ubiquity. In sharp contrast, “Piañuco” takes us on a globetrotting jukebox shuffle nodding to groovy Brazilian brass, Andean harps, and staccato fiddles from the producer’s native England. He again swerves on listener expectations with the subtle offering of “Llanto De Los Cerezos,” where percolating ambient synths ebb and flow like rapids down a winding river.
Like in his collaboration with Nita, the album’s highest highs are due to the cantadoras that lend their voices to El Búho’s sinewy productions. “Ley de Origen,” performed with Swedish-Colombian duo Minük, encourages connection and protection of Mother Earth during her time of need, with Alejandra Ortiz’s echoing choruses floating over jittery marimba. And on stand-out single “Brujería,” Bomba Estéreo singer Li Saumet weaves a tale of the healing power that lives within us all and how it can be channeled towards preserving the planet we call home. This last collaboration makes perfect sense since Bomba’s Simón Mejía has also emerged as a fervent climate activist through his solo project Monte and producing eco-conscious documentaries Sonic Forest (2020) and El Duende (2019). Strata is an effort in collectivism, weaving sounds of the Earth with a community of international artists and fans called upon to cherish the life and wonders of nature. Do it to survive, or just to prolong the times of joy.
