Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Matador: Matador

2

Matador: Matador

By

Sign in to view read count
Matador: Matador
Guitarist and singer Santiago Bogacz's, stage name Matador, second eponymous EP can easily serve as a score for an independent, art house, film. As with his first release Bogacz continues to explore and fuse Americana and Latin motifs but the current disc is thematically more cohesive and has a definite dramatic atmosphere.

On "Sin título #3" for instance, thick guitar chords simmer underneath his evocative vocals. Flamenco tinged phrases meld into the bluesy music creating a haunting and tense ambience. His hypnotic strums on the onomatopoeic "Briumbambumbeum" stylistically hark back to the rawness of Mississippi delta sounds while his wordless throat vocalizing, eerily similar to tuva singers, brings a mystical intrigue to the tune.

A rough-hewn acoustic rock feel permeates the organic melody of "Al Norte." His plaintive and expressive singing wails over the energetic and intricate instrumental phrases the he lays down with remarkable agility and litheness. The resulting cinematic mood is one shared by all of his compositions on this album but particularly with the concluding "Padié (para los amigos)." The most folkish tune on this recording, it also has a conspicuously narrative structure as it flows like an intimate and lyrical poem. The strings create a series of brightly shimmering vamps that ebb and flow with elegance and grace. There is delightfully dark and indigo tinged undercurrent that gives the piece a stimulatingly mordant edge.

Bogacz, clearly, is superbly talented and possesses a unique musical vision that has better crystalized with his sophomore effort. The Montevideo native is an accomplished composer and performer and these two short and quite superlative works, hopefully, are just teasers for a longer more comprehensive record that he is yet to produce.

Track Listing

Briumbambumbeum; Al Norte; Sin título #3; Padié (para los amigos).

Personnel

Matador
guitar, acoustic

Santiago Bogacz (Matador): guitar and vocals.

Album information

Title: Matador | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.