Celesta is the reunion of something that happened a long time ago, but that has always been present and always will be. It’s about something that begins purely, and for that reason will never be broken. That’s what this EP, the next release from Departamento Records, presented by Sarrelangue and Niandra, is about. It’s about a true friendship that will last a lifetime. Composed of four original tracks, these are tracks made by two different but equal beings at the same time, with a similarity in the idea of creating unique sounds by forming them themselves.
Sarrelangue is a passionate collector of sounds, generated by the nature that surrounds us day by day in our daily lives, transforming them into songs. With his favorite analog synthesizers, he creates atmospheres very close to the Deep House genre. Sarrelangue expresses his passion for music by telling stories of his travels around the world, capturing sound moments and polishing them in his studio to transform them into his tracks.
Niandra is an electronic music project from Mexico City that has molded a sound dynamically and elegantly, perfect to enjoy dancing and also listening. Whether through her DJ sets in some of the city’s clubs or in her various releases, he always seeks a harmonious seal between the rhythmic and the melodic.
Sarrelangue and Niandra uniquely complement each other. Six years ago they had a musical project called Mind Celesta, which allowed them to get to know each other even more, musically and to share tastes. Parallel to that project, they have done multiple B2B and jams together. These collaborations are also the result of a friendship of more than ten years, which is also forged and intimated by being neighbors and lovers of synthesizers. This helps them because they complement each other in ideas, having an enviable ease in creating things together.
First of all, it gives me great pleasure to greet you, hoping that you are well, enjoying the warmth of the city and the summer that is coming. I would also like to congratulate you for this release on Deprtamento Records. I imagine how happy you must be about it. Now, before we go straight to the heart of this work. One of the things that caught my attention was the focus you give to your friendship in the formation of your sound, the work that somehow is facilitated by knowing each other a lot and being friends.
In what ways does your friendship come through in the sounds they create? For example, you are both synthesizer lovers, what is the role of your friendship in the formation of your sounds? Sarrelangue: Well, that closeness you are talking about, being friends for more than 10 years, since before we started producing, has managed to permeate into the songs and events where we have participated or performed, we know what rhythms and what kind of sound we are looking for, now we are trying to capture it as faithfully as possible.
How do the influences of each one of you become one when you create sounds together, beyond the fact that you share many tastes? Niandra: We have been looking for a sound for a long time, in parallel and together and we almost always manage to find the same path, either when we get together for a project or for a dj set, which is what happens more often, we know what kind of sound we don’t like and that is a great filter for a b2b or producing, we have also been shaped by different experiences and concerts, Trópico in Acapulco, Bahidóra, trips, and so on.
Celesta is built from the reunion of something that happened a long time ago. How did you manage to express these past/present times in sound?Sarrelangue: Celesta happened a long time ago, that’s how we presented ourselves when we played together, with time and life we separated but we have been able to take it up again, maybe it never went away.
Niandra: It’s nostalgic in a way because we can see how much we had to make mistakes to have a certain formation or professionalism in some way.
How do you use the machines you love and have at your disposal in the creation of sounds concerning the meanings you pour into your sounds? How do you turn something so profound, such as a friendship or a significant past event, into sounds that are somehow ethereal?
Niandra: It’s always different, we can have the idea while we are in the studio, or at some point a concept comes to you while you are driving or after a night of partying, that happens to me a lot after going dancing I start to imagine songs while I’m going home or falling asleep.
Now, before to continue the interview. Let us present you the Movies premiere, the third track of the release. Movies is about exploration, synths, samples, and pads. It begins in Niandra’s studio, marked by an emblematic bass and enveloping sounds that give space to develop. Movies is what counts, expresses, and feels. It’s about a movie that longs a life journey, through all the life phases. Sometimes fresh, sometimes nostalgic, but always with fresh halos and continuous attitude.
About the title of the songs, do you have in mind certain concerns or previous ideas that somehow you want to express in sound or is it the sound that gives you the original inspiration for the titles? Sarrelangue: Many ideas are born before, for example from some field recording I made in a street or coffee shop, or some book I was reading at a certain time, for example in the case of the first track, everything was built from a sample of a cassette trip that I found and that had a homily of a potato, hence it is called Sermon.
Tell me about your creative process, does it have phases; is it a process with a beginning and an end? Are there days when you don’t produce anything and others when you do it all day long? Do you “play” with sounds all the time until one or many of them turn out to be suitable for a publishable song? Niandra: There are moments for everything, sometimes you’re just trying to figure out a drum machine and an idea comes out of it. What works best for me, and it took me a while to understand it, is that I always manage better or am more creative when I get more experimental, when I push the delays or sequences to their limits without looking for anything in particular.
What has been your experience in releasing on Departamento Records? Sarrelangue: Departamento has always warmly received us, since we are of age we go dancing there, so we feel that the circle has been completed somehow, the treatment with them is always very warm and we love going to dance there, we go there to play a lot and we really like how the atmosphere gets, we hope to do our bit for this label that will surely have a lot to say.
Tell me about your plans in the short term: will you continue collaborating together, or sometimes yes and sometimes separately? Do you have releases prepared separately or together? Do we expect you in any session at Departamento Studio Bar? Niandra: It’s always a pleasure to return to Depa, the party gets really good and you always meet new friends there. The truth is that we don’t know if we will continue collaborating together but even so, our paths always come together, it’s much more pleasant for me not to plan it and just have the synths ready for when needed.
Sarrelangue: We have a lot of music to keep releasing, together and separately, if any of these tracks caught your attention we invite you to follow our networks and upcoming releases.
And now it is also my turn to congratulate you for the great work in this release. It is fresh, complex, versatile, and very enjoyable, both for attentive listening and for spring and summer dancing. Congratulations!
Note: the interview was conducted and answered in Spanish. The translation is my own. Any errors in this regard are the author’s.
Label: Departamento Records
Title: Celesta
Artists: Sarrelangue & Niandra
Catalog: DPT004
Mastering: Febe Esquerra @ Ometusco Sound Machine
Release Date: June 20th. 2024
Support & Buy on Bandcamp (link available tomorrow)
Available on All Streaming Platforms
Tracklist
A1 Sermón – Sarrelangue
A2 (World) After Us – Niandra
B1 Movies – Sarrlangue & Niandra
B2 De Vuelta En Mi Ciudad – Niandra & Sarrelangue
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