"Think of a stripped down Bonobo with shamanic vibes," says the publicist for Lulacruza, the Colombian-Argentine duo coming to the Bay Area as part of its 18-city tour in the U.S.
An intriguing suggestion, prompting inquiry into South American electro-folk, brought this up: the reference is not to bonobo, the pygmy chimpanzee, but British artist Simon Green, who goes under the name Bonobo, known as "an artist who constantly pushes himself outside of his musical comfort zone."
So what of Lulacruza, and how do you strip down somebody who is already essential-minimal? The duo's "Pensar Bonito" provides part of the answer; although the vibes are shamanic only in the sense of invoking the gentle side of the spirit world.
Lulacruza will perform on Aug. 20 at the PLACE in Oakland, with BOLO, and on Aug. 21 in the Elks Lodge in San Francisco, with Barrio Lindo.
The duo consists of Alejandra Ortiz (Colombia) and Luis Maurette (Argentina); she is the singer, he is the accompanist and is responsible for electronic processing and sequencing — although Ortiz also plays South American indigenous instruments, such as the Colombian cuatro, charango, and bombo legüero. Bay Area concerts include Pablo Paz (Argentina) on bass, electronics, and percussion.
Ortiz and Maurette first met as students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and since then have performed in some 50 cities in five countries and released several albums, including Do Pretty! (2006), Soloina (2008), and the just-published Orcas.
Recorded on Orcas Island in Washington, the album's review in Huffington Post praised it for creating "a sonic landscape that is both vast and intimate, taking the listener as far as the mountains of Colombia, and as near as the complexities of the heart."