Eamo – Atacama

Eamo – Atacama

(Melifera Records, 2022-01-13)

For close to a thousand miles, in South America, the Atacama desert stretches along the Pacific coast. One of the driest terrains in the world, it is a barren site unsuitable to sustain life. 

Nevertheless, this sandy, rocky landscape, with its salty lakes and streams of lava flowing towards the Andes, makes it a fertile source of imagination for artists, as interpreted by Eamo for his debut release on Melifera Records. The emerging producer from Moscow draws solar system and sci-fi parallels to the worldly wonder that is Atacama, in the release which borrows this name. A thumping kick starts the rhythmic rove of the desert land.

The flowing, sweet yet somehow eerie melodies are intensified with a growing drive in subdued, escalating percussions. Birds’ calls drift into waves of bleeps as Eamo’s narrative seems to start reflecting on the otherworldly atmosphere the desert gives off. Setting off into space, Eamo’s “Mercury”, so close to the Sun, instantly, delicately gives off a hint of rave which elegantly evolves into psychedelic influences. Perhaps these genre references are a way of associating sounds to interpret unknown ambiences, a window into the artist’s mind.

Biocym continues to enhance the psychedelic energy he is synonymous with, in an escalating remix. An adequate addition to this release, it emphasises Melifera’s curatorial sensitivity. The soft start picks up the pace into a climatic rendition, with elements such as spacey drones and melodies echoing into nothingness, carried on from Eamo’s original.

Closing off with a track inspired by the desert planet from the Star Wars franchise, “Tatooine” is bass-heavy and menacing. Peculiar sounds give the feel of looming futuristic structures, a driving hat constantly flowing into impending sounds which fade into the horizon of that which was Eamo’s journey.

The label which is also behind “La Vallée Electrique” festival is evidently enthusiastic about the diverse output of electronic music culture. With the release, Melifera continues to add to its complex hive of artists, sounds and visual repertoire, even if that visual is an imagined landscape deriving from Eamo and Biocym’s sonic interpretations.

WRITING BY: TINA CAMILLERI | 17 JANUARY 2022

More Stories
ASC – Sacred Sevens III